Maharaj

The film is strictly passable: its very specific time and place and lead character is buried under trademark Yashrajification, in which the colour palette, the songs-and-dances, the stereotypical characterisation, the dialogue-heavy confrontation, and everything else comes off generic. Does Junaid Khan have that very special something papa had, and still does? He is passable, like the film.

MAHARAJ makes an important comment on religious hypocrisy and social reform, presenting a meaningful historical narrative with solid performances.

... full points to director Siddharth P Malhotra for ably handling a sensitive film like this. It must have been like walking a tightrope. Well, the grip did falter a bit, but he did successfully manage to walk across.

Despite the odds, what keeps the film afloat and relevant is the spirited performances of the newcomers and its fight against the bhakt culture. The story is important even today and courageous in its fight that dares to differentiate dharm from andh shraddha.

Maharaj's mediocre social drama lacks the spine and spunk to recreate the relevance of revolutionary decisions in the face of religious fanaticism. What unfolds though is a jaded, wobbly commentary that has the mind of a monotonous television serial and the face of a mainstream Bollywood masala.

Though Maharaj has powerful storytelling, it lacks impact overall. Jaideep Ahlawat delivers a terrific performance, but the film's execution falls short of its ambitious premise about fighting 'bhakt culture' in a pre-independence setting.