What Alia Bhatt attempted at 19, Asha Bhosle does at 79 in ‘Mai’. But that's where the similarities between the AB debutantes ends. Mahesh Kodiyal’s film feels like old wine in an older bottle and even though Bhosle's peformance isn't godawful, this film hardly ever hits the right chords.

What’s it about?
Madhu (Padmini Kolhapure) and her husband Subhash Joshi’s (Ram Kapoor) family life is disrupted when her brother Munna (Naveen Kaushik) decides to move to the United States for three years. Refusing Munna’s suggestion that they send their mother (Asha Bhosle) to an old age home, Madhu decides to bring her to her house instead. With no support from her husband and daughter about the new arrangement, Madhu’s woes increase when she finds out that her Mai’s forgetfulness is due to Alzheimer's disease. Things get from bad to worse when Mai forgets how to wear her sari or when she sits down for a meal right after a heavy dinner. While Subhash, a journalist receives recognition for his work, Madhu refuses a promotion to take care of her mother.

Loosely inspired by 'Bhagban’, ‘Mai’ starts off as a story on the done-to-death topic of how children should (but don’t) take care of their parents. A teenage granddaughter who doesn’t like making adjustments, (there is even a song with lyrics like 'learn to adjust') predictably turns over a new leaf just like in Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini-starrer.

To be fair, Asha Bhosle does a decent job - far better than other singers who've recently turned actors but it's hardly a role worth boasting about (here's looking at you Bappi da). Although some of her scenes as an Alzheimer’s patient are touching, the badly written dialogues and shoddy set ups spoils the mood. Padmini Kolhapure and Ram Kapoor also hold up the fort in the acting department, but the stale concept drowns out their best efforts.

What to do?
Listen to an old Asha Bhosle melody instead of watching ‘Mai’ and keep your love for this legend intact.

in.com rating: 1/5

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