Maharaj Review – Engaging addition to the OMG-verse
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Director: Malhotra P. Siddharth
Writers: Sneha Desai, Vipul Mehta, Kausar Munir
“You said you’d not question my faith…”
“But I can question blind faith! You went to school but learnt nothing.”
Inspired by the real 1862 Maharaj Libel Case, the 2024 historical drama “Maharaj” stars debut actor Junaid Khan as Karsandas Mulji, a young journalist and social reformer. Karsandas finds himself in a legal battle against revered religious leader Jadunath Maharaj (Jaideep Ahlawat), who sues the journalist for publishing an article accusing him of fraud and sexual exploitation of devotees.
If the 2012 hit film “OMG: Oh My God!” was about a man dragging God to court for damages, “Maharaj” is about a godman challenging a young man in court for defamation. Both films question blind faith and the misuse of religious beliefs by powerful figures. While “OMG” did it brilliantly, “Maharaj” musters up an engaging show of strength too. I’d say its better than OMG 2 but not as good as the original 2012 “OMG: Oh My God!”. Bollywood films like these aiming to generate debate on religious beliefs and practices should get their own genre name – the OMG-verse.
There are countless instances of religious leaders across religions being corrupt predators, but the way “Maharaj” sets up the premise for its primary conflict might immediately stir up feelings of outrage among viewers, making one wonder if people were so ignorant they’d offer up their women to godmen. Regardless of historical accuracy in the depiction of events, “Maharaj” has the right intent—to show the seemingly unbelievable influence of blind faith. Besides, remember that Sati, the practice of women jumping to their deaths by throwing themselves on their husband’s pyre, was an acceptable practice until it was banned in 1829.
Debut actor Junaid Khan convincingly slips into the skin of historical character Karsandas Mulji, with his facial features echoing an old-school hero look and his acting having just the right amount of dramatic flair that fits well with the retro plot of “Maharaj”. My dad, who didn’t know anything about Junaid, expressed, “he looks like Raaj Kumar’s son” (the famous actor whose breakthrough role was in the 1957 cult-classic “Mother India”) within the first few minutes of the film. Despite her limited screen time, Shalini Pandey is charming as the naive, simplistic Kishori. It takes a while to adjust to the idea of Jaideep Ahlawat playing a religious leader, because he looks more like a warrior with his hulking figure, but as the plot progresses, he overpowers all the other characters in “Maharaj”, standing out as the despicable, arrogant, drunk-on-power Jadunath Maharaj. The character itself is so repulsive that Jaideep Ahlawat has to do very little to make him villainous, and the costuming team dresses him in fabulous robes, making him look every bit a greedy, corrupt religious godman. Sharvari Wagh is cheery-cute in her cameo as an aspiring journalist who joins Karsandas’ fight against Jadunath Maharaj.
For those expecting a tight, pacy drama, the over two-hour runtime can be tedious in the first half. The makers also squeeze in two songs, one of which could’ve easily been omitted, and neither of the two are catchy enough. The cinematography doesn’t necessarily conjure up an accurate picture of 1860s Bombay, but it offers viewers an engaging enough cinematic view of the city, with the costume department stepping up to distract your attention away from the sometimes flaky backgrounds.
The screenplay and dramatic ethos feel like an ode to 1990s/80s television. There’s a theatrical nature to it all, some parts akin to stage plays—something that I quite enjoyed but other viewers might not. I do wish the court drama could’ve been longer; only the last 30 minutes of “Maharaj” are focused on the legal proceedings, where Karsan finally faces off against Jadunath Maharaj in court. The best part of the legal drama was Jadunath’s entry—he gets a grand reception at the court from his posse of followers, like God himself has descended on earth on a heavenly chariot.
Not to be upstaged, Junaid Khan’s Karsan gets a decently moving monologue in court against leaders who take religious texts out of context and play around with words to mislead those who don’t know any better. It’s the quintessential “good versus evil” fight, where the wolf in sheep’s disguise falls from grace in the end. If you enjoy movies like “PK” and “OMG: Oh My God!”, “Maharaj” might be up your alley too.
You can stream “Maharaj” on Netflix.
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