Maharaj Review: Netflix’s newest movie Maharaj has stirred quite the controversy a week before its release. Although the platform is not new to such situations, the movie will prove whether or not the vitriol is worth it or not. Directed by Malhotra P. Siddharth, the movie is based on the screenplay by Vipul Mehta and Sneha Desai.
- The movie stars Junaid Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Shalini Pandey and Sharvari Wagh. This is Khan’s debut film.
- Maharaj has a runtime of 131 minutes.
- The movie is based on real-life incidents from 1862 where Jadunathji Brijratanji Maharaj, a religious leader, filed a case against Nanabhai Rustomji Ranina and Karsandas Mulji, for libel after the latter published an article on his sexual relations with female followers.
– No Spoilers –
The problem with Maharaj is that its protagonist, Karsandas Mulji, is played by Junaid Khan. Khan is neither an arresting watch who commands screen presence, nor is he a good actor who can deliver his lines without sounding like a piece of plywood. The storyline is important, but it is told in such a passionless manner that it makes you laugh rather than anything that the creators probably wanted.
Based on a true story, the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862 was an important turning point in our history. However, Maharaj isn’t able to capture the thrill and fury that the situation probably deserves, more so when the lives of women are at stake. It focuses on Karsandas more than these women whose lives are left in shambles and who are then forcing their daughters through it as well, making us lose focus of what is really at stake. Moreover, it reduces the women in the story to mere spectators and objects for Karsandas to either love or give condescending lectures to and it is so mind-blowingly infuriating that it will make you take pause.
Shalini Pandey and Sharvari Wagh are both Karsandas’s love interests and, in spite of being completely opposite people, are somehow exactly the same. Wagh plays a manic pixie girl who is desperate for Karsandas’s affection while Pandey’s character is hardly there in the film and is only an accessory to push his fury to the next level. I am sure the real story has fewer annoyances and is probably more inspirational but the movie doesn’t do any of its characters justice by writing them in the worst way possible.
Jaideep Ahlawat plays Yadunath Maharaj, the corrupt religious leader who rapes women on the pretext of giving them salvation. Ahlawat is the only saving grace of this movie but the guy doesn’t get a lot to do and neither does his character have too many layers. That being said, he’s great in every scene he is in so that’s one thing to be thankful for.
The movie, at a whopping 2 hours and 10 minutes feels both rushed and sluggish. There is so much happening one after another without a break that we aren’t able to focus on anything well but then there are two/three full-length songs for some reason that take away from the storyline. Conflicts that characters face are solved a bit too conveniently and characters are rid of them quickly so as to make way for Karsandas to do something clap-worthy.
In the end, the movie brings a prevalent and complicated issue down to a simple storyline without nuance or vigour. The impassioned monologue has been done to death and the fact that things just start to work in Karsandas’s favour after it is not just annoying but surprisingly shameful. It makes us feel as if having tall claims in the midst of a court case is all it takes for victims who have been brainwashed and assaulted to come out in packs. As mentioned above, the movie breaks down all the complicated aspects of itself and turns it into mush to be fed to toddlers. It’s surreal.
Maharaj Review: Final Thoughts
If made well, Maharaj would’ve been an arresting and impactful watch – a retelling of the horrors faced by women at the hands of some corrupt religious organisations. Alas, there is hardly anything impactful about this movie and you’d find yourself laughing during intense or serious moments more often than not.
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I don’t think,Maharaj is a fail.movie,though the court scene is too short.
Your comment biased and overwhelming by Korean movie that you fond of.Be real.
Khan is brave enough to take the role and bold in court scene.
Maybe you are expecting more women exploitation in this movie,but the truth is women exploitation has beenarrated in movie so many times,by their expression of face.
When you expect all characters are given more space to expand,then you will see a long movie just to narrate the charecter.
I like the Korean comment, very entertaining. Thanks. 😛
Like seriously, laughing during serious or intense moments???? We’re you smoking crack while watching this film?
Throughout the screentime, I was hooked to my screen. Never taking my eyes away, as a man’s fiance is sexually abused by a fraud Maharaj of the Haveli. Who uses religious illiteracy of the population to get away with what he wants.
And then, a man challenges his setup. Finally, avenging the death of his fiance.