‘Mai’ Trailer: Sakshi Tanwar Is A Mother-Turned-Avenger In Netflix’s Newest Crime Thriller Series
Hell hath no fury like a mother whose child is harmed. In the new crime drama and thriller series from Netflix, Mai, a mother loses her daughter to a dangerous world she knows nothing about. How could she, when her own little world was all about her family? What’s worse, everyone around her is willing to accept the false narrative that her daughter’s death was an accident. But not her; she wants the truth and she wants to avenge. Sakshi Tanwar, who has played the ideal bahu and maa on our TV screens long enough for us to play such a role with conviction headlines this series, produced by Karnesh Ssharma of Clean Slate Filmz, and directed by Atul Mongia, who makes his directorial debut and is also the creator, writer and showrunner. The series, which dropped its trailer today, also stars Vivek Mushran, Wamiqa Gabbi, Anant Vidhaat, Raima Sen, Ankur Ratan, Prashant Narayan, Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Seema Pahwa.
In Mai, Sakshi Tanwar plays Sheel (named after director Atul Mongia’s own mother) who finds her world come crashing down when she witnesses her daughter’s death right after her daughter tells her about something bad that happened to her. The loss of her child turns this docile and ordinary wife and mother on a path to uncover the truth. Sucked into a rabbit hole of violence and power, she finds herself entangled with white-collar crime and politics that forever change her.
As far as first impressions go, Sakshi Tanwar is playing a layered version of a role that she’s gotten down pat. And I am very keen to see how she switches between this homely housewife to a woman who will do whatever it takes to find the truth. It’s a role that gives her lots to flex. There’s Raima Sen here, playing a cop, and that’s another actor I feel needs a meaty role to really show us all she’s got. We don’t see much of her, but I guess that’s a good thing? And then, of course, there’s Prashant Narayan, one of the resident bad guys of Bollywood and TV, doing it all over again, with perhaps a fresh new spin on villainy.
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My only concern here, though, is that we’ve seen this type of a story before—a seemingly meek parent turning avenger for the sake of their child, because ain’t no bond stronger than that of a parent and a child. So it’s going to be a real challenge for Mai to give us something that leaves an impression.
Show creator Atul Mongia has said, “The series becomes unusually dramatic, yet extremely relatable, because at least on the outset, she still remains, the same humble, simple mother. Just like my mother. And possibly yours as well! The protagonist of Mai has the maiden name of my own mother, to never forget who “Sheel Chaudhary” really is. Mai, takes the concept of the homely, caring, traditional Indian mother of popular Indian Television and Hindi cinema and pits it against the true existence of the Machiavellian world out there, forcing her and us to challenge our belief systems.”
Mai will release on Netflix on April 15, 2022.
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