Director: Siddharth P Malhotra
Cast: Junaid Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Shalini Pandey, Sharvari and others.
Where: Streaming on Netflix

Maharaj could be nearly as close to being a perfect watch of the pre-independence portrayal of Bombay and the orthodox rituals of self-proclaimed godmen that existed around 1862 in popular Vaishnav tradition. Based on the book under the same title and the Maharaj Libel Case, filmmaker Siddharth P Malhotra brings a well-perceived story that is strongly influenced by a bit of Bhansali’s midas touch—possibly with the garbas, colours, or even humour.

There have been interpretations of lusty godmen done in our projects in the recent past—Prakash Jha’s Aashram franchise and Apoorv Singh Karki’s Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai—that are mostly based on the life of Aasharam Bapu, to name a few. Siddharth, who earlier helmed the films We Are Family (2010) and Hichki (2018) that are high on emotions, changed his trajectory with Maharaj. This social drama questions religious beliefs and conservative values.

Yaduraj Maharaj, aka JJ (Jaideep Ahlawat), is the torchbearer of an old ritual from the primitive era. He practices Charan Sewa and performs sexual intercourse with young girls before they get to their would-be husbands. Karsandas (Junaid Khan), a progressive journalist who is soon to get married to Kishori (Shalini Pandey), an innocent girl in the neighborhood, is against this practice.

To stop this, he joins forces with Viraj (Sharvari) and the two decide to unmask the ill intentions of JJ. Will they both succeed?

When it comes to performances, Junaid Khan impresses as a newcomer, appearing confident and at ease on screen. Choosing ‘Maharaj’ for his debut is both unconventional and bold, and Khan successfully captures the audience’s attention. Interestingly, he bears no resemblance to his father in terms of looks, style, or dialogue delivery, which works to his advantage. While his performance could use some fine-tuning, Khan shows great promise, especially in emotionally charged scenes—a challenge many young actors struggle with.

Also read: ZEE5 Global Unveils Comedy-Horror ‘Kakuda’ with Sonakshi, Riteish & Saqib

Jaideep Ahlawat is the backbone of this wobbling film. He won’t allow to move eyes from him even for a bit. His postures, pauses, and physicality are in sync with his character. The new kid on the block, Junaid, is watchable but has a long way to go. He is surely not unbearable but he is undercooked. He has to catch up a lot with his dialogue deliveries, screen techniques and so on. The girls—Shalini of Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022) fame and Sharvari of Munjya (2024) fame—are decent and play their parts with utmost justice.

Surprisingly, despite being inspired by a real case, the court scenes are the least compelling aspects of the film. The suspense and intensity usually associated with courtroom dramas is sadly missing.

Having said that we can sum it up by saying, this movie deserves more attention than controversy. It tackles the issues faced by women in yesteryear and stands by for the rights of women.

(This article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Brew News and inputs from The Free Press Journal)

Maharaj Review is a movie review for the Netlfix film Maharaj