Before delving into the connection between Maa and Shaitaan, I just want to say that Vash is better than both of them and handles the theme of sexual abuse with much more nuance than its remake and the spin-off of said remake. So, if you liked either of those 2 Bollywood films or were even mildly intrigued by their premise, you should go and watch the Gujarati movie before its sequel, Vash: Level 2, arrives in theaters on August 27, 2025 (this is not a paid promotion), and then watch that as well. You can thank me later. Anyway, coming back to the land of Hindi movies, yes, Maa is connected to Shaitaan. I thought that just because Ajay Devgn had done a horror film, his wife, Kajol, also wanted to do one. I didn’t know that they were planning a shared universe (which the internet is calling the “Beti Bachao” Cinematic Universe) and whatnot. Don’t worry, you don’t need to watch the entirety of Shaitaan to “understand” Maa because the link between them is only teased during the mid-credits. And, no, you don’t need to watch Maa to understand Shaitaan as well. With all that said, the stinger at the end of Vishal Furia’s film is kind of confusing, and you’d know that if you have watched the Vikas Bahl (ironic; so, ironic) directorial. If you don’t, allow me to explain.
Spoiler Alert
Kabir imprisoned Vanraj
At the end of Shaitaan, after a pitched physical and psychological battle with Vanraj, Kabir and Jyoti let go of their daughter, Janvi, to keep Vanraj from killing her. While Jyoti took their injured son, Dhruv, to the hospital, Kabir tracked down Vanraj and Janvi to his creepy old mansion. There, Vanraj intended to use the night of Umbra (which is basically the inner shadow caused by an eclipse) and perform an unholy ritual where he’d throw all the girls that he had “collected” over the years into a pit of fire. He was against the concept of free will (he called it God’s biggest mistake), and, according to him, that procedure would increase his powers to such an extent that he’d be able to enslave anyone within milliseconds with just the twitch of his eye. Of course, Kabir couldn’t let that happen for the sake of his daughter and all the girls who were under Vanraj’s control.
So, while Vanraj was busy gloating about his master plan, Kabir saw a window of opportunity and attacked the demon in such a way that his tongue was severed. Since the ritual was incomplete, Vanraj’s only weapon was his words. If he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t control anyone. That said, severing Vanraj’s tongue didn’t exactly break the spell. To do that, Kabir used an audio file—which he had created by using recordings of all the stuff that Vanraj had said at the Rishis’ farmhouse while toying with Janvi—which sounded like Vanraj relinquishing his hold on the girls. The following day, all the girls were reunited with their respective families, including Janvi. What about Vanraj? After a one-year time jump, we saw that Kabir had imprisoned Vanraj in an underground bunker somewhere deep in the forests of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He had kept him alive on a diet of dead rats and tea leaves, with the rotten bananas just out of his reach. Vanraj was alive but powerless to do anything. He was in a hell that Kabir had personally created for the demon.
Vanraj in Chandrapur
At the end of Maa, Ambika, powered by Maa Kali’s powers, cured all the girls that the demon, Amshaja, had possessed. Then she proceeded to rip out Amshaja’s heart from his chest and killed him. But, amidst all this chaos, she was unable to stop Amshaja from forcefully “planting his seed” in her daughter Shweta’s womb. So, while all the girls of Chandrapur, West Bengal, were able to reunite with their respective families, Ambika was left with 2 choices: killing Shweta and the fetus, thereby saving the world from eternal damnation, or letting Shweta live and give birth to Amshaja’s child, which would be the orchestrator of humanity’s extinction (I guess). Unlike all the men who had committed femicide to keep Amshaja at bay, Ambika had faced the demon and killed her too. That proved that she was willing to go to any length to save her daughter. Additionally, she had the strength to sacrifice her own daughter for the greater good. Seeing that, Maa Kali performed a magical abortion on Shweta. With Amshaja and his seed gone, the dark forest that the demon had created to store “his” girls was reduced to ashes.
During the mid-credits scene, Vanraj, wearing his hoodie, baggy pants, and boots, was seen walking through the ashy remains of that forest, seemingly absorbing whatever was left of Amshaja’s powers, and saying something along the lines of “evil can’t die until humans exist.” The most obvious question that raises is how did Vanraj get out of that bunker? Did Kabir slip up and set him loose? Did Vanraj replenish his energy by consuming a bunch of dead rats? What happened? The answer to all of those questions is, I don’t know. That said, instead of treating Maa as a sequel to Shaitaan, if we consider it to be a prequel, then it kind of makes sense. I mean, before coming across the Rishis, Vanraj had probably traveled all over the country, searching for means to perfect his black magic. When he heard about this child-abduction phenomenon in West Bengal, he went there, consumed Amshaja’s ashes, even gave himself the name “Vanraj” (because he had gotten the powers from a forest), and then used his newfound powers to create his den in the outskirts of Uttarakhand. At the cost of sounding repetitive, if Maa takes place after Shaitaan, then I guess we’ll have to wait for Shaitaan 2, which is apparently in the works, to answer how Vanraj escaped from Kabir’s clutches and made it all the way to West Bengal to script the next chapter of his demonic mission to rid the world of free will.
‘Beti Bachao’ Cinematic Universe
Just to be clear, that’s not the official name of the cinematic universe that Shaitaan and Maa are a part of. People on the internet are using that name because both of these movies are centered around the topic of “saving girls from evil demons.” It’s ironic that that’s the theme of this franchise, Vikas Bahl is involved in it, and so many people gave him the “comeback” that he was desperately craving. These movies can talk about feminism, “women power,” and modernizing myth all they want and earn hundreds of crores while doing so, but until and unless their cast, crew, and fans muster the courage to address their hypocrisy, this cinematic universe will always be as hollow as the “Beti Bachao” movement. Other than that, I don’t know what else to say. Sure, as a horror fan, I am glad that the genre is gaining so much popularity. If it doesn’t prioritize nuance over maximalism, though, these movies won’t age very well. They’ll probably be profitable because horror movies are what the Bollywood theater-going audience is consuming right now.
However, if you look at the reactions from the general public and critics, they’re mostly negative. All these movies are getting increasingly VFX- and CGI-heavy, but since Bollywood directors are not skilled enough to use such tools flawlessly, the final product is turning out to be really shoddy. So, my advice is that they should put all the focus on the writing instead of putting underpaid and overworked visual effects artists through the ringer. That’s all. I also want them to push the envelope in terms of provocative imagery and gut-wrenching scenes. But as long as this regressive and backwards CBFC is in power, and this environment of censorship and conservatism isn’t destroyed, having such expectations is pointless. Am I excited to watch a crossover between Maa and Shaitaan? No. Am I interested in watching sequels to both of those movies? Nope. Am I hyped for Vash: Level 2, though? Absolutely, yes! Anyway, those are my thoughts on the “Beti Bachao” Cinematic Universe. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
