Mardaani 3 Review 2026: Third Part Curse Attacks Rani Mukerji New Film

Mardaani 3 Plot

Two young girls, Ruhani (Avanee Joshi) and Jhimli, are abducted from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh and taken to the hideout of the dangerous beggar mafia queen, Amma (Mallika Prasad). Out of the two, Ruhani is the daughter of India’s ambassador to Turkey, Sahu (Indraneel Bhattacharya). 

As the case becomes high profile, Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukerji) is put in charge of this case. While the cop is afraid that both girls will either be killed or trafficked, Shivani asks Sahu to announce that anyone who helps in finding his daughter will be awarded Rs. 2 crore.

Gangster Pinku (Aadesh Pandit) and his gang, who kidnapped Ruhani from Bulandshahr, are attracted by this offer, and to get the money, they extract her from Amma’s hideout. Meanwhile, Shivani is under pressure to find Ruhani rather than Jhimli, the second girl kidnapped, or nabbing Amma. However, Shivani keeps her focus on them all. How she handles the case ahead forms the rest of the film.

The Minimal Positive Aspects

Rani Mukherji’s Mardaani 3 starts off really well, revealing every card of thrills, drama, intensity, conviction, and logic that it has to offer. The film begins at a good pace and carries that pace throughout the first half, even though it is a buildup of what is set to happen in the second half. 

The Countless Negative Aspects

The second half, when compared to the first half, can be called an equivalent of unbearable. This is because in the second half, every sequence is logicless, boring, and even the villain disappoints with her performance and dialogues, something which is the USP of the Mardaani franchise. The many elements that disappoint make it seem like the two halves of Mardaani 3 duration that you see in the Mardaani 3 showtimes were helmed by two different directors.

Need for a Better Villain

Whether it be Avengers: Endgame, Baahubali, or Mardaani 2, the backstory of an antagonist is what makes it great. In the case of this Rani Mukherji new film, Amma is not a senseless machine of evil deeds, but her backstory is totally illogical, which you cannot even understand in simple words. Of what use is the backstory then? Only the writers know.

More Twists Than Maggi

Many writers wrongly think that a good thriller is made based on how many twists it has, and the team of writers of this Rani Mukerji starrer seems to be a great example of that. How the illogical plot points with twists and turns take over the entire second half is through the actions of Shivani. 

Spoiler alert: Shivani is denied permission to save any other girl or catch the main antagonist, or do anything other than find Ruhani and get her back home. This permission is denied to her by the senior officials. Some conversation scenes of Shivani tell the audience why Shivani should chase a suspect, but not the senior,  but why? The answer is simply because the writers could not find any other twist or turn to add.

The absurdity of the plot continues when Mardaani goes international as Shivani travels internationally for her investigation. This leads to several questions, like how she is travelling so far away without the permission of her seniors, how she is financing all this in such a short time, and how she even built her own team. Ye raaz bhi Shivani ke saath chala gaya.

What Happened to Good Character Writing?

On top of all this, near the climax, Shivani is promised a medal and an apology on the completion of this operation by the same seniors as well as the ambassador whom she disobeyed earlier. However, if you have digested the many illogical plot points with a heavy heart, you should manage this one too, because just like how Aayush Gupta, Deepak Kingrani, and Baljeet Singh Marwah digested the boundaries of creative liberty and did not care about them later. Even Saif Ali Khan must not have twisted so much in Love Aaj Kal.

Shivani Should Retire Now

Besides the thrills, even the moments of drama are not left spared. In serious scenes, Rani Mukerji as Shivani refers to the POCSO Act as POSCO Act, instantly making you laugh. If you are getting to laugh during such a film, it is a clear hint of whether it deserves your money or not. 

Such mistakes also hamper the reputation of the character. Another similar instance was when the main antagonist was present in front of her, yet escaped, which should not be the case with an intelligent and sharp officer. Rather, the leading cop focuses on ineffective moral policing throughout the film. 

An OTT Film Accidentally Dumped in Theaters

A no-nonsense female cop doing everything possible in the world to catch a criminal and permanently shut down a crime syndicate for good – this is a plot tried and tested by numerous films as well as web series available across different OTT platforms. The only difference between them and Mardaani 3 is that it is a franchise film released theatrically. 

When you have watched many great films of a particular plotline, no matter the genre, you expect the next one to be a bit unique in its overall writing or treatment. In the case of this cop thriller, the many flaws that you can notice in the film, particularly in the second half, are because you have watched too many of such stories to think of what could have been better in the story, while some damage is caused by the comparison to its great first half, too.

A Technically Rich YRF Film? Yes

The cinematography of this thriller drama is great and fits the feel of the movie. As for the music, there is not much use of songs in the film, but the BGM keeps you hooked in thrilling and dramatic scenes. Including the VFX, there are no complaints for the technical aspects of this film, which are otherwise consistent for a YRF movie.

Was Mardaani 3 Cast Unpaid?

What a thriller drama demands as the bare minimum for itself is great performances from the whole cast. However, in Mardaani 3, the audience has been left to suffer to watch good performances, only to find none at the end.

Rani Mukerji is the only member from the Mardaani 3 cast who acts well, but seems to go overboard at several instances. The poor aspects arise due to poor and immature dialogues, which were not there to harm her character or her acting in the earlier two installments.

Meanwhile, Janki Bodiwala has not stepped out of the zone of Vash and Shaitaan and seems to have left her acting talent on their sets only as she fails to impress. Similarly, the rest of the leading cast, including Mallika Prasad as Amma, is decent but not up to the level of the villains of the previous parts. What stands to be a major problem in her specific case is that you do not hate her with your heart and mind, whose fault also goes to the writing, which is already full of flaws.

Though the performance of the antagonist seemed good in the Mardaani 3 official trailer, it is only after watching the film that you get to know that the countable good scenes of her were included there as bait.

When you think of it, there is nothing that the actors could even do when the script and dialogues they have been given have been written by deadlines and sleepy heads rather than actual functioning minds.

Our Final Verdict

As long as you are watching the first half of Mardaani 3, the movie feels like a great thriller and an even better product than the first two parts. However, the curse steps into the game in the second half and results in an overall weak and uninteresting film, which could have been much better with improvements in the latter half. 

Though the fault lies majorly in the writing department, director Abhiraj Minawala is a part of those faults, as being the captain of the ship, he let the film suffer from so many blunders. However, what can we expect from the director of Loveyatri?

Overall, neither does Mardaani 3 in cinemas 2026 nor on the Mardaani 3 OTT release date does the Rani Mukerji starrer deserve your watch.