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Madhuri Dixit is Bollywood’s last great diva. Her sleeveless blouse is today’s dhak dhak

I only wish Maa Behen wasn't yet another morality tale with a sob-sob backstory to justify a woman’s fierce defiance of small-town morals and rules.

The subversive power of a sleeveless blouse has been cleverly exploited by the makers of Maa Behen on Netflix. The fun starts with the title itself. Really, Suresh Triveni? Begin with a notorious gaali and then build on the tropes? Ooooh, good one, Sirji. 

Persuade a super diva (Madhuri Dixit) to play the maa. Throw in the beauteous Triptii Dimri and the uber-talented Dharna Durga to play the “behen-log” and bingo—you’ve got yourself a winner. Almost. 

If only Triveni and his co-conspirator (Pooja Tolani) had let Madhuri deliriously vamp it up as a seductive, aging vixen bent on revenge, the movie would have become a savage classic. Instead, it peters out midway and ends up as yet another rona-dhona saga of a sacrificing mother named Rekha (errrr… happy coincidence?) compromising her reputation, guarding dark secrets and covering up a crime, in order to survive in a male-dominated, gossipy world. Yawwwwwn!

The star of the movie is Rekha’s sleeveless choli. It plays multiple roles and has been given a nuanced script and generous screen time, switching effortlessly from agent provocateur to a soggy gag for the drugged villain’s mouth. Between these dramatic scenes, the sleeveless choli regularly shows up as the so-called proof of Rekha’s libidinous ways. Her daughters taunt her about the lack of sleeves on her cholis, while the men in the neighbourhood leer, salivate and fantasise, each time Rekha flashes her bare arms. 

The creators successfully tap into our judgmental gaze at a bold woman’s unconventional sartorial choices. They do so in a deliciously salacious way. As a society, we are comfortable displaying bare midriffs, exposed navels, cleavage-revealing cholis, bare backs in skimpy bralets. But........

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