Kajol’s much-anticipated return to the big screen with the horror thriller Maa is off to a promising start at the domestic box office. Directed by Vishal Furia, the film registered a strong upward trend on Saturday, pushing its two-day India net total to an estimated Rs 10.30 crore.Released in theatres on Friday, Maa collected Rs 4.65 crore net on Day 1, according to sacnilk.com. This surpassed the pre-release trade estimates that had predicted an opening in the range of Rs 3.50 to Rs 4.50 crore. The film’s production house confirmed the opening day figures on its official X handle with a poster captioned, “Fear Finds Faith – Rs 4.93 Cr Day 1 NBOC India.”On Saturday, the film saw healthy growth, adding Rs 5.65 crore to its tally, aided by increased footfalls across evening and night shows. Hindi occupancy rose to an average of 26.38% through the day, with night shows peaking at approximately 38.45%.Maa stars Kajol alongside Indraneil Sengupta, Kherin Sharma, and Ronit Roy, and follows the story of a mother who transforms into Goddess Kali to break a sinister curse rooted in fear, blood, and betrayal.Marking her first major theatrical release since Salaam Venky (2022), Kajol expressed her excitement ahead of the film’s release. “I am very excited. My film is releasing in theatres after a long time and I am extremely happy about it,” she said in a statement to ANI.The actress added, “Every actor has to reinvent himself or herself with time. I had never thought I would do a horror film, but here we are. I am extremely proud of this film. The script is quite good. I am a big mythological buff. I love our Indian mythology. We have so many stories. So, I think it was one of my favourite stories.”In her signature style, Kajol concluded, “I am very grateful that I have done this film. I think we have made a very good film. Now the audience will tell… But, Maa ki kasam, humne achhi film banai hai,” she laughed.Despite a limited release across 1,500 screens in India and facing stiff competition from Sitaare Zameen Par, Kannappa, and the Hollywood action-drama F1: The Movie, Maa has held its ground and looks poised for a solid opening weekend.
