Mardaani 3 makes its position clear from the very outset: Rani Mukerji is not just the face of the franchise, she is the franchise.
Shivani Shivaji Roy owns the territory, and everyone else is merely operating within it. The plot, the conflicts, even the villains in this Abhiraj Minawala-directed film exist largely to deify our supercop.
Like the previous two instalments, Shivani here is stern, impatient, and morally uncompromising. Shivani wants justice, and she will go to any lengths to achieve it.
Mardaani 3 opens with a rescue operation in the Sunderbans, where Shivani busts a human trafficking racket singlehandedly. From there, the story moves to Delhi, where the kidnapping of two girls prompts an NIA probe. One missing girl is the daughter of a powerful bureaucrat, and the other is the child of his caretaker. The contrast is obvious, and the narrative builds on this imbalance.
Shivani is ‘promoted’ to the NIA overnight so that she can head the rescue operation for the two girls. The bureaucrat, and the system keep reminding Shivani that the daughter of the bureaucrat is the real asset. But she is steadfast in her goal to free both the girls.
Shivani’s pursuit leads her to the beggar mafia, a world built on abducted children. The queen of this underworld is Amma (Mallika Prasad), who rules with an iron fist. She is your textbook Hindi-film villain and Prasad plays her with an unsettling menace.
There is a second villain who is revealed during the interval block. Giving away their identity would be a spoiler. However, Mardaani 3 villains fail to match the level of menace that Tahir Raj Bhasin or Vishal Jethwa inspired in the first two films.
Narratively, Mardaani 3 sticks to a familiar cop-thriller structure. Shivani remains in control for much of the runtime, anticipating moves and outpacing her opponents, until the story requires her to be outmanoeuvred right before the interval. The twists can be recognised from a mile away and the film doesn’t pretend to be reinventing the genre.
There are also moments that echo Delhi Crime Season 3, particularly in Shivani’s restrained fury and focus on the procedural. At times, Shivani reminds you of Shefali Shah’s Vartika Chaturvedi. But the similarity ends with the plot. Mardaani 3 is firmly rooted in mainstream Hindi cinema. It values big-screen masala over realism, and it isn’t shy about the narrative choice.
What ultimately carries the film is Rani Mukerji’s absolute control over the role. She dominates the screen without theatrics, often relying on communicating her fury through her eyes. Her face becomes the film’s emotional mirror. Even when the writing takes predictable turns, Rani’s performance keeps the film anchored.
The film also finally allows itself a moment of unabashed heroism. There’s a slow-motion action sequence clearly designed to elevate Shivani into the league of Hindi cinema’s larger-than-life super-cops like Bajirao Singham.
The supporting cast is largely forgettable. Janki Bodiwala plays a young constable who slowly becomes a hardened cop under Shivani’s shadow. Jisshu Sengupta remains underutilised as Shivani’s husband. Once again, the film sidesteps the emotional cost of being married to someone who lives in constant proximity to violence.