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Dear Maya Movie Review – It’s a slow-burning saga love & friendship with ace performances

Dear Maya

Dear Maya Movie Review

Movie – Dear Maya

Director – Sunaina Bhatnagar

Star Cast – Manisha Koirala, Madiha Imam, Shreya Chaudhary

Genre – Love Drama

Rating  – 2.0

Maya (Manisha Koirala) is a 40-year something spinster leads a deserted existence inside her derelict mansion, in the company of her birds and two dogs. She hardly comes out of her courtyard, and spends time making depressing dolls. One day, her intriguing lifestyle catches the eye of her 16-year old neighbor, Ana (Madiha Imam), and her mischievous bestie, Ira (Shreya Chaudhary). When they learn that Maya has never experienced the love of a man, thanks to the trauma she suffered in the past, Ira convinces Ana to spice her life up by writing love letters in the name of some random admirer from Maya’s past. Soon Maya begins to respond to them positively and starts coming out of her shell. However, due to Ira’s mistake, one of Maya’s letters accidentally features an address from Delhi, making her sell everything and leave for the capital to be with her ‘lover.’ Guilt-stricken over this, Ana confesses to her parents, who pack her off to boarding school and she also breaks off her friendship with Ira in the process. Six years later, they, however, reunite to search for Maya, who could or could not be dead by then. So, what happen next is interested to catch.

Dear Maya is a rare genre in Bollywood having a moving human drama that doesn’t involve huge twists or shockers, but invests itself in human relationships and dynamics, without resorting to a Badshah song to spice things up. At one point, it even reminded me of Kangana Ranaut’s Queen, only less cheery. However, Dear Maya has to be appreciated for the fact that it doesn’t stray too much from its subject, and only has a handful of characters for us to invest in. There are several interesting moments in the movie, especially when it shows Maya rediscovering life through the letters, and later through the city. In her comeback role, Manisha Koirala gives a nuanced performance that will win your heart.

Though she lends an air of mysticism to the initial portions of the movie, it’s when she rediscovers life is where Manisha shines the best. There’s a surprising cameo towards the climax, which we are not ruining for spoiler purposes. One of the characters is even given a forced sob story, just so to get her more sympathy points. Though the scene where she takes in the atmosphere of a nightclub in Delhi for the first time is well-depicted. Some of their actions also don’t make any sense. The pace of the narrative is cumbersome and yawn-inducing, and will put you off the movie at several junctures.

Dear Maya Review – Last Word

Dear Maya may have an interesting story to tell, but it is a slow watch and is not everyone’s cup of tea. One should appreciate Manisha Koirala delivers a fine performance in her comeback role, but we do wish the movie had invested in giving her more screen time hampering the rating in a big way.

Manoj L

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