In his review, critic Arnab Banerjee examines how Mardaani 3 revives Shivani Shivaji Roy with urgency and moral force, while questioning whether the franchise’s familiar terrain limits its emotional and narrative ambition.

Cast: Rani Mukerji, Janki Bodiwala, Mallika Prasad

Director: Abhiraj Minawala

Cinematography: Artur Zurawski

Duration: 137 minutes

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Relentless Return That Treads Familiar Ground 

The inherent dilemma of a successful franchise lies in its creative confinement. Once a central premise has been firmly established, subsequent chapters often circle familiar terrain, offering variations rather than reinvention. Mardaani 3 is no exception. Shivani Shivaji Roy returns once more—unyielding, razor-sharp, and morally incandescent—to dispense justice, this time in pursuit of girls who vanish without a trace.

As ever, the narrative is driven by urgency. Mercy is a luxury no one can afford, least of all Shivani, whose steely resolve and brusque authority remain undiluted. She is unflinching with criminals and colleagues alike, a figure who commands fear and respect in equal measure, and whose physical ferocity is matched by her moral certainty.

The film announces its intentions early with a brisk, no-frills opening that plunges us into its chosen social malaise. Two girls are abducted from a farmhouse in Bulandshahr—one the daughter of a powerful official, the other the child of a caretaker. The disparity in their social standing is deliberate and telling. As pressure mounts on the police to act swiftly, it becomes evident that this crime is merely a fissure in a far larger, more sinister operation.

Performance Anchored by Familiar Strength

Rani Mukerji’s return as Shivani is both assured and commanding. She inhabits the role with an ease born of familiarity, portraying a police officer relentless in her pursuit of a child-trafficking syndicate linked to the beggar mafia. While Mardaani 3 treads ground familiar to the parade of crusading cop dramas that Bollywood routinely produces, it distinguishes itself—if modestly—through narrative clarity and a taut, purposeful thrust that separates it from its predecessors.

At the heart of Shivani’s investigation is Amma (Mallika Prasad), a formidable trafficker whose network targets pre-pubescent girls from society’s margins. A botched kidnapping in a small Uttar Pradesh town sends shockwaves to Delhi, forcing the authorities to intervene at the highest level. Shivani’s hunt for a diplomat’s missing daughter leads her deeper into Amma’s brutal empire—one shaped, disturbingly, by the antagonist’s own history of exploitation.

The film positions Shivani as a Durga-like figure in uniform, fiercely protective of women and children, navigating jurisdictions with tactical agility. From Delhi to Bulandshahr, Sikar, Jaipur, and eventually Colombo, she pieces together the puzzle with the help of her team, including rookie cop Fatima Anwar (Janki Bodiwala), whose struggle to assert herself in a male-dominated workspace adds a faint but welcome texture to the proceedings.

Moral Ambiguities and Supporting Players

As the net tightens, Shivani confronts Amma, whose reach spans a shadowy global network revealed fully only in the final act. A supporting character of note is a young NGO worker (Prajesh Kashyap), ostensibly devoted to rescuing street children, whose presence complicates the moral landscape.

Directed with functional precision by Abhiraj Minawala and written by Aayush Gupta along with Deepak Kingrani and Baljeet Singh Marwah, Mardaani 3 is efficient, lean, and largely engaging. It balances star power with procedural momentum, rarely overstaying its welcome. Yet, beneath its slick surface, the film feels curiously undernourished. The subplots—particularly those involving Shivani’s personal life and her perpetually supportive husband (Jisshu Sengupta)—remain sketchy, missing an opportunity to deepen the protagonist beyond her professional armour.

Visual Craft and Final Assessment

Artur Zurawski’s cinematography is a clear strength, his lens adeptly modulating light and shadow to mirror the narrative’s shifting moods, lending visual polish to an otherwise straightforward treatment.

None of this renders Mardaani 3 unwatchable. On the contrary, Mukerji’s performance anchors the film with authority and conviction, reminding us why Shivani Shivaji Roy continues to resonate. However, should the franchise extend to a fourth instalment, one hopes for a more layered antagonist and a secondary narrative that feels organic rather than obligatory. If the same writing team returns, they will need to dig deeper—into character, complexity, and consequence—to justify Shivani’s next call to action. As of now, it’s efficient, earnest—but hemmed in by its own legacy.

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