Maa Behen Review: Madhuri Dixit, Triptii Dimri, Dharna Durga film is a deliciously chaotic dramedy

Added: 2026-06-05

[00:00:00][music] [music] >> You know how society loves a confident woman? Sorry. We mean how society loves [music] judging a confident woman. Give her a sleeveless blouse, a loud laugh, a life without a man, and suddenly everyone becomes an expert on her character. And that's exactly the idea that sits at the heart of Maja Ma Behnen, Netflix's latest dramedy starring Madhuri Dixit, Tripti Dimri, and Dharna Durga. Now, don't worry. This isn't some heavy lecture disguised as [music] a film. In fact, it's one of the funniest Hindi releases I've watched in a while. The story begins with what can be described as an every Indian family's worst nightmare, a dead neighbor inside your house. And suddenly, three women who can barely agree on anything have to come together to figure out how to survive the chaos. At the center is Rekha, played by Madhuri Dixit, a glamorous widow who has spent years raising her daughters alone.

[00:01:07]Then there's Jaya, played by Tripti Dimri, the sensible one whose life mostly revolves around family responsibilities and keeping [music] the peace. And finally, Sushma, played by Dharna Durga, a social media-loving Gen Z whose dream is basically to go viral by any means. And honestly, the best thing about Maja Ma Behnen isn't the mystery. It's these three women.

[00:01:32]Watching them fight, scream, judge each other, support each other, and then go right back to fighting is an absolute delight. Their chemistry feels effortless and gives the film its biggest laughs. One of my favorite moments comes when Rekha is all convinced that all this trouble is happening because she ate eggs on a Monday. It's such a ridiculous thought and yet so relatable because we've all had those moments where one tiny thing goes wrong and suddenly we are convinced the universe is setting old scores. The humor throughout the film is wonderfully desi. It's sharp, silly, dramatic, and often comes from the most unexpected places. The dialogues feel like the kind of things people actually say, specially in smaller towns where gossip is practically a community sport. And speaking of gossip, that's exactly what Maja Ma Bahan is about. And about how quickly people create stories about women. About the entire he said, she said syndrome.

[00:02:35]Rekha's entire life has been reduced to rumors. People are more interested in discussing what she wears, who she talks to, and what they think she does behind closed doors rather than acknowledging everything she has done to build a life for herself and her daughters. The film cleverly shows how rumors become facts simply because enough people repeat them. And before you know it, everyone believes the story without ever checking if it's true. Performance-wise, Madhuri Dixit is fantastic. She looks like she's having the time of her life playing Rekha. The role could have easily become loud or over the top, but she brings so much warmth and confidence to it that you cannot take your eyes off her.

[00:03:19]Tripti Dimri blows you away with her fine performance, and she also brings a lovely balance to all the madness around her. Darshan Kumar has a decent debut.

[00:03:29]Sharing screen space with actors like Madhuri and Tripti is no small task, but she jumps right in and owns every scene she is in. Ravi Kishan is great fun too and gets to play some interesting shades. Now yes, the film does slow down a little in the middle. There are moments where you can feel it's taking a breather, but thankfully it finds its rhythm again [music] pretty quickly and races towards a satisfying finish. What I really appreciated about Ma Behan is that it never tries too hard. It doesn't scream women empowerment. It doesn't stop every 10 minutes to give you a message. Instead, it gives us three women who are flawed, chaotic, funny, emotional, and completely unapologetic about who they are. Ma Behan is funny, warm, wonderfully messy, and powered by three terrific performances. [music] It's the kind of film that will make you laugh, make you nod in agreement, and even make you question of the stories we've all been conditioned to believe.

[00:04:27]The film gets a solid 3.5 stars out of five from me.