Maa

<p>Ambika ( ), her husband Shubankar ( ), and their 12-year-old daughter Shweta (Kherin Sharma) live a content life in , , India. Following the death of Shubankar’s father, he travels to , his ancestral village, to manage the family estate. Shortly after his arrival, Shubankar dies under mysterious and seemingly supernatural circumstances, caused by a splinter from the roots of a tree near their ancestral house, which embeds in his shoe. Grief-stricken, Ambika and Shweta return to Chandrapur to finalize the sale of the property. However, the mysterious disappearance of several young village girls shortly after their first menstruation cycle, including Shweta, forces Ambika to remain and investigate. Ambika discovers that the village is haunted by an ancient curse tied to a blood named Aamsaja. The legend involves , the ritual, and a believed to hold malevolent supernatural power. As the demon’s ( ) influence grows, Ambika channels the divine wrath of the goddess , undergoing a spiritual transformation into a fierce matriarchal protector. She confronts the evil force in a final effort to save Shweta and the other missing girls. began in January 2024 in . Filming was completed in May 2025 due to the addition of extra action scenes involving . The film was officially announced in March 2025 as an expansion of the universe with a motion poster. The soundtrack is composed by Harsh Upadhyay, Rocky Khanna and Shiv Malhotra, with lyrics written by Pranav Vatsa and . was released in theatres on 27 June 2025 in , , and . As of 25 July 2025, has grossed in India and in overseas, for a worldwide total of . On the website , 15% of 13 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. Filme Shilmy gave Maa 4 stars out of 5, calling the film “rich and immersive” and for “challenging what horror can be”. They also praised the performances, specifically Kajol and Ronit Roy, while criticising the pacing and emotional background in the first half. gave the film 3 stars out of 5, praising the performances while criticising the visual effects, writing and the climax. Sana Farzeen from gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, praising the visual effects and mythology while feeling the plot was predictable and lacked depth. from gave the film 2 stars out of 5, finding the writing bland and the visual effects “nothing new.” from also gave the film 2 stars out of 5, labelling it a “confused concoction” and “way too unhinged to be earth-shatteringly terrifying.” Rahul Desai from felt the villain looked like from , and found the film uncomfortable to watch due to its usage of horror to “legitimise the fictions of mythology.” Rishabh Suri of gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and said that “Kajol’s film has all the right ingredients. But the makers throw all of it into a cauldron and forget to turn the heat up.” Nishad Thaivalappil of rated 3/5 stars and writes that “As much as the film has tried to show Bengali culture and traditions, it also feels like it’s again bringing to light the kind of mumbo jumbo that’s always been doing the rounds.” Anuj Kumar of commented that “Low on chills and thrills, director Vishal Furia’s ‘Chhorii’ template pays diminishing returns in Bengal.” Devesh Sharma of gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and said that “It falls to Kajol to hold the film together and she does a great job of it. Watch it solely for her performance. She’s given her hundred percent to the project and then some. But even her superlative acting can’t cover up the cracks of a badly written screenplay.” of gave 2 stars and writes in his review that “Maa seems like a cry in the dark. It desperately wants to reach out. But has no clue how to do so beyond pandering to predictability. All the tropes and terror tactics are religiously, pun intended, followed. But there is no sense of the unexpected here. It all seems overplanned, over-rehearsed and altogether underwhelming.” Nandini Ramnath of observed that “Maa is a poor showcase of Furia’s feel for the genre. The film neither creates emotional engagement with its characters nor has the technical polish to be a convincing scare-fest. Except for a few scenes, there is a lack of atmospherics needed to carry off a tale of demonic possession.” Ganesh Aaglave of rated 3.5/5 stars and said that “On the whole, Maa is a gripping mythological horror, which will keep you glued to the big screen.” Mayur Sanap of rated 2.5/5 stars and commented that “What keeps the momentum going is Kajol’s fully committed performance that elevates this generic material to a surprising degree of watchability, and without any clear direction to move ahead, this so-called Devil’s Universe definitely feels wonky right now.”</p>