{ "id": "epfzhwvkt5", "slug": "mai", "title": "Mai", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.indian_southasian_webseries", "label": "Indian and South Asian web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.indian_southasian_webseries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.indian_southasian_webseries.yr-2021-2025", "label": "Premiered 2021 to 2025", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.indian_southasian_webseries.yr-2021-2025" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "India · 2001 to 2020: Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001", "label": "India · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Mai (मई) is a 2013 Hindi family drama directed by Mahesh Kodiyal, marking singer Asha Bhosle's only acting debut at 79 as a mother with Alzheimer's, with Padmini Kolhapure and Ram Kapoor; distinct from the 2022 Netflix series Mai.", "snippet": "Mai (मई) is a 2013 Hindi family drama directed by Mahesh Kodiyal, marking singer Asha Bhosle's only acting debut at 79 as a mother with Alzheimer's, with Padmini Kolhapure and Ram Kapoor; distinct from the 2022 Netflix series Mai.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.indian_southasian_webseries.yr-2021-2025", "markdown": "# Mai\n\n**Mai** (Hindi: मई) is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language family drama directed by Mahesh Kodiyal, starring the playback singer [Asha Bhosle](https://www.edgepedia.org/asha-bhosle) in her first and only acting role as an elderly mother with Alzheimer's disease who is passed among her four grown children until her eldest daughter takes over her care.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mai) • [2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-mahesh-kodiyal-on-approaching-asha-bhosle-to-act-in-mai-she-looked-sternly-and-asked-gana-gaane-bulaya-tha-na-director-also-shares-why-it-wasn/) It was released in India on 1 February 2013.[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/mai/movie-review/18287277.cms)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 1 February 2013, India, limited theatrical release; Hindi language[4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/mai-hindi) |\n| Director and writer | Mahesh Kodiyal, who also wrote the story, screenplay, and dialogues with Manoj Tapadia[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/index.htm) |\n| Cast | Asha Bhosle (Mai), Padmini Kolhapure (Madhu), Ram Kapoor (Subhash), Shivani Joshi, Navin Kaushik, Anupam Kher in a cameo[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/mai/movie-review/18287277.cms) • [2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-mahesh-kodiyal-on-approaching-asha-bhosle-to-act-in-mai-she-looked-sternly-and-asked-gana-gaane-bulaya-tha-na-director-also-shares-why-it-wasn/) |\n| Significance | Asha Bhosle's acting debut, made at age 79, and Mahesh Kodiyal's first film as director[6](https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/asha-bhosle-death-mai-director-revisits-moment-he-saw-actor-in-the-music-icon-23625613) • [7](https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/asha-bhonsle-will-surprise-in-mai-padmini-kolhapure/story-8Z7Y16MFzTSi2qcnzSN5iN.html) |\n| Music | Nitin Shankar; Bhosle sings the lullaby \"Chanda Ki Bindiya\"[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/index.htm) • [3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/mai/movie-review/18287277.cms) |\n| Runtime and certificate | 1 hour 45 minutes (105 minutes); certified U in India[8](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/guntur/mai/ET00011066) |\n| Reception | Times of India critic rating 2.5/5; users' rating 2.8/5 from 190 votes[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/mai/movie-review/18287277.cms) |\n| Availability | Buy or rent on Amazon Video and the Apple TV Store[9](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/mai) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nMai (Asha Bhosle), an uneducated woman from rural [Maharashtra](https://www.edgepedia.org/maharashtra) who came to the city after marriage, raised three daughters and a son alone after her husband died when the son was about three years old, working as a housemaid to make ends meet.[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/index.htm) In old age she develops Alzheimer's disease, and her children shuffle her back and forth rather than accept responsibility for her.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mai) Her son Munna, on whom she had placed her greatest hopes, takes a job in the United States and leaves her; her two younger daughters also decline to care for her.[10](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/4085/review.htm)\n\n**Madhu's choice.** The eldest daughter, Madhu ([Padmini Kolhapure](https://www.edgepedia.org/padmini-kolhapure)), a self-made advertising professional in her late 30s, takes her mother in against the wishes of her journalist husband Subhash ([Ram Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/ram-kapoor)) and her college-age daughter Charu, who say they need space.[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/mai/movie-review/18287277.cms) • [5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/index.htm) As Mai's condition worsens, she slips in and out of confusion and relives past moments in the present; the strain on Madhu's marriage and work grows until her deteriorating mother forces her to quit her job.[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/index.htm) • [8](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/guntur/mai/ET00011066) The relationship between Mai and her son-in-law takes a turn that changes his life.[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/index.htm)\n\n## Production and casting\n\nKodiyal originally approached Asha Bhosle only to sing a lullaby for the film. During the song recording, seeing her without make-up in a simple saree, he decided she was right for the title role and, encouraged by the producer, asked her to act; she agreed immediately.[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-mahesh-kodiyal-on-approaching-asha-bhosle-to-act-in-mai-she-looked-sternly-and-asked-gana-gaane-bulaya-tha-na-director-also-shares-why-it-wasn/) In a 2011 interview with PTI, the then 77-year-old singer said she took the project, then titled *Maaee*, for \"fun\", describing it as a story set in Mumbai's urban upper middle class with a social message.[11](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/asha-bhosle-to-star-in-bollywood-film/20110302.htm) She said the title moved her because it was the name her family used for their own mother.