Maaza Agadbam review: The character's size is inversely proportional to the film's entertainment value

There is a stigma attached to obesity in India, more so in the case of women. Director-actress-producer Trupti Bhoir explored this issue in Agadbam (2010). Though the film had a message against stigmatizing those euphemistically described as 'plus-size', it also focused on providing entertainment with humour.

Bhoir tries the same formula in the sequel, Maaza Agadbam. The major difference is that the sport of wrestling plays an important part in the storyline here. 

Maaza Agadbam revolves around Najuka (Bhoir), a huge woman. Despite her physical appearance, she is loved by her husband (Subodh Bhave). But she faces the brunt from her mother-in-law (Usha Nadkarni), particularly as she is unable to conceive. So, son and daughter-in-law are sent to Kaam Dev Baba, who can supposedly cure any health condition.

Najuka’s father Aaba (Jaywant Wadkar) is a former competition wrestler. He continues to wrestle in his akhada despite age-related problems. When he is called to be a guest at the wrestling world championship, he gets carried away and agrees to fight a renowned international wrestler. The result is not just severe humiliation but also injury and a stay in hospital.

Aaba rues the fact that he does not have a son who could have avenged his humiliation. This hurts Najuka and she gets into the wrestling arena to win back her father’s lost honour.

In Agadbam, the male lead (Makarand Anaspure) was forced to marry an obese woman Najuka. The conflict revolved around the man accepting her as wife. In Maaza Agadbam, Bhave’s character is already married to Najuka as he is in love with her. Hence, there is no conflict based on appearance.

The film, instead, focuses more on the issue of gender equality and how Najuka keeps from everyone the fact that she is a star wrestler. Therefore, the idea of having a bulky protagonist doesn’t serve much purpose except as a tool for humour. 

But the idea isn’t funny. Worse, it has been overused, just like we felt in the trailers of the film. The only silver lining is that the film is not as irritating as we feared from the promos. But that is not saying much. 

The wrestling scenario is impressive in terms of the production design, but it lacks logic. The competition is organized by the Maharashtra Wrestling Association. But it is a world tournament. Moreover, the international champion, from a foreign country, challenges wrestlers from Maharashtra to fight him. Why not from India if it’s a world tournament? Or is it simply to enable the playing of ‘Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji’ in the background? 

You also wonder how a newcomer can just walk in and participate in a world tournament. The suspension of disbelief is not limited to these, unfortunately. 

The prosthetic make-up department deserves special mention. To make a slim person look so huge in a believable manner is praiseworthy. Bhoir carries off well the task of making all types of moves with such prosthetics. She makes the ‘hugely’ difficult task look relatively easy. 

Coming to the other performers, Bhave gets an opportunity to showcase his class at the end. But overall, he doesn’t appear comfortable in the role of a weak individual. Usha Nadkarni is stereotypical but entertaining. 

Overall, Maaza Agadbam is not quite entertaining. And it leaves you scared when Agadbam 3 is announced at the end.