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.
