The title of the latest Netflix original film by Suresh Triveni, Maa Behen, is pretty striking because it is generally used as an insult. The title song of Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani has lines that say “Jis duniya mein maa behne Rishte nahi hai, gaali hain.” So the ultimate goal of this movie, written by Pooja Tolani, is to address the judgmental gaze that the larger society casts on independent women. And to show that Tolani and Triveni have chosen the mode of a black comedy. I think the only issue with the movie is the distractions and subplots in the thriller part. After that initial patches of unevenness, this one manages to land safely, not smoothly.
Rekha and her daughters, Jaya and Sushma, are our main characters. Rekha lives alone in Adarsh colony, and she works in a shop that sells alcohol. Jaya is married, but she has her own version of Great Indian Kitchen happening in her husband’s house. Sushma, on the other hand, wants social media fame, and she is behind that. At one point, Rekha puts herself in a tricky situation while trying to negotiate her way out of a problem. A panicked Rekha calls her daughters for help, and what we see here are the efforts of the three to solve the mess.
If any of you Washing Powder Nirma fans are feeling the itch of Hema not being there, don’t worry, the movie will address your OCD. The political subtext of the movie is pretty interesting. Suresh Triveni is actually using the black comedy exaggerations to represent the view of the judgmental society. Rekha, being a single mother, and wearing sleeveless blouses are all shown from the eyes of those who can’t accept the idea of a single woman being successful. In all three characters, we can see this passion to have a name for themselves, but the patriarchal gaze on that passion makes them these witches. While the movie is setting up all these for a good finale, the risky decision to treat the whole movie as a black comedy is making certain major patches of the movie inconsistent.
Suresh Triveni, who has previously made a grounded comedy in the form of Tumhari Sulu, is coming back to that space after Jalsa and Subedaar. There is a contrast between the political layer of the movie and the black comedy that happens in the film, where the mother and her kids are trying to cover up something. Where the movie loses its balance is in building events in those comical areas. For instance, almost all the scenes featuring Arunoday Singh don’t really feel very significant, even when I backtrack the whole story after finishing the movie. And some of the transformations, like what Jaya will do in her marriage, don’t come as a surprise. Even the final confrontation is not something that would hit you differently. The cinematography has that Netflix texture where the visuals look very staged with vivid colors, and I guess the exaggerated tone of the movie matches that visual style.
Madhuri Dixit as Rekha doesn’t really overdo the eccentric beats of her character. The very last confrontation scene was actually her best scene in the movie, and she did it very nicely. Tripti Dimri has always cracked the small-town girl characters with great ease, and this time too, she has done a commendable job. Much like Madhuri, her best scene was also the one where she confronts her partner after suffering for too long. The flow and energy of the dialogue in that scene were really solid. Dharna Dhuraga as Sushma was funny and effective as the second daughter. Ravi Kishan plays the most important character with the least screentime, and he was an apt choice for that role. Shardul Bhardwaj was funny as Jaya’s husband, Manas. Geetanjali Kulkarni as the nosy neighbor was fine. Like I already said, Arunoday Singh’s character felt like a pointless addition.
By the time the movie ends, you will realise why certain exaggerations were done at certain points, as the intention of the movie was to show what women who don’t have the support of men will have to deal with in this society. While the decision to treat it as a black comedy is sharpening certain criticism, there is a desperation to make things funnier, and that, at multiple places, distorts the movie’s focus. With the film ultimately managing to convey its intentions without really depending on explanatory dialogues, Maa Behen becomes a passable entertainer in totality.