[11](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/asha-bhosle-to-star-in-bollywood-film/20110302.htm)\n\nPadmini Kolhapure, Bhosle's real-life niece, was cast as the elder daughter on Bhosle's own suggestion, on the grounds that working with a family member would be comfortable.[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-mahesh-kodiyal-on-approaching-asha-bhosle-to-act-in-mai-she-looked-sternly-and-asked-gana-gaane-bulaya-tha-na-director-also-shares-why-it-wasn/) The film was produced by Nitin Shankar and Subhash Dawar through Alliance Entertainment and Rhythm D'vine Entertainment, with cinematography by Sachin Kumar Krishnan and editing by Ashish Amrute.[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/index.htm) • [4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/mai-hindi) Its premiere at Cinemax Versova in Mumbai on 31 January 2013 drew Bollywood figures including [Amitabh Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/amitabh-bachchan), Sridevi, Kajol, and [Anil Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/anil-kapoor).[12](https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/star-studded-premiere-for-asha-bhosles-acting-debut-mai-631544)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritics rated the film middling and singled out Bhosle's performance. The Times of India gave it 2.5 out of 5, calling her performance heartrending but the subject clichéd, and praising the mother-daughter bond scenes while criticizing the melodrama and hazy cinematography.[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/mai/movie-review/18287277.cms) Nowrunning's Mansha Rastogi wrote that the film deserved a watch for Bhosle's \"stupendous acting debut\" and noted that Kodiyal sensitively captured the deterioration caused by Alzheimer's, but judged that without the debut the film would have gone unnoticed given its reliance on familiar Bollywood formulas.[10](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/4085/review.htm) Filmfare's Rachit Gupta called Bhosle the film's selling point but found the writing and direction weak, comparing its plot to *Baghban*.[13](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-mai-2269.html) A dementia-care resource site judged the film's medical depiction fairly complete, showing diagnosis, typical changed behaviors such as wandering and confusion, and family reactions, while noting that Mai's deterioration proceeds unusually fast.[14](https://dementiacarenotes.in/resources/indian-movies-depicting-dementia/)\n\n## Other works with the same title\n\nThe name Mai has been used for unrelated films and series. A 2022 Hindi Netflix series titled *Mai*, created by Atul Mongia and directed by Mongia with Anshai Lal and produced by Clean Slate Filmz, stars [Sakshi Tanwar](https://www.edgepedia.org/sakshi-tanwar) as a mother investigating her daughter's death, with a cast including [Raima Sen](https://www.edgepedia.org/raima-sen), Wamiqa Gabbi, and [Seema Pahwa](https://www.edgepedia.org/seema-pahwa); it began streaming on Netflix on 15 April 2022.[15](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/mai-thrusts-a-gentle-sacrificing-mother-into-a-machiavellian-world-chat-with-atul-anshai-and-tanya-bami/cid/1860421) *Mai Ratima* (2012) is a Korean film directed by Yoo Ji-tae about a Thai woman who marries into a Korean family.[16](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/lifestyle/mai-ratima-tackles-the-challenges-of-a-multicultural-korea/10127382)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Mai, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mai)\n2. [Mahesh Kodiyal on approaching Asha Bhosle to act in Mai, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-mahesh-kodiyal-on-approaching-asha-bhosle-to-act-in-mai-she-looked-sternly-and-asked-gana-gaane-bulaya-tha-na-director-also-shares-why-it-wasn/)\n3. [Mai Movie Review {2.5/5}, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/mai/movie-review/18287277.cms)\n4. [Mai, Moviebuff](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/mai-hindi)\n5. [Mai (2013), Nowrunning movie page](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/index.htm)\n6. [Mahesh Kodiyal on directing Asha Bhosle's debut film Mai, Mid-Day](https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/asha-bhosle-death-mai-director-revisits-moment-he-saw-actor-in-the-music-icon-23625613)\n7. [Asha Bhonsle will surprise in Mai: Padmini Kolhapure, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/asha-bhonsle-will-surprise-in-mai-padmini-kolhapure/story-8Z7Y16MFzTSi2qcnzSN5iN.html)\n8. [Mai (2013), BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/guntur/mai/ET00011066)\n9. [Mai streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/mai)\n10. [Mai Movie Review by Mansha Rastogi, Nowrunning](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9159/bollywood.hindi/mai/4085/review.htm)\n11. [Asha Bhosle to star in Bollywood film, Rediff.com](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/asha-bhosle-to-star-in-bollywood-film/20110302.htm)\n12. [Star-studded premiere for Asha Bhosle's acting debut Mai, NDTV](https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/star-studded-premiere-for-asha-bhosles-acting-debut-mai-631544)\n13. [Movie Review: Mai, Filmfare](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-mai-2269.html)\n14. [Indian movies depicting dementia, Dementia Care Notes](https://dementiacarenotes.in/resources/indian-movies-depicting-dementia/)\n15. [Mai thrusts a gentle, sacrificing mother into a Machiavellian world, The Telegraph India](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/mai-thrusts-a-gentle-sacrificing-mother-into-a-machiavellian-world-chat-with-atul-anshai-and-tanya-bami/cid/1860421)\n16. [Mai Ratima tackles the challenges of a multicultural Korea, Korea JoongAng Daily](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/lifestyle/mai-ratima-tackles-the-challenges-of-a-multicultural-korea/10127382)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Indian and South Asian web series › Premiered 2021 to 2025*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/mai", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/mai.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Mai\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/mai. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Mai](https://www.edgepedia.org/mai)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/mai](https://www.edgepedia.org/mai). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Mai\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/mai. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Mai is a 2013 Hindi family drama directed by Mahesh Kodiyal, marking singer Asha Bhosle's only acting debut at 79 as a mother with Alzheimer's, with Padmini Kolhapure and Ram Kapoor; distinct from the 2022 Netflix series Mai." }