Maa movie review: Kajol's film takes it's time- and yours -- but forgets to bring the horror in this mythological drama

MAa motion picture reviewDirector: Vishal FuriaCast: Kajol, Ronit Roy, Indranil Sengupta, and Kherin SharmaStar Rating: ★★.5" briny yahaan baithkar chamatkar ka intezaar nahi kar sakti," declares Kajol’s eccentric towards the flood tide, as her girl is abducted by a supernatural force. Fair enough, because frankly, neither can we. We've already spent two hours waiting for any sign of horror in this horror-mythological film. If something doesn’t start spooking us soon, we might just call the monster ourselves.The premiseMaa, directed by Vishal Furia of Chhorii fame, kicks off with a girl child's sacrifice in Chandrapur, and then we are immediately transported 40 years later. Ambika (Kajol) is leading a happy life with her husband Shubhankar (Indraneil Sengupta) and daughter Shweta (Kherin Sharma). For some reason, they don't want to visit Chandrapur, Shubhankar's ancestral village. But his father's death forces him to go and visit, and he dies. Ambika and Shweta, grieving, give it a visit after three months on the insistence of Joydev (Ronit Roy) as they plan on selling off their ancestral house. But Ambika isn't ready for what's waiting.The film pins its ambitions on the story of Goddess Kali and Raktabija, an epic premise no doubt. One drop of the demon's blood, which fell to the Earth, creates a monster that terrorises the village for decades. Sounds great on paper. But the film takes ages to set the mood in the first half. You are neither scared nor sucked into this world.The second half sets things into motion, for a buildup to a climax that should have felt more pacy. And more impactful.The verdictThere's social commentary buried somewhere in the ritualistic blood, VFX smoke and characters speaking Bengali deliberately in such a heavy accent as though their life depended upon it- coupled with a feminist undertone. It barely lands. The intent is in place though: the idea of a desperate mother becoming Maa in the climax is executed well, and is frankly the only part where you are hooked. Now if only the entire film had such elevation points.Now, let’s talk about the main attraction- the supernatural entity. It gets a ton of screentime, but unfortunately, Maa's makers mistake screentime for scariness. The creature is supposed to send shivers down your spine; instead, it looks like it escaped from a mid-budget TV serial and got stuck in a CGI filter.Kajol's act as Ambika feels one dimensional- it's the quintessential Kajol you have seen in umpteen films, and her character at no point progresses from being ordinary to awe-inducing. Ronit Roy gets a chance to experiment here, and he fares better. The chemistry between Kajol and her on-screen daughter Kherin isn't as endearing or emotional as it should have been. Also, there was absolutely no scope to add a song in the climax, so it feels a bit out of place.To sum it up, Maa has all the right ingredients, from maternal rage to a haunted village. But the makers throw all of it into a cauldron and forget to turn the heat up. It wants to say something powerful about a mother pulling out all stops for her children, but sadly the beating heart is buried underneath the conventional storyline.