‘Maa’, ‘Behen’ — two words that spawn a litany of abuses. When an acclaimed director, Suresh Triveni, chooses to name the film so, rest assured it is not any cursory nomenclature. It comes loaded with a host of meanings and layers and, in its own way, flips more than one stereotype. Why, the main characters too derive their names from a popular detergent advertisement. What’s in a name? A lot.
But before we move to what the Netflix movie entails at deeper levels, let it be said that this dark comedy thrives on fun and subversive elements. The women here — who else but a mother, Rekha (Madhuri Dixit), and her two daughters, Jaya (Tripti Dimri) and Sushma (Dharna Durga), are unabashedly unapologetic. In the very first scene, we see Jaya sitting in an IVF centre minus her spouse. Soon after, she gets a call from her mother who has apparently killed her neighbour Charitra Gupta (Ravi Kishan) in her own house. As she and her sister Sushma descend upon the mother’s house, drama unfolds almost like the theatre of the absurd.
Rekhaji is the femme fatale of Adarsh (don’t miss the pun) Colony; her dressing sense, ahem sleeveless blouses, are as much a cynosure of all eyes as a subject of gossip. Sushma and Jaya appear to be at daggers drawn. Sushma, real-life social media influencer Durga, makes videos with her Jijaji, Manas (Shardul Bhardwaj), while Jaya is busy making an endless stream of perfectly round rotis for her shirtless devars. All these details unveil in a flippant fashion. In between surfaces ‘Sansani’ anchor Shrivardhan Trivedi, creating ‘Khalbali’ and filling us with backstories of Rekhaji, her dead husband, her ‘nefarious’ forays and the eerie possibility that beneath her bed of marigolds rest many skeletons.
He represents the voyeur in us who sucks on to crime stories with frenzied hunger and curiosity.
In the commotion that follows a crime and its cover-up, the film, written by Triveni and Pooja Tolani, finds entertainment and purpose. How will mothers and daughters get rid of the body? Will they go scot-free?
But take our word, this is no crime thriller hinging upon a cat-and-mouse chase. Even though a cop — Maheshwari (Arunoday Singh), a relative of the missing Guptaji — walks in dutifully, the mystery angle is merely a hook to unravel the big picture. Yes, the film packs in some unpredictable turns, amusing if not rip-roaring. You know where the narrative is going and yet not.
Rare is a film with comedic overtones whose final shot hits the bull’s eye and makes a strong statement as any somber film. In the finale, beneath the comic veneer, we see the real but obviously hideous face of society. When Maa-Behen join forces to take on patriarchy, they are quite a force to reckon with. Instead of being morally outraged, we share chuckles with our heroines. In the climax, the frenzied laughter of the Maa-Behen rings in the ears long after.
The three women here are in top form as actors and characters. If Madhuri’s Rekha is trying to survive with her womanly attributes, Tripti’s Jaya seeks respectable respite through marriage and Sushma is finding ways to soar on the wings of social media. Yet it’s not smooth sailing for any of them until they come up with ‘killer’ ideas.
As actors, all of them kill it. Madhuri delivers like a pro that she is, a perfect fit for a middle-aged prima donna. Tripti matches her frame to frame. With an interesting arc, the ‘Bulbul’ and ‘Qala’ actor in her manifests more than her recent star turn. For sure, she is once again a revelation. Dharna too is quite good, especially when delivering punchlines. Men here, including the versatile Ravi Kishan, don’t get as much room to flex their acting muscles. Both he and Arunoday Singh pass the test though. Shardul Bhardwaj as Jaya’s husband Manas truly finds his groove. Wish that the incredibly talented Geetanjali Kulkarni as Mrs Gupta had more bandwidth in this all-women party.
A lot of women-centric films have brought to the fore their concerns, including how society is ever ready to judge and punish them for any behaviour that falls out of line. But few do so with such delectable flourish. The honour of Maa-Behen by itself means little and comes into contention only when the family’s honour is at stake.
Instead of being dark and brooding, with generous help from the bright-hued visual design captured by cinematographer Anuj Rakesh Dhawan, ‘Maa Behen’ bats for women with gleeful delight. The anti-climax is wickedly mischievous. Games women play or rather men make them play can often be, rather ought to be, advantage Maa-Behen.
