{"id":7516,"date":"2016-06-02T01:11:15","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T19:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7516"},"modified":"2016-06-02T01:11:15","modified_gmt":"2016-06-01T19:41:15","slug":"mai-review-netflix-a-mothers-rage-web-series-sakshi-tanwar-vivek-mushran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=7516","title":{"rendered":"Mai Review: A Chilling Blend of Violence and Innocence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<span class=\"dropcap\">I<\/span>n Netflix\u2019s <em>Mai<\/em>, Sheel Chaudhary (Sakshi Tanwar) works as a medical assistant and home nurse at an old-age home that\u2019s owned and funded by a mafia don. Her daughter Supriya (Wamiqa Gabbi) works as a doctor in a medical lab also run by the same people. Supriya is killed off in a brutal truck accident right in front of her mother. But there is more than meets the eye, literally. Sheel, till then a subdued mom and wife, living with her head down, is forced to pick up the pieces of her daughter\u2019s life and go after those who are responsible for her death. Slowly we see her transform into a woman who isn\u2019t afraid to kill or be killed as long as it leads her closer to the truth. Set in the troubled lanes of Lucknow, Mai begins on the back foot with muted walls and muted characters who communicate their desires in sparingly. But it\u2019s probably also the thing that makes the Netflix series unique.\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>Mai challenges the viewer to think for the story.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nCreator Atul Mongia introduces us to a world where people blend into the corners of their homes, hiding their wounds from society. There\u2019s a class divide here within the same family, and a deeper politics within relationships at play. Sheel, who is already dealing with a familial secret, gets embroiled into an ongoing war between the mafia and the cops, and emerges as the woman she never thought she was. For the sake of truth, she willingly scars her hands to bring her daughter justice.\n\nMai challenges the viewer to think for the story. It\u2019s a well-researched world of common men and criminals that relies on both layered characters and human error to further the narrative. There\u2019s heavy violence, and a dreariness to the world that feels burdensome, but here it\u2019s not everything, as has become norm with OTT elsewhere. Mai\u2019s motivations are strong and believable enough to build drama. The show, however, when it veers into a tribal street war, kind of obscures the protagonist\u2019s story. It\u2019s done well, but doesn\u2019t really help as a whole.\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>The stellar cast of the show carries the familiar narrative with complete conviction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nThe stellar cast of the show carries the familiar narrative with complete conviction. Every actor seems to have been cast perfectly, and there\u2019s nobody except Raima Sen who seems out of place. Sakshi Tanwar who spearheads this gang of performers is the highlight of Mai and leads the way for her supporting cast. She\u2019s vulnerable, broken and never seems over-the-top, despite the drama she\u2019s expected to live out on screen. Here\u2019s one actor who has matured so well with age and genres of cinema, as evidence that it\u2019s never too late to find your calling.\n\nTanwar shines in this titular role of Mai, torn between morality and the need for justice. Her understanding of the complexities of the human mind comes across in every frame and it\u2019s such a fine and fearless performance that you\u2019re ready for a second season just to see how she interprets and deals with it further. Standing with her, are actors like Ankur Ratan (Farooque Siddiqui), Prashant Narayanan (Jawahar) and Anant Vidhaat (Prashant), Vaibhav Raj Gupta- Prashant\u2019s among others. Many of these actors are relatively new and have only a few years behind them on screen, but they pull off their parts with courage, grace and depth. Prashant Narayanan, after more than two decades of work, finally gets a mainstream part worthy of his skillset. Kudos to Atul Mongia and casting director Vaibhav Vishant of Anti-Casting (how apt) for identifying and handpicking performers that deep dive into the story and support the writing to the tee.\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>This one deserves more seasons.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nWhat keeps you deeply engaged in Mai is the visuals and the sound design \u2013 creepy and persistent in creating tension. Despite many scenes of gore and violence, Mai maintains a subtle rhythm that keeps our eyes and ears active, but never assaults the senses. In fact, all the characters are urged to speak with a certain restraint which also makes it a series worth listening to. Composer Sagar Desai uses instruments well to build tension. The use of music is evident, palpable, done with conviction but never becomes invasive. It\u2019s technically well put-together series that however, could have done better to account for an emotional core as well. Remove the guns and gore, and Mai is a unique show with a mind of its own. This one deserves more seasons, and one can only hope Tanwar returns, as she must, to avenge without flinching.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Netflix\u2019s Mai starring Sakshi Tanwar in a brilliant central role is a well-performed series based on a familiar premise. It does most things well, except resonate on an emotional level but is certainly worth watching and waiting for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[11650,141,11483,893,11651,11652,1772,1394,1341,11653,11654,71],"class_list":["post-7516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-a-mothers-rage","tag-bollywood","tag-hindi-tv","tag-indian-tv","tag-mai","tag-mai-review","tag-mother","tag-motherhood","tag-netflix","tag-sakshi-tanwar","tag-vivek-mushran","tag-web-series"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mai Review: A Chilling Blend of Violence and Innocence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Netflix\u2019s Mai starring Sakshi Tanwar in a brilliant central role is a well-performed series based on a familiar premise. 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