MUMBAI: Maharaj is a biographical legal drama set in the 19th century, directed by Siddharth P Malhotra. The film is produced by Aditya Chopra under YRF Entertainment. While Junaid Khan made his acting debut with this movie, Jaideep Ahlawat and Shalini Pandey play key roles. Additionally, Munjya actress Sharvari also plays a cameo role. Netflix released Maharaj on June 21, 2024, after Gujarat HC lifted its stay on the film’s release.
Also read - Junaid Khan's debut film 'Maharaj' is trending at No 1 spot on Netflix, marking a promising start!
Maharaj is based on the 1862 Maharaj libel case. The film’s story revolves around Karsandas Mulji, a journalist and social reformer who was a leading supporter of women’s rights and social change. This role was played by Junaid Khan. People are appreciating the movie, which is now rising at the top in India and creating waves on OTT. It has also been successful in maintaining its ranking in the top 10 in 22 more nations.
In an exclusive interview with Tellychakkar, director Siddharth P. Malhotra was asked why he chose Junaid Khan and why he chose to release the movie on OTT platform instead of theatres as this is Junaid Khan’s debut.
Siddharth P. Malhotra said, “Maine toh 3 saal pehle bana di yaar. 2 saal uske baad Covid aa gaya. So lots of things changed post-covid and pre-covid. A lots changed. Also that’s a decision or an answer which is above my pay-grade. It’s an answer that only Yashraj and Netflix can give you because they are the producers. They’ve been doing this for all their life, where to put it out, how to put it out, woh OTT platform pe dale,Youtube pe dale, ya Instagram Reel pe dale, that’s their call. As far as ye film logo tak pohoche, maine film banayi hai logo tak pohochane ke liye. ”
Talking about Junaid Khan, the director said, “I had interacted with Junaid Khan couple of times. Uski ek audition dekhi Laal Singh Chadha ki maine, bohot achi thi. And for Karsin I didn’t want a film hero yaar. Very clearly, film hero mil jata Yashraj banner hai, last picture aapki hit hai, toh mil jayega, but we wanted a newcomer and we wanted jisme sacchai ho, honesty ho, earnesty ho aur bohot normal insaan lagta ho. Woh filmy keeda nahi hona chahiye. Aisa lagna chahiye, raw hai yaar, yeh kaise Jaideep ke saamne khada hoga. We should feel that ke ye kaise khada hoga yaar. Junaid main who sab cheeze hai. When you get to the end, aur jab who khada reh jata hai na, toh fir aap bolte ho ke this is journey of a boy turning into a man. Junaid ne mehnat bhi bohot ki hai toh who rang la rahi hai toh we are very happy.”
This was our conversation with Siddharth P. Malhotra for Maharaj.
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