Suresh Triveni began his directing career with the comedy Tumhari Sulu (2017) before moving into serious territory, with mixed results. Humour – black and salty – clearly works better for Triveni, as is evident in Maa Behen.

The superbly titled movie, which is out on Netflix, is about the infamous Rekha (Madhuri Dixit) and her daughters Jaya (Triptii Dimri) and Sushma (Dharna Durgaa). Rekha has walked out of the pages of a trashy pulp novel written by an easily excited man who has no idea what real women are like.

Oozing oomph in sleeveless blouses and unapologetic about her money-making schemes, Rekha is a reliable source of breathless gossip for her neighbours. Charitra Gupta (Ravi Kishan), who lives across from Rekha, especially disapproves of her. When Charitra turns up as a corpse in Rekha’s home, she hollers for help.

Jaya, who is married to the caddish Manas (Shardul Bhardwaj) and Sushma, a social media influencer, turn up most reluctantly. Charitra’s wife (Geetanjali Kulkarni) and policeman brother Maheshwari (Arunoday Singh) dial up the heat on the trio.

A meta-touch is provided by the anchor of the sensationalist crime show Khalbali, who spills on Rekha’s licentious ways. Per the Khalbali chap (Shrivardhan Trivedi), Rekha is a female Bluebeard, a disgrace to motherhood as well as...

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