‘Maharaj’ review: A royal slog

Siddharth P Malhotra’s Maharaj is based on a centuries-old legal matter that resonates in the present. The Hindi-language Netflix release is a fictionalisation of the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862, in which a Vaishnava sect’s leader sued a Gujarati journalist for reporting that the godman was sexually exploiting his female devotees.

Sourabh Shah’s Gujarati novel Maharaj serves as the basis of Vipul Shah’s screenplay. At the Pustimarg sect’s ashram in colonial-era Mumbai, Yadunath (Jaideep Ahlawat) uses the euphemism “charan seva” to force sexual relations on young women. The progressive-minded journalist Karsan (Junaid Khan) is horrified that his fiancee Kishori (Shalini Pandey) is one of Yadunath’s victims.

Yadunath justifies his actions by claiming that he is an embodiment of God. His followers, who refer to him by the K-Popesque moniker JJ, agree. Karsan sets out to expose Yadunath with the help of other like-minded dissidents, including the feisty Viraaj (Sharvari).

Recent films and shows that have portrayed badly behaved spiritual gurus and their brainwashed devotees include Prakash Jha’s engrossing web series Aashram. Apart from reaching back in time to remind us that sexual exploitation by religious leaders as well as attempts at legal censorship are hardly new, Malhotra’s movie fails to make a case for itself.

The film is barely convincing as...

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