Maa Behen Is A Feminist Film, But Rekha, Jaya, And Sushma Don’t Want Your Pity

Feminism and humour can go hand in hand, and that is exactly what Maa Behen tries to do. The Netflix film starring Madhuri Dixit, Tripti Dimri, Dharna, and Ravi Kishan takes on the huge task of talking about how society looks at women who dare to step out of the patriarchal mould, but accomplishes it not with a huge monologue, but with satire and humour.

If you don’t want spoilers, I would request you to go watch the film and then come back to this article.

The movie’s protagonist, Rekha (played by Madhuri), is a beautiful, fun, and charming woman whose only fault is probably her affinity for sleeveless blouses.

But in a society that decides even how many women should be born in the world, this is a big crime.

Stepping out of the domestic and submissive mould, Rekha takes up her own space in the world. She laughs, loves, screams, and applies red lipstick, of course, and she isn’t afraid of doing any of these things in front of the world.

But of course, a system built by men cannot accept independence and revolt, and society does what it does best: add labels to shame women into living in the box drawn for them.

There are characters who try living inside these boundaries, such as Tripti Dimri’s Jaya, but soon realise how pointless the charade of pretending to be a ‘respectable’ woman is.

Dharna plays a young Sushma, who is trying to navigate the world of content creation and make a name for herself without caring too much about how society wants to drag her back.

Ravi Kishan, of course, plays the quintessential patriarchal guard whose principles get lost somewhere in his own lust. Quite typical, I must say, but not so far from the truth.

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Why Cry When You Can Rage?

The fun thing is that the movie doesn’t want you to cry for its women; it wants you to feel the rage that they feel. These women are far from damsels in distress, and this is where I feel the movie resonates the most for me.

Rekha, Jaya, and Sushma are not helpless female characters asking for your sympathy. Like you and me, these are women who are done with the hypocritical rules of man’s world and want to own their lives, make their own mistakes, and have their own regrets.

Is this the best movie you have ever seen? Definitely not, but it surely makes an impact. It uses satire and these loud, almost screeching laughs to mock the rules society makes for women.

In 2026, women are really done with feeling dismay about the state of affairs; all we have left is outrage. And that’s what makes Maa Behen feel like a breath of fresh air. Because feminism doesn’t always need sob stories; sometimes it just needs wrath and some dark humour.

As they say, do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light.

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