Dear Maa
Dear Maa (transl. Dear Mother) is a 2025 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and produced by Aashish Singh. The film marks Chowdhury's return to Bengali cinema after a decade, following his acclaimed 2014 film Buno Haansh. It explores themes of motherhood, adoption, and identity through the story of a career-driven woman who adopts a child. The film features Jaya Ahsan in the lead role, supported by Chandan Roy Sanyal, child actors Ahana and Nandika Das, Saswat...
Legal availability
Where to watch
Streaming availability can change. We only link to official platforms.
Credits and facts
Movie details
- Release date
- 18 July 2025
- Runtime
- 144 minutes
- Country
- India
- Languages
- Bengali
- Genres
- Drama, Thriller
- Director
- Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
- Writers
- Sakyajit Bhattacharya
- Cast
- Jaya Ahsan, Saswata Chatterjee, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Ahana, Nandika Das, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Anubha Fatehpuria
- Producers
- Indrani Mukherjee, Aashish Singh, Pooja Singh, Sameerr Rao, Shillpa Kataria Singh
- Production company
- ABP Studios, Flying Colours Pictures, Opus Communications, Ace Of Spades Entertainment
- Certificate
- UA 13+
Spoiler-free synopsis
Dear Maa (transl. Dear Mother) is a 2025 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and produced by Aashish Singh. The film marks Chowdhury's return to Bengali cinema after a decade, following his acclaimed 2014 film Buno Haansh. It explores themes of motherhood, adoption, and identity through the story of a career-driven woman who adopts a child. The film features Jaya Ahsan in the lead role, supported by Chandan Roy Sanyal, child actors Ahana and Nandika Das, Saswata Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee, and Anubha Fatehpuria. It was released theatrically on 18 July 2025 to positive critical reception, with particular praise for Ahsan's performance. The film was also screened in North America and Canada, with discussions about potential Oscar eligibility.
For families
Editorial guidance
Context for discussing the story and deciding whether it fits your household.
Positive messages
Constructive themes or examples.Potential constructive discussion around Dear Maa can focus on character choices, responsibility, empathy, perseverance and the consequences of decisions. Where the Drama, Thriller material creates conflict, parents can use it to discuss safer alternatives, respectful communication and how people respond to pressure. These themes are editorial discussion prompts, not claims that every one appears explicitly on screen.
Negative behaviours
Conduct that may need context.Parents should be alert to behaviour commonly associated with Drama, Thriller, including conflict, deception, fear, risky choices or emotionally intense exchanges where applicable. Because detailed scene-level evidence is not equally available for every title in this catalogue, this section avoids claiming specific acts that were not verified. Use the certified age marker when available and preview the film for especially sensitive children.
Topics to discuss
Conversation starters after viewing.Useful family discussion questions include: What motivates the central characters? Which decisions create avoidable problems? How could conflicts be handled more responsibly? Do the film's relationships model respect and consent? How does the story portray courage, loyalty, justice or forgiveness? For older children, compare entertainment choices with real-world consequences and distinguish dramatic exaggeration from healthy behaviour.
Final recommendation
Our family-viewing take
Suggested minimum age: 13+. The overall family verdict is mostly. Children below that age may need stronger parental guidance, especially if Drama, Thriller includes tension, violence, fear, crime, romance or mature emotional themes. Teen suitability improves with context and discussion. Shared family viewing is recommended when parents want to address the strongest concerns rather than relying on genre labels alone.
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