Dear Maa

A lovely film that is all heart and feels.

After watching Dear Maa, I felt like I'd lived Brinda Mitra's pain alongside her. Jaya Ahsan powerfully portrays a mother who refuses to give up, even when her adopted daughter Sohini goes missing. The disappearance isn't just a mystery, it's an emotional rupture that highlights themes of belonging, family, and maternal courage. With Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's sensitive direction, the film explores adoption not as a label but a bond formed through sacrifice and trust. The urban Kolkata backdrop, the slow-building tension, and the performances from the supporting cast, including Chandan Roy Sanyal and Saswata Chatterjee, make this drama both compelling and intimate. Every searching glance and vulnerable silence builds toward a story about releasing control as much as holding on. A quietly powerful watch.

Brinda's ordeal feels universally relatable, although Sohini is not her biological child, when she disappears, the film asks if love formed through nurture can survive abandonment, Jaya Ahsan's portrayal captures silent fear and fierce devotion, the journey isn't flashy, it's human, the film avoids dramatic idioms and instead finds power in moments of silence and small gestures, ensemble cast members including Anubha Fatehpuria and Dhritiman Chatterjee contribute layered emotional texture, visually the film embraces monsoon periods and urban interiors to echo vulnerability, the search becomes emotional more than legal.

Poignant. Heartfelt. A good watch Dear Maa doesn't shy away from messy emotions. As Sohini's absence stretches into unknown territory, the adoptive mother navigates bureaucracy, blame, and emotional collapse. Jaya Ahsan anchors the film-her portrayal never sanctifies Brinda, it honors her humanity. The screenplay feels rooted in depth, showing adoption from multiple angles-between mothers, institutions, and personal trauma-rather than a single narrative track . The cast beyond Jaya-Saswata, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Shayan Munshi-fills the canvas with realism. Overall, the film shows that love doesn't guarantee belonging, but it does demand courage-and that tension makes Dear Maa memorable.

Dear Maa meditates on motherhood beyond biology. When twelve-year-old Sohini abandons her adopted life to search for her birth mother, Brinda must confront her own demons of identity and belonging. The script co-written by Aniruddha and novelist Sakyajit Bhattacharya feels lived-in, drawing from emotional realities instead of dramatized fiction . Jaya Ahsan carries every scene with quiet strength, especially as she navigates the legal and emotional friction of adoption. The film avoids clichés-even when the narrative becomes contemplative, the visuals and pacing maintain intimacy. It feels like real life, messy and earnest.

A sincere attempt at good storytelling At nearly 2 hours 24 minutes, Dear Maa may seem long, but it earns every minute through emotional sincerity. Jaya Ahsan's commanding presence grounds the story of a mother whose daughter rejects her love. The disappearance triggers not only a citywide police search (where Saswata Chatterjee and Anubha Fatehpuria appear in key roles) but also an emotional unraveling of societal biases and personal chaos. The narrative, while not twist-heavy, is driven by internal stakes: shame, guilt, maternal grief, and redemption. I was moved by how the film unpacks adoption, showing it as both care and conflict, creating a universal pathos that's deeply human.