Maa Behen

In Adarsh Colony, Rekha is an outspoken, beautiful widow — notorious in the neighbourhood for reasons that may have more to do with the male residents’ imaginations than reality. She lives alone, having raised two daughters: Jaya, now married in Patna to the entitled Manas, and Sushma, a social-media influencer living with Jaya after a viral kissing-video scandal forced Rekha to pretend to disown her.

One night, Rekha’s neighbour Charitra Kumar Gupta — the colony’s pious, self-appointed moral guardian — discovers that Rekha has embezzled funds from the wine shop where she works, which he helps manage. When he threatens to report her, she invites him over on the pretext of playing cards to plead for time. Gupta misreads the invitation, barges in and attempts to assault her. In the ensuing struggle, she pushes him away; he crashes into furniture, hits his head on a grinding stone and is knocked unconscious. Believing him dead, a panicked Rekha calls both daughters home at two in the morning.

Rekha proposes dumping the body in the nearby canal, but while dragging it, the women discover Gupta is still alive. Fearing he will report her embezzlement if he wakes, Rekha decides to keep him tied up and sedated with cough syrup for two days — long enough to quietly replace the stolen money and eliminate his leverage.

What should have been a simple waiting game spirals out of control. Gupta’s wife comes looking for her missing husband. Manas arrives unannounced from Patna, suspicious of Jaya’s sudden disappearance. Sushma’s long-absent biological father — a conman who poses as an army officer — reappears demanding money. And a ransom demand arrives by phone: five-and-a-half lakh rupees for Gupta’s “kidnapped” safe return, addressed to his family. Each woman suspects the others of making the call, and years of simmering resentment — Jaya’s shame over Rekha’s scandalous reputation, Sushma’s feeling of being the unwanted second daughter, Rekha’s loneliness and desperation — boil over in a vicious three-way confrontation.

Gupta eventually regains consciousness and stumbles home. Rather than let the matter drop, he tries to blackmail the women, threatening to file a criminal complaint unless Rekha surrenders her house to him. He returns to Rekha’s home, demands she massage and serve him, and attempts to humiliate all three women.

The trio fight back: they drug Gupta, photograph him in a compromising state, and threaten to post the images on social media. His own wife discovers him half-dressed in Rekha’s bedroom, destroying his credibility. When he still threatens an FIR, Rekha publicly re-enacts the night’s events, framing everything as self-defence against his attempted assault — daring him to expose his own predatory behaviour to the colony.

Jaya, emboldened by the chaos, finally stands up to Manas: she reveals she knows about his infertility, declares she has been counting every roti she has ever made him, and throws him out, demanding a divorce on her own terms.

The ransom mystery is resolved in an epilogue: the caller was Goldie — Gupta’s own teenage daughter — who had secretly saved the same amount over years to flee her arranged marriage and audition for a singing reality show. Having seen her father enter Rekha’s house that night, she seized the opportunity to replenish her drained savings. The film ends with Goldie performing on national television under her real name, while Rekha, Jaya and Sushma walk away from the colony’s judgment — bruised, but united.

Maa Behen was announced at the "Next on Netflix" event in Mumbai on 3 February 2026, where its teaser was unveiled.^[6] On 15 May 2026, coinciding with Madhuri Dixit's birthday, the release date of 4 June 2026 was announced along with a glimpse of the film.^[7] The official trailer was released on 22 May 2026.^[8]

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 1.5 stars out of 5 and writes that "A cheeky title that wants to subvert that familiar invective, a kernel of an idea that could have turned into a feminist film and a great cast including Madhuri Dixit and Tripti Dimri can't rescue Maa Behen."^[9] Kusumika Das writing for NDTV gave 3 stars out of 5 and said that "the film may not be flawless, Maa Behen finds its voice in the way it takes on patriarchy - calling it out as "behuda baat" and refusing to play by its rules."^[10]

Anuj Kumar of The Hindu observed that "While mounting a meaningful social critique and a broad, crowd-pleasing comedy, director Suresh Triveni ultimately compromises on both". He says- "Maa Behen gradually becomes a physical representation of societal surveillance." ^[11] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in writes in her review that "The feminist imperative to clean up Rekha’s image paradoxically makes Maa Behen less outrageous than it seems. The last person to need a character certificate, Rekha is nevertheless handed one. This doesn’t make her less fascinating, but it does take the edge off her personality."^[12]

Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India describe that "It is a colourful risk that pays off".^[13] Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times rated it 3/5 stars and said that "The film succeeds as a warm, character-driven story elevated by strong performances and an engaging trio of women at its heart."^[14] Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that "An entertaining crime-comedy that never turns into a pity party, Maa Behen has no interest in reforming society's self-appointed moral guardians. Instead, it offers women a far simpler solution: why care?"^[15]

As per Times of India Entertainment Desk Twitter review- "Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri receive praise; Viewers share mixed reactions over storytelling." ^[16]

Priyanka Chopra also reviewed the film calling it 'Such A Clever Film'. ^[17]

The First Post review says- "Madhuri Dixit-Triptii Dimri’s dark comedy breaks every mold of motherhood". ^[18]