Maharaj has its heart in the right place but is otherwise all over the place. The latest collaboration between Yash Raj Films and Netflix, this Siddharth P. Malhotra-directed film is drawn from real life and focuses on the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862 argued in the Supreme Court of India, which witnessed a faceoff between a godman who threatened to sue a journalist for writing an article which claimed that the ‘Maharaj’ was a sexual predator who had, for decades, taken advantage of the gullibility of his followers to exploit them.
In the run-up to its release, Maharaj has been in the news for two reasons. First, the release of the film was delayed by over a week after a clampdown by the Gujarat High Court citing that the film could hurt religious sentiments of a certain section of society. Second, Maharaj marks the debut of Junaid Khan, superstar Aamir Khan’s son.
In Maharaj, Junaid plays Karsandas Mulji, a writer and reformer whose predilection to ask prickly questions about religion and rituals as a child spills over into his adulthood and sees him take on the might of godman Jadunath Maharaj, who, in the name of tradition, compels (or rather, conditions) his female followers to perform the ritual of ‘charan seva’, a euphemism for sex. Jaideep Ahlawat, sporting a man bun and ornate jewels and silks, plays Jadunath, his rockstar-like status earning him the moniker of JJ. This, mind you, is in 1862, almost a century before MJ (aka Michael Jackson) was born and is a trifle hard to digest.
That, of course, is not the biggest problem with Maharaj. Though earnest in its intention to tell a story long lost in the dusty annals of history, the film neither has the narrative strength nor the benefit of consistently good performances to enable it to make any kind of significant impact.
The drama is overdone, the comedy comes undone and what could have been a compelling David vs Goliath story, ultimately bites the dust.
The biggest issue that one could — and should — have with Maharaj is its lens. Karsandas, though brought up in a Vaishnavite household where several religious rituals and outdated practices are perpetuated, is portrayed as a forward-thinking young man who raises his voice against various social ills of the time, advocating for widow remarriage and condemning blind faith.
But when his fiancee Kishori (Shalini Pandey) willingly surrenders herself to the practice of charan seva, he immediately shuns her instead of attempting to change her conditioning. That leads to drastic consequences, triggering Karsan’s quest for reform and justice. But given his initial reaction — and Junaid’s limited acting ability — everything that Karsan does after doesn’t absolve him of his actions, which includes blaming and shaming Kishori.
It is this see-saw stance in the film’s leading man which makes him an unreliable hero that you can’t really root for, leaving the viewer conflicted. He appears progressive, but most of it seems a set-up in a drama which looks and feels highly sanitised, from the perfectly tailored clothes to the artificially lit sets. Everyone looks like they are at a garba costume party, with hardly anything illustrating that this story is set in Bombay of the 1860s.
Based on the book titled Maharaj by Saurabh Shah, the film feels long and repetitive. Tucked between the layers is some effective and relevant messaging about the divisive impact of religion (“dharm se zyada hingsak koi yudh nahin hota”, a character points out succinctly at one point) but Maharaj is presented in such broad strokes that very little of it leaves an impact. Unmemorable songs popping up every now and then serve to make the feel film longer.
The performances are also uneven. After her Bollywood debut with Yash Raj Films’ Jayeshbhai Jordaar, a film starring Ranveer Singh that flopped on release, Arjun Reddy girl Shalini Pandey seems to now only operate in YRF’s GCU (aka ‘Gujarati Cinematic Universe’). The young actor has potential but it remains untapped in a role that does her no favours. Jaideep Ahlawat, a fine actor in any role, carries the film on his shoulders but we are quite sure that the only brief he got for JJ was ‘sexual predator godman in fancy dress sporting a creepy smile throughout’. Sharvari, fresh from the success of Munjya, plays Karsan’s colleague and attempts to do a Geet from Jab We Met with an 1860s vibe. Safe to say that it doesn’t work.
Which brings us to our ‘person of interest’. Junaid is wet behind the ears, with his dialogue delivery often veering into theatrical territory and his expressions being limited to just a few. This is, of course, just his first film and we hope Junaid comes back stronger. We will wait for the next one.
