Maa Behen Review: Madhuri Dixit Leads a Madcap Family Crime Comedy on Netflix

Maa Behen Review: Netflix dark comedy thriller film Maa Behen mixes a dysfunctional family with a crime-comedy and leaves you feeling a bit confused with both its crime and comedy elements. The film follows a woman and her two daughters, who find themselves taking the law into their own hands as chaos ensues. Navigating a crime and social gossip, however, isn’t an easy feat, and the three women try to overcome their own differences while trying to save their lives.

In a neighbourhood where gossip spreads faster than facts, will Rekha and her daughters find peace?

The film has a runtime of 126 minutes.

Maa Behen Review

A Dead Body, A Dysfunctional Family, And Plenty of Chaos

One thing that director Suresh Triveni brings to the table with Maa Behen is the amount of chaos that takes place. While handling an unconscious Gupta Ji is quite difficult, it’s the neighbourhood gossip that keeps the three women on their toes. Their already complicated lives come under even more scrutiny when Gupta Aunty immediately puts the blame on the three women, and, with Goldy’s wedding in a few days, the desperation is evident in every scene.

The setup is undeniably entertaining. As ordinary people make increasingly desperate and bad decisions, there’s an air of melancholy that surrounds the three women. Rekha is lonely, having lost her husband early. Meanwhile, Jaya is unhappy in her marriage with a good-for-nothing husband, whom she was forced to marry. Sushma, the youngest, is an influencer, but most of her reels get views when they are with her brother-in-law. It’s an odd set of problems that has more weight to it than it first appears. It adds to the emotional pull of the film well.

It’s a shame, then, that even though the premise is strong, the screenplay struggles to maintain momentum between the different topics that it tries to juggle. With a dark comedy, crime, and social message all trying to get a fair share of the runtime, none of it truly lands in the first half.

The Message Lands Better Than the Jokes

On that note, the actual emotion comes out towards the end when the other shoe drops and audiences are able to witness the truth from the horse’s mouth. The social commentary is its strongest suit, although it tries to present its dark comedy elements at first. Exploring gender expectations, societal hypocrisy and everyday struggles women face, it leaves your heart heavy seeing these women get brutally abused at society’s hands. These themes give the film an element of substance, although it’s a little too late.

The humour, which, as mentioned earlier, gets the most attention in the film, fails to land the jokes. It’s neither funny nor does it feel like it has anything to say. The jokes are repetitive and overstretched, and comedic sequences linger for far too long. The jokes surrounding Shrivardhan Trivedi’s Sansani might be intriguing at first, but it loses its charm after a while. The execution is forced, and the landing doesn’t have the required punch.

A Story That Takes Too Long to Get There

At over 2 hours, Maa Behen almost forgets what the story is sometimes. While the central premise is engaging, the execution doesn’t live up to the mark. For a long stretch of the runtime, nothing of note happens. The women scream at each other, Shrivardhan Trivedi screams at us, and things just happen for the sake of it. Meaningful plot progression, though, happens only towards the end when all the threads come together, and the truth comes out. Some of the characters who are introduced feel so unnecessary that it makes you confused about their existence.

After the film ends, it becomes clear that the chaos never really escalates beyond a point. It’s more of the same things happening over and over again until it needs to conclude.

Strong Performances Can’t Fix the Meandering Script

All this being said, it’s the performances that do a fantastic job. The women are given depth and understanding, more so because they are the stars. From screaming matches to silent shared stares, viewers will understand every little emotion not only between the three protagonists but also the extended cast. Meanwhile, the male characters are almost like flower pots, which is a funny change of pace that is enjoyable.

Madhuri Dixit, Triptii Dimri and Dharna Durga do a fantastic job with their roles. Personally, Dimri is simply fantastic as the emotions pour out of her.

FInal Verdict

There’s only so much good performances can do when the script lacks so much. However, Maa Behen definitely deserves credit for tackling important social issues and a subtle message that will resonate, considering the current state of women’s freedom and justice in the country. Unfortunately, it’s far too long and has nothing much to say in a big chunk of the first half and the dark comedy just doesn’t land.

The film is now streaming on Netflix. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!

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