MIB largely rides on Samantha’s all round show and Gulshan Devaih’s sinister villainy. The writing though falls significantly short in two key stretches. One the husband-and-wife relationship, and second a rather hurried origin story with the angle of naxalism. Keeping the shortcomings aside MIB makes for a fun popcorn entertainer especially for those who have liked Samantha’s action avatar. Nandini Reddy and Raj Nidimoru tackle some interesting gender themes in a typical joint family set up
Starcast: Samantha, Gulshan Devaih, Manjusha Mukkavalli, Sreemukhi and others
Genre: Action/drama
Director: BV Nandini Reddy
Writers: Raj Nidimoru and Vasanth Maringanti
Music: Santhosh Narayanan
Cinematographer: Om Praksh
Producers: Samantha, Raj Nidimoru and Himank Reddy Duvvuru
Production Company: Tralala Moving Pictures
Running time: 2 hours and 34 minutes
The Baasha template of a man with violent past is one of the most overused tropes in Indian cinema. Numerous male stars have attempted this with a fair amount of success. Rajinikanth himself has had many reiterations of the same especially the 2023 smash hit Jailer. BV Nandini Reddy along with the writers take the core of Baasha and add a tadka of Family Man Season 2. The origin story with the angle of naxalisam bears a striking resemblance to the LTTE angle in that web show. In one way the movie feels like what if Samantha’s Raji had left the movement and found a loving husband. Keeping aside the comparisons Maa Inti Bangaram is a treat for Samantha fans even though the storytelling doesn’t fully soar.
The story of MIB focuses on Samantha’s Swarna/Jhansi. Swarna is a far cry from the typical daughter-in laws of a joint family. Dignath Manchale plays Swarna’s husband Anirudh, he had gone against his family and married Swarna. How they fell in love is hardly touched upon and this is something which I will get to later. Coming back to the story Anirudh and Swarna come for a family wedding amidst a somewhat hostile atmosphere. How Swarna wins over her in laws while tackling an extremist leader/angsty ex-lover is the main story of Maa Inti Bangaram.
It goes without saying that MIB largely relies on Samanth’s star power and the actress doesn’t disappoint one bit. Whether its kicking goons, the emotional vulnerability or the comic portions she doesn’t miss a single beat. Samanth’s prowess in action is something that we have already seen, still its a delight to watch Samantha take on the bad guys with absolute conviction. A special mention must be made of the climactic fight filled with gun shots and hand to hand combats. At the same time, Samantha does a fantastic job in the emotional sequences too like the one where Swarna reveals important details about her past, in the same scene she also questions the typical matrimonial ads describing the qualities so-called perfect daughter- in-law.
The comic sequences too are a riot. Her scenes with Manjusha Mukkavalli raises ample chuckles like the portion of emotional manipulation. In a couple of sequences there is also a perfect mix of humor with tension. For example, there is a portion of Swarna and Manjusha’s character desperately trying to put away a dead body. Manjusha makes her presence amply felt in spite of sharing screen space with Samantha.
Sreemukhi as the orthodox daughter in law typically seen in numerous joint families also makes a striking impact. In scenes of jealousy, she particularly stands out. Gulshan Devaih as the hurt lover Karuna makes for a striking villain. His dynamics with Swarna has been fleshed out much better in comparison to the husband-and-wife relationship. A portion worthy of mentioning is Karuna taking jibe at Swarna’s domestic avatar saying that did he train her for this and how she is wasting herself. On a side note, it would be good to see Swarna playing an active part in her father in laws political activities if a sequel is made, while carrying on the duties of a wife/daughter-in law. Among the rest veterans Gautami and Sri Lakshmi do a fair job within the confines of their roles.
A major flaw with Maa Inti Bangaram is the haphazard integration of the Naxalite angle. The socio-political complexities of a then important movement is reduced to a mere side note. The nuance is absolutely lacking in how Nandini Reddy along with the writers have presented the social scenarios leading to naxalism.
Another big issue is the lack of meat in the husband-and-wife relationship. The process of Anirudh and Swarna falling in love is never shown, we just get a couple of mentions in Swarna’s words, but more depth was required. This aspect sticks out even more glaringly given that Anirudh had gone against his parents to be with Swarna, so a much better exploration of how they fell in love was needed.
Maa Inti Bangaram features only one song which is the energetic Thaasadiya. The upbeat tune coupled with Samanth’s free flowing dance moves makes for a nice watch visually. Om Prakash’s cinematography stands out in the climatic fight.
