Dear Maya (2017) User Reviews

Good feel

[sndave · 7/10 · 14 March 2020]

Such a beautiful movie!! Please watch with a friend!!

Heartwarming short story

[samabc-31952 · 7/10 · 15 March 2020]

Unconventional, heart warming story.. winsome performances and superb direction...

Beautiful and inspiring

[vishal_bajaj-41645 · 7/10 · 17 November 2021]

Very beautiful and inspiring story. Beautiful captured though slow pace of the story kills the fun. Songs are also good.

If you need inspiration in your life then you must watch this movie.

Same problem with Indian audience, if it is not bigger brand, a beautiful movie has lesser rating than it deserved

[naveenkaushik_25 · 10/10 · 12 June 2020]

The movie is not at all boring..Cancer Fighter Manish Koirala playing Maya's role is superab n veteran . Director has done complete justice of sign of early age on her face as life had faded in early age. Teenager Girls trying to have fun , providing a different prospective to Maya about love. With a touch of poetic love , Maya's life turns upside down. The gals realise their mistake n are constantly tensed what Maya was going to do for imaginary love.

A definite feel good movie which deserves a lot more appreciation for being good piece of art! I hope Indian audience soon becomes mature n admires such beautiful movie without name of gaudy stars or big production house!

Movie was full of positivity and deep emotions

[ravinderk1222 · 10/10 · 27 September 2019]

This movie will literally move you! Movie shows two types of teenage girls and a forgotten woman that let the years go by. No vulgarity or bad boy scenes, or even dance numbers. Makes you catch your dreams and most importantly emphasizes "it's never too late" which is why many give up, so no idea why all the negativity. This movie deserves attention and awards, if it wasn't for Manisha it would of been a hidden gem. I think it's the BEST movie I've ever seen! And I love movies, this is how movies should be.

Loved the movie

[abhinavyadav-24291 · 10/10 · 26 February 2020]

Movie's story and emotions inculcated, keep you overwhelmed and persistent removal of surprising layers of story keeps your interest intact till the end. Direction by Sunaina Bhatnagar is indeed worth appreciating.

a life of misery

[BiswajitSince2005 · 10/10 · 11 October 2019]

Made with passion, debutante director Sunaina Bhatnagar's "Dear Maya" is a very subtle movie. After the debut movie of Avinash Das's "Änarkali of Arrah", this is one more movie which is deeply engrossing.

The movie resembles Manisha Koirala's recent life closely since Manisha tried to come out of her illness while Maya is trying to come back to a new life after all her childhood ordeal. Only Manisha but no one else could have depicted the character so well.

The ever beautiful Manisha Koirala returns to small screen after a very long break and fight against ovarian cancer detected in 2012. Playing the protagonist as Maya, Manisha Koirala has given a superlative performance in the movie.

Maya, an old and forlorn 40 something woman is living an ominous life with misery filled all around her periphery. World in her eyes is a distrusting and miserable place to live in. She has shut herself inside her spacious Shimla house with her trusted maid of few decades. Two prying school girls Ira and Anna, played by Madiha Imam and Shreya Chaudhary who had heard a lot about this reclusive neighbour, decide to add colour to her droning life. They start writing secret love letters to Maya with a fabricated character named Ved (who never exist). This part is similar to a movie we saw earlier Sirf Tum which was again inspired by a hollywood movie "You've Got Mail". As in "Sirf Tum", she sets up for Delhi to hunt for the man she has never met but who has revitalized her fervour to live a better life.

Two stories run concurrently in the movie. One story is about Maya, her accidental discovery of love and the power of love to arouse energy to a secluded woman of two decades. The other focuses on camaraderie between Anna and Ira, who have got nothing in common. Their friendship is put into test when Maya leaves Shimla in search of her mysterious lover. Anna's parents when found out about this sent her to Delhi to keep her away from Ira who they thought is a bad influence to their little girl. Concerned about Maya, Anna continues her search for Maya even though she has been drifted away from Ira and has lost all connection with her dear friend.

