Story Content

The third shared in the series of successful female-fronted cop dramas in the Yash Raj Films production and franchise, Maradaani 3, releases in theaters January 30, 2026. Under the directorial hands of Abhiraj Minawala (substituting Pradeep Sarkar and Gopi Puthran of the earlier movies), the movie brings back Rani Mukerji with her popular character of a fearless ACP Shivani Shrivaji Roy. It is an account of a high-stakes race against time played by Shivani to rescue dozens of orphaned young girls kidnapped before the eyes of an unseen and ruthless trafficking and begging mafia network by having such a formidable female villain in the role of Amma (Mallika Prasad). Other cast members are Janki Bodiwala, Prajesh Kashyap, and Mikhail Yawalkar, among others, and the story addresses the morbidity of child abuse, the lack of concern, and the strength of a single shrewd policeman.

The movie lasts around 129-137 minutes (according to the sources) and has a UA 16+ certification due to the severe themes, violence, and language. Sold as dark, deadly, and brutal, it is focused on down-to-earth action, social commentary, and dominating performance portrayed by Rani herself.

Critical Review: Mixed to Positive, with Rani being the best.

There is a general consensus among critics that Mardaani 3 is a well-built, socially topical crime thriller that is already raised by a fierce lead performance by Rani Mukerji; however, predictability, franchise fatigue, and lack of the strength of the second season of the series are its weaknesses.

• NDTV (Saibal Chatterjee): 3.5/5 stars—Compliments the first half's rock-solid filmmaking and terms the acting by Rani as one of her best roles in 30 years. Comments that the second half is almost as good, and this makes the film almost a perfect genre movie.
• The Hindu (Anuj Kumar): refers to it as a Rani Mukerji film that runs out of steam in the second half. Critiques the socially topical act of shutting down child trafficking but dismisses cliched twists and melodrama and unthreatening villains.
• India Today (Vineeta Kumar): Praises Rani for standing up because nothing comes easy in a system where life can be trivialized; praises mundane action and immediacy, but it is based on an overdone module.
• Hindustan Times (Rishabh Suri): Says it keeps the audience in suspense, but it is not the quickest to watch, as it has difficulty establishing itself and repeats the tropes of such series as Delhi Crime Season 3.
• Rediff (in his service): Refers to it as the service of Rani Mukerji, her anger and fury playing off like a boss lady. Lends credence to the derivative story, values style, and grit.
• Lensmen Reviews (Aswin Bharadwaj): It is an infringement on a cliché-infested, not well-written second half full of tropes, and he claims it is a franchise misfit.
• Film Data: Says it is average fare without magic, like the previous movies; the screenwriting is not bad, but the human interest is not poignant.
• Rotten Tomatoes: Aggregates to a positive lean (efficiency and gripping elements are praised by critics), and audience popcorn meter demonstrates the average approval of a very memorable performance of Rani.
• IMDb User Reviews (good, with an average score in early samples around 7-8/10): On the one hand, there are numerous praises about the power of Rani and her social agenda (e.g., Rani stands her ground), and on the other hand, there is franchise fatigue and predictability (e.g., performance over plot).

The users rated websites such as Reddit and Quora: high scores on topics such as Rani Mukerji, an antagonist by Mallika Prasad, child actors, and action, but it is spoiled by the repetitive plot and clichés. It is a type of watch that a person will only wear once, but in a way that is not a game changer.

Box Office Performance

Following release, Mardaani 3 has performed poorly, with the following statistics on Day 7-8 (Commerce) showing:

Opening week: 26.30 crore nett in India (slow opening, 4 crore on the 1st, peak of 7.25 on Sunday, decline to 1.85 on the 7th).

Fights in the competitive environment and ambivalent word-of-mouth; the level of sales promotion has not been high, and duties on weekdays are still weak despite weekends.

Comprehensively, it can be stated that Mardaani 3 is a vehicle owned by Rani Mukerji that provides serious action and significant messages on the subject of child trafficking yet lacks the advantage and novelty of the earlier two movies. Watching it is worth her gritty performance and the grit of the franchise, but it is an efficient rather than a standout video.