In Suresh Triveni’s Maa Bahen, which streams on Netflix from June 4, the popular Triptii Dimri plays Madhuri Dixit’s daughter.
Says Triptii, “When Suresh sir (Triveni) narrated the story to me, I remembered two women from my old society. They lived alone, they were fashionable for those times, and people constantly judged them. Adults would tell us children, ‘Don’t go near them, don’t become friends with them, they are strange.’ That memory stayed with me. So when Maa Bahen came to me, I immediately thought of those women. Society judged them without even knowing them properly. And if I ever get a chance to apologise to them, perhaps this film is my way of doing it.”
About her character Triptii reveals, “Jaya is the ghar ki sushil beti (responsible and well-mannered), but she also has a strong sense of right and wrong. She’s constantly trying to manage the chaos around her, only to get pulled deeper into it. The dynamic between the two sisters (played by Triptii and social influencer Dharna Durgaa) with all the banter and madness, was one of my favourite parts.”
As for the mythical Ms Madhuri, Triptii can’t stop raving. “Sharing screen space with the legendary Madhuri Dixit, someone who made an entire generation fall in love with cinema is truly surreal.”
Maa Bahen gave Triptii a chance to relive her experiences with her real-life mother. “There is a very common perception, especially about women, where we put them into fixed brackets. We decide what their responsibilities should be and what roles they are expected to perform, whether in films or in real life. I remember growing up and seeing my mother continue doing everything for the family even when she was unwell, without receiving any real credit for it. And as children, we would still complain: ‘Yaar, aaj ye nahi kiya, aaj woh nahi kiya (she didn’t do this , didn’t do that).’ We never looked at the human side of her.But now that we’ve grown older and she shares her struggles with us, it genuinely brings tears to my eyes. How did we never see the human being behind all those responsibilities? I think this applies to almost every woman.”