Pre interval, the movie is entirely dominated by Maya who plays the role of a woman in solitude so well that you feel a part of her misery. Almost all of the second part is devoted to Anna's life in Delhi and her search for Maya by putting a "Missing" posters all around Delhi and her reunion with Ira and their joint effort is locating Maya.

Manisha Koirala speaks very less but her expression makes up for everything else. Her transformation from a black dagger dangling from her waist to a gorgeous confident woman in her red saree enjoying her life is radiating enough to give Manisha a roaring appreciation. A brilliant story told with such grace that will relish your mood and lift your spirits up. Manisha's make up, the creepy house gives a perfect sense to the character she plays.

Her change in mood and transformation is presented so perfectly in the attire she wears, from all black to elegant & colourful saris. Manisha shines so brilliantly that the two lovely teenage school girls seem like dwarf in acting department. They seem like no patch to her character.

Wonderful movies... Unique story... Positive message.

[krishp-71492 · 10/10 · 15 June 2020]

Hi, Recently my wife and me watched 'Dear Maya' on Prime. Wonderful movie.. Great efforts...a very unique and different story. Thank you Sunaina Bhatnagar for giving a positive message which is very important nowadays through this movie ' Always say yes to life'. Wishing you all the very best for future projects. Awaiting more movies from you with positive thoughts. Thank you once again. Krishna Pulkundwar, Mumbai

Beautiful movie

[kochharcheistha · 10/10 · 2 May 2020]

Simple, elegant and nuanced. Hoping to see more from this director!

Dear Maya Is A Feel Good Film About Finding Love At Unexpected Times, And Of Friendship.

[suhelhashmi · 5 June 2017]

Sunaina Bhatnagar's debut feature Dear Maya, which she has also written, deftly uses 1990s star Manisha Koirala's charming presence to tell her story. In the first half, she sports a de-glam look and nails it. She looks aged, ugly and is almost unrecognizable. In the second half, she is spotted in her beautiful avatar. Apart from Manisha Koirala, newcomers Madiha Imam and Shreya Chaudhary are also seen in lead roles. A protégé of director Imtiaz Ali, Sunaina Bhatnagar assisted her mentor on films like Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, and Rockstar. The film follows the life of a middle-aged lonely woman from the hill town of Shimla, Maya Devi (Manisha Koirala), who stays alone in a huge bungalow with her two dogs and cages full of birds in Shimla. She leads a desolate existence and never steps out of her courtyard, and spends time making depressing dolls. Her intriguing lifestyle catches the eye of her 16-year old neighbour, 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 Ved, a fictitious admirer from Maya's past. Reluctant at first, Ana finally caves in and starts writing beautiful letters to Maya. She feels more encouraged when 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 'secret lover.' Ana is horrified and wants to go to Maya Devi and confess, but Ira refuses. Guilt-stricken over this, Ana confesses to her parents, who pack her off to a 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. Dear Maya is a kind of genre we don't pretty much see in Bollywood these days – a moving human drama that doesn't involve huge twists or shockers, but delves into human relationships and dynamics, without resorting to a Badshah song to spice things up. There are quite a few places in the first half of the film that remind you of Vishal Bharadwaj's 2002 film, Makdee. 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 think about in the film. There are several interesting moments in the film especially when it shows Maya rediscovering life through the letters, and later through the city. Though Maya lends an air of mysticism to the initial portions of the film, it's when she rediscovers life is where Manisha shines the best. Too bad, the film does not give her appropriate screen time. In fact, more than this being Maya's story, Dear Maya is actually about the two girls revaluating their friendship through the repercussions of their prank on an unsuspecting victim. Not a bad idea, per se. But the problem is we don't feel much for their friendship thanks to some very average writing in these portions. So those moments, when they fight and later reconcile, do not touch you with the same effect as Maya enjoying a sweet dish after many years. Some of their actions also don't make any sense. Like Ana is shown frantically searching for Maya for six years; she calls up radio stations and pastes posters of Maya's everywhere. But at no point, does she even think of visiting a police station, until someone reminds her of doing so. Dear Maya may have an interesting story to tell, but the pace of the narrative is cumbersome and yawn-inducing, and will put you off the movie at several places. The first part of the film seemed a little stretched while the second half of the film is quite scattered. The narration should have been crisper to make the film more interesting. The end of the film could have been even better. As a debutante director Sunaina shows promise and maturity as far as directorial skills are concerned but she needs to hone up on her script writing skills. She succeeds as a director but her screenplay leaves a lot to be desired. Sanjeev Dutta's dialogues are effective. Sayak Bhattacharya's cinematography is amazing. Aarti Bajaj's editing is below average and fails to deliver. Music and background score of the film by Anupam Roy is good and so are Irshad Kamil's lyrics. Though underutilised Manisha Koirala delivers a fine nuanced performance and deserved more screen time then she has been given in the film. Madiha Imam and Shreya Chaudhary, the two newcomers are convincing in their roles. Iravati Harshe, as Ana's mother, is good. The rest of the cast do as required.

