TheReviewMonk
21 April 2017Hindi112 min

Maatr

4.514 reviews
CriticsUnfavorable

Bayesian avg · 14 critic reviews

7.5+ Exceptional · 6.5 Recommended · 5.0 Mixed

4.01 ratings
Users

User Score · avg of 1 ratings

8.0+ Exceptional · 7.0 Recommended · 5.5 Mixed

Shattered by the brutal murder of her daughter, A distraught mother takes justice into her own hands and seeks vengeance by fighting the system.

Critic Consensus

Critical reception for Maatr is largely negative, with most reviewers finding it a formulaic and poorly executed rape-revenge drama that squanders its serious subject matter. Nearly all critics, however, single out Raveena Tandon's performance as the film's one genuine asset, describing it as sincere, mature, and restrained. Common criticisms include a thin and predictable storyline, heavy-handed treatment of the rape theme, gratuitous bloodshed, and a failure to make any meaningful social statement about violence against women or the justice system. A minority of reviewers found the film a passable, if flawed, watch on the strength of its lead performance alone.

14 reviews · 3 positive · 4 mixed · 5 negative

Praised: Raveena Tandon's lead performanceCriticised: thin formulaic revenge storyline

AI-generated summary of 14 critic reviews · may contain errors

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Critic Reviews (14)

Shubhra GuptaTop Critic· Indian Express
3.0
"Crass, cringe-inducing and downright sordid, this Raveena Tandon rape-and-revenge thriller makes you ask just one question -- who writes this stuff?"
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Meena Iyer· Times Of India
6.0
"Raveena is sincere as the victim who sullies her hands to get justice. But, the amount of bloodshed, leaves you asking, what is worse. Are the images of rape gorier, or is the bloodshed of the perpetrators of the crime, grosser?"
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Rohit Bhatnagar· Deccan Chronicle
6.0
"Raveena Tandon pumps in so much life into the film that it is her performance that steals the show."
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IANS· Sify
6.0
"Maatr is a raw and powerful tale that is crisply told albeit a tad fictionalised."
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5.0
"Maatr doesn't wow you because of the story's repetitive nature. Thanks to Raveena Tandon's balanced act, the film makes up for an average watch."
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Madhuri· FilmiBeat
5.0
"Maatr is watchable solely for Raveena Tandon's shining performance as a wronged woman who doesn't mind staining her hands with the blood of her perpetrators who inflicted her with a life-scarring incident. It scores high on intention but unfortunately falls short of being a hard-hitting film."
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Sukanya Verma· Rediff
4.0
"In a performance marked by amazing maturity and restraint, the actress conveys the dark, brooding and internal process of recuperating from grief and finding closure. It's obvious she feels strongly about Maatr's theme and her sturdy ambition is the only thing that holds your interest even when the film does not."
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Rohit Vats· Hindustan Times
4.0
"Ultimately, Raveena alone couldn't save a thin storyline, and Maatr is just another run-of-the-mill revenge saga."
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Vishal Verma· Glamsham
3.0
"MAATR starring Raveena Tandon just pretends to make a social statement about rape and revenge and in reality struggles even to be a routine escapist film that does nothing significant for anyone involved. MAATR (motherhood) is Maatr (just) an addition to the list of Bollywood run of the mill badla saga - See more at: http://www.glamsham.com/movies/reviews/maatr-movie-review.asp#sthash.M2tyXNs0.dpuf"
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Suhani Singh· India Today
3.0
"Maatr despite the gravity of the theme is a subpar drama. The film would have been more effective if the mawkish, flashback-heavy songs were skipped. Maatr is a missed opportunity to make a powerful statement against India's poor track record in dispensing justice and tackling violence against women. Revenge is a dish best served cold; in Maatr it's crass and oddly flat too."
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"Subtleties and nuances are obviously beyond Maatr. It deals solely in broad strokes. No matter how much slack you are willing to cut this film, it will still need some more in order to have its glaring gaps glossed over. It's never easy to disguise a garbage dump."
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Manisha Lakhe· NowRunning
2.0
"Maatr is a predictable revenge story that completely ignores the trauma and social stigma that is usually attached to rape victims regardless of their social class. The subject is handled so ham-handedly, you cringe at the mistakes and wish they'd stop making rape an easy subject."
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"Raveena Tandon, in her first full-fledged movie role in six years, is the other saving grace. She is hardly known for her acting prowess, but makes a sincere attempt in "Maatr" to depict the agony of a mother in the throes of guilt and grief."
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Bollywood Life· Bollywood Life
"The film has its fair share of drawbacks and rides mostly on the performances of its lead cast especially Raveena Tandon and Madhur Mittal's. Despite being a bumpy ride, film somehow sails through as it gives the culprits involved the poetic justice and you as a viewer and part of Vidya s journey, a satisfaction. Watch it for its performances and the story."
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Cast & Crew

Cast

Details

Release Date
21 April 2017
Runtime
112 min
Language
Hindi

User Ratings & Reviews

Users4.01 rating

1 rating from the community

Community Reviews (1)

Maatr, a film by Ashtar Sayed, focuses on one of the most sensitive topic i.e. rape and revenge. This is also Raveena Tandon's comeback film. Certainly Maatr as a women-centric film had tremendous potential but the whole effort falters. A lot of films in the past have handled this subject and that is why it becomes all the more important that how the subject is being differently handled in Maatr. The film certainly begins on a high note but 15 minutes into the film, the whole screenplay goes for a toss. It becomes very much predictable, clichéd. The whole revenge saga looks very superficial. It is appreciable that the intention of the film is to highlight and raise voice against the heinous crimes prevalent in our society, atrocities against women, but execution falters badly. The film has nothing new to offer. Vidya Chauhan (Raveena Tandon) is a school teacher. It is a function in the school where her daughter Tia (Alisha Khan) is performing. After the programme, on their way back home, they get trapped in traffic and take different route to get rid of traffic. But a wrong turn brings their lives up and down. Apurva Malik (Madhur Mittal, Slumdog Millionaire fame) and his group of boys gang-rape Vidya and Ritu. Both of them are dumped on the road. Vidya survives but Tia gives up. Vidya's friend Ritu (Divya Jagdale) stand with Vidya during this crisis. Ravi, Vidya's husband (Rushad Rana), is unable to deal with Ritu's death. The story proceeds further to show the revenge saga, the fights against the powerful and evil elements of the society, but things are handled very superficially. Everything turns out to be in favour of Vidya when she single handedly puts up her fight against the powerful. She seems to be at the right place at right time, which is so unreal. Besides, Vidya is shown to effortlessly use revolver overnight. As far as the cast is concerned, we have seen much better performance from Raveena Tandon. Anurag Arora as Inspector Jayant Shroff is good. Rest of the actors Rishad Rana and Divya Jagdale have given average performances. Probably the screenplay needs to be blamed. Maatr is a film with the right intention to highlight and raise voice against the heinous crimes prevalent in our society, atrocities against women; but the execution falters badly. The film has nothing new to offer. It becomes very much predictable, clichéd. The whole revenge saga looks very superficial.

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