Angelina Jolie's Maria to release in India: Check when and where to watch

Angelina Jolie made a powerful return to the big screen with Maria, bringing the legendary opera icon Maria Callas to life. In her highly anticipated comeback, Jolie prolifically played the role of the legendary opera diva.

Directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight, the movie was released in select theatres in the United States on November 27, 2024, before streaming on Netflix. 

After a long wait, the movie is set to stream in India on May 9th, streaming only on Lionsgate Play! Known as ‘La Divina,’ Maria Callas remains one of the most iconic opera singers of all time, her voice resonating with both power and vulnerability. 

This gripping biographical drama unveils the untold stories behind Callas' rise to fame and enduring legacy, set against the dramatic backdrop of 1970s Paris. Starring Academy Award-winner Angelina Jolie in her highly anticipated comeback, the film brings to life the unparalleled opera icon with breathtaking visuals and an emotionally charged performance that fully embodies the diva’s passion, struggles, and larger-than-life spirit.

Apart from Jolie as opera singer Maria Callas, the movie stars Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Stephen Ashfield, Valeria Golino, and Kodi Smit-McPhee in supporting roles.

Talking about how she felt for the real Maria Callas, Angelina Jolie said, “I care for her deeply. I’m very moved by her, and I’m so happy we had the opportunity to show her as a human being. There’s something I learned about her, that she couldn’t see. When someone looked at the prescription glasses that she wore later in her life, they said to Pablo, “That lens, that prescription, this person’s almost legally blind.” Wow. When she was young, she couldn’t wear those glasses and be on stage. It wasn’t accepted, so she had to memorize everything very differently. When you understand that, you see this person’s survival instinct. It wasn’t that she just wanted to be this; she had to survive and hide it and find a way around it and work twice as hard.”

Continuing on, Jolie said, “Maria was pushed into singing as a young person by her mother, and when she was able to give it everything she had and be her best, she communicated something to people that was transformative. But as she got older and made choices in her life and different things happened, that same audience punished her for not being able to do that for them anymore. She had an enormous amount of pressure on her. And I think she was a very sensitive person.”

Talking about her experience of learning how to sing that way, Jolie added, “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realize I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out. So, the challenge wasn't technical, it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself. When opera singers express pain, it’s not like a little bit, it’s the biggest depth. It requires everything that you’ve got. It requires your full body, and it requires you to be full emotionally, as open and as loud, in as big a voice as you can possibly do.”