On the whole, you may watch Dear Maya for Manisha Koirala's enthralling performance.

Beautifully put together

[tazeemali-79202 · 8/10 · 25 July 2020]

Not your typical Bollywood movie, manisha gives a great performance. This movie is an investment of emotion.

PS ignore the score rating.

Beautiful, Under-rated Gem

[gkomail · 9/10 · 19 September 2020]

Wonderful movie. I don't understand why movies like this don't come into limelight. kudos to team. Thanks to Shreya Chaudhary.. I watched this movies because I like your fabulous performance in Bandish Bandits.. Congratulations you have 2 gems in your bag already. Keep it up and make it big. Deducted 1 star due to slow start of movie.

An Underrated movie that deserves much more

[vishu-varanasi · 8/10 · 17 October 2020]

I'm surprised how thick movie had a reading lesser than 6. This movie is so beautifully done with a lively story and moral that tells you there's more to life. Much more.

Beautifully, very beautifully done. The 2 new young actors acted so naturally. Manisha hasn't lost her acting edge.

Such a beautiful movie

[biswakalyangb · 10/10 · 31 October 2020]

Wow. I just loved it. Simple, elegant and beautiful. Loved all the performances. Manisha Ji's eyes are so expressive. Simple story. Innocent acting by both the girls. Lovely music.

Absolute gem of a movie

[dalviriyan · 10/10 · 2 November 2020]

I don't know why it has such low rating , it belongs with the 8 pointers rating . The acting is very good . The setting is fantastic . The story is simple and lovely . It's a must watch . Trust me I have watched almost all good hindi movies and was out of movies , and this one is fully worth the watch

GOOD MOVIE

[adilanoordin · 10/10 · 30 June 2022]

Its absolutely a good movie to watch! The characters plays their role very well. It somehow shows me the real moral value on how i see the life ahead of me. I really love the main character because she really gave me the feels of how i felt being at home.

BEAUTIFUL PIECE

[ahabookjewels · 10/10 · 30 June 2022]

DEAR MAYA IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL PIECE. FROM THE CHARACTER EMOTION, UP TO THEIR CHARACTER POTRAYAL AND TO THE STORYLINE, EVERYTHING IS ALMOST PERFECT. 99% PERFECT. THE STORY IS HEARTBREAKING AT SOME POINT BUT REDEEMED BY THE ENDING.

Don't miss it !

[greenwoods-15896 · 10/10 · 1 November 2020]

It has a very different and interesting story line. Manisha has proved that talent has no age bar. She has performed beautifully . Lovely heart warming story of a lady who has lost all interest in life. Two young girls try to revive her interest in life by writing love letters to her from an imaginary lover. But one day to their surprise she leaves the town in search of her secret lover. That the twist in the tale... Do watch it and this story once again proves that life is full of miracles! Wonderful watch ..loved it !

Underrated Slow-Burning Gem

[Debajyoti_Guha · 9/10 · 9 December 2021]

Sunaina Bhatnagar has worked as the assistant director to Imtiaz Ali for 3 movies, and when she directs her first, you can see the effect Imtiaz in each of her framing, lighting, set design and emotions ! With a masterclass performance by two debutantes and a legend, Sunaina has pulled off a heart warming story.

If you're looking for a simple story to make you feel good about life, and if you love slow-burns, this movie is a gem!