Film Review: Mayasabha: The Hall of Illusion’ – The Magic Fails to Hold

BY SHANTISWAROOP TRIPATHI

• Rating: One and a Half Stars
• Producers: Vijay Devkar, Keval Handa, Chirag Umakant Maurya, Prakash Navalkar, Girish Patel
• Writer: Rahi Anil Barve
• Director: Rahi Anil Barve
• Cast: Javed Jaffrey, Veena Jamka, Mohammad Samad, Deepak Damle
• Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes

After nearly eight long years, Tumbbad director Rahi Anil Barve returns with his second film, ‘Mayasabha: The Hall of Illusion’, which released in theatres on Friday, January 30, 2026. In certain ways, the film brings back memories of Tumbbad, as its world too revolves around gold and human greed. However, unlike his debut, Mayasabha ends up being a major disappointment.

Story

Parmeshwar Khanna (Javed Jaffrey) lives inside a dilapidated, long-abandoned single-screen theatre in Mumbai. Once a powerful and wealthy film producer, he is now mentally broken. His power has faded, he carries the pain of an old heartbreak, and the ego that once defined him now consumes him. He lives there with his teenage son Vasu (Mohammad Samad). Cut off from the outside world, the two exist like ghosts inside the theatre—trapped in time and disconnected from the city.

For years, a rumour has circulated across the city. During his days of wealth, Khanna had allegedly hidden 40 kilograms of gold somewhere inside the theatre. As his mental condition deteriorated, he forgot where the gold was hidden. That forgotten treasure keeps him imprisoned within the building—trapped by wealth lost to memory, while an unresolved heartbreak continues to haunt him like an open wound.

Mentally unstable, Parmeshwar behaves erratically. He constantly fumigates the place to drive away mosquitoes and often turns violent towards his son, forcing Vasu to wear a helmet for protection. One day, after being beaten by his father, Vasu runs away and encounters Ravarana (Deepak Damle) and his sister Zeenat (Veena Jamka). He invites them to his “home”—the theatre—for dinner.

Middle-aged, cunning, and surviving on petty thefts, the siblings present themselves as harmless. They befriend Vasu and slowly earn his trust to gain entry into the theatre. Though Khanna senses their true intentions, he begins engaging them in cryptic, puzzle-like conversations—like a cat playing with mice. In return, they too begin playing mind games with him.

The entire story unfolds over the course of a single night. The theatre transforms from a mere location into a psychological battlefield, where trust, empathy, memory, and greed become weapons. No character is entirely heroic or entirely villainous.

Khanna’s unstable mind, sharp intelligence, and his unspoken hold over his son make the night increasingly dangerous. As the night progresses, masks fall away, and the search for gold slowly turns into an exploration of the characters’ darkest past secrets.
By dawn, the revelation that unfolds is completely unexpected.

Review

Mayasabha: The Hall of Illusion’ is a tightly contained psychological drama set over one night, where desire, power, and illusion play their games until the very end. While Rahi Anil Barve succeeds in creating an intriguing world, he fails to deliver a compelling payoff.

Exaggerated, repetitive, and slow-paced, Mayasabha relies heavily on its mysterious aesthetic and design. Both the screenplay and direction feel weak and underwhelming.

Barve treats the theatre almost like a stage, filling the space with film props, abandoned objects, and items that silently testify to Parmeshwar’s suffering. The floors are coated with dirt; moss creeps up the walls. Even the decaying Duchampian-style urinal in the bathroom becomes visually striking. Cinematographer Kuldeep Mamania, often shooting through dense fog, bathes the frames in the yellow hue that Zeenat and Ravarana obsessively chase.

Within this cautionary tale about greed lies a tender story of a boy trying to find the strength to escape the allure of illusion—but due to weak writing, this emotional core never fully emerges.

Performances

Javed Jaffrey delivers a powerful performance as the mentally unstable Parmeshwar Khanna, portraying the character’s eccentric psyche with complete sincerity. Veena Jamka holds her ground as the sharp-minded Zeenat. Mohammad Samad brings an appealing innocence to the role of Vasu, a boy devoted to his erratic and orthodox father. Despite limited screen time, Deepak Damle leaves a strong impression as Ravarana.