''Mai'' () is a 2013 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language film which marks the debut of veteran singer

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

as a lead actress. The film is a family drama of how children abandon their ailing old parents. The film is also debut directorial venture of Mahesh Kodiyal.

Plot

Mai, a widowed mother of four, is a 65-year-old woman who lives with her only son Munna and suffers from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. When Munna gets an opportunity to move to USA for his job, he decides to admit Mai in an old age home. But Mai's eldest daughter Madhu objects to this. After the other two daughters also abandon Mai for various reasons, Madhu decides to bring Mai to her own home. Madhu's husband Subhash and teenage daughter Charu dislike this. After a series of events Madhu's family accepts Mai lovingly in their family.

Cast

as Mai *

Padmini Kolhapure Padmini Kolhapure is an Indian actress and singer, who works primarily in Hindi films. She began her acting career in 1972 at the age of seven, and her early works include ''Zindagi'' (1976) and ''Dream Girl'' (1977). She had her breakthrough ...

as Madhu, Mai's eldest daughter *

Ram Kapoor Ram Kapoor (; born 1 September 1973) is an Indian actor who works in films and television serials. He gained popularity portraying Jai Walia in the television series ''Kasamh Se'' and the character of Ram Kapoor in ''Bade Achhe Lagte Hain''. He ...

as Subhash Joshi, Mai's son-in-law, Madhu's husband, Charu's father * Shivani Joshi as Charu, Madhu's daughter * Kshitee Jog as Mai's second daughter * Anupam Kher as the Doctor (Cameo role) The film features veteran playback singer of India, Asha Bhosle, in the title role. Bhosle debuted through this film as an actress at the age of 79. Padmini Kolhapure, who is the real-life niece of Bhosle, played the role of her eldest daughter. Kolhapure, known for her roles in the films ''

Insaaf Ka Tarazu ''Insaf Ka Tarazu'' () is a 1980 Hindi revenge drama film produced and directed by B. R. Chopra, based on the 1976 drama film ''Lipstick (1976 film), Lipstick''. The film stars Zeenat Aman, Raj Babbar, Deepak Parashar, Padmini Kolhapure, Iftekh ...

'' (1980) and ''

Prem Rog ''Prem Rog'' () is a 1982 Hindi-language musical romantic drama directed by Raj Kapoor, with screenplay written by Jainendra Jain and Kamna Chandra. The film tells the story of a man's (Rishi Kapoor) love towards a woman, who is a higher sta ...

'' (1982), returned to films after a hiatus. Bhosle dedicated the film to her mother, who was also lovingly called "Mai". About her acting experience she says that she did not find acting difficult but also states that this will be her "only experiment with acting".

Music

The songs of the film are penned by Manoj Tapadia and Sahil Sultanpuri. The score is composed by music director Nithin R Shankar, who has previously composed music for the 2007 film '' Bombay to Goa''. Sahil Sultanpur

brings his first song "Dhakku Makum", Tapadia has previously written songs of the films ''

Manorama Six Feet Under ''Manorama Six Feet Under'' is a 2007 Indian thriller film directed and co-written by Navdeep Singh. The film features Abhay Deol, Raima Sen and Gul Panag in the lead roles. The film released on 21 September 2007. It follows an amateur detect ...

'' and ''

Cheeni Kum ''Cheeni Kum'' (Hindi for ''Less Sugar'') is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by R. Balki and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Zohra Sehgal and Swini Khara. ''Cheeni Kum'' premiered at the 2007 Cannes ...

'', both of 2007. The song "Dhakku Makum" features the popular Marathi traditional song "Yere Yere Pausa" which is sung by Zanai Bhosle, Asha Bhosle's granddaughter. The song is a rain dance sequence choreographed by Lollypop, known for the choreography of "

Aati Kya Khandala "Aati Kya Khandala" is a Hindi song sung by Indian actor Aamir Khan and playback singer Alka Yagnik and composed by Jatin–Lalit. It was a part of the soundtrack of the 1998 Hindi film ''Ghulam''. The lyrics were written by Nitin Raikwar. ...

" and was released at Lalbaugcha Ganpati on 19 September 2012 on the occasion of

Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...

. The complete music album was released on 22 January 2013 by

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-scor ...

Reception

The film released for audiences on 1 February 2013 with a grand premier on the previous night at Cinemax, Versova. The premier was attended by notable personalities of Bollywood like

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 9 December 1945) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency), Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he ...

Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...

Tanuja Tanuja Samarth, known mononymously as Tanuja, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the Hindi film industry. Part of the Mukherjee-Samarth family, she is the daughter of actress Shobhna Samarth and producer Kumarsen Samarth, and was ...

, and more. The film proved to be average. In their review, various critics appreciated Bhosle's performance but criticised the film for clichéd plot. ''

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English language, English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, r ...

'' also appreciated Bhosle by writing that she "weaves magic but not enough to save a mediocre movie".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2389486, Mai *Nitin Shankar on IMD

2013 directorial debut films 2013 films Indian films about Alzheimer's disease