Maharaj: A gutsy take that opens an eye to blind faith

'The devotee who does not ask questions is as incomplete as the dharma that is unable to give answers.' With these words, a community elder in the Hindi-Gujarati film Maharaj advocates rebellion against immorality in the religious establishment.

Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra, Maharaj is based on a libel suit filed by a religious leader, Jadunathji Brijratanji Maharaj, in 1862 against social reformer and journalist Karsandas Mulji in the-then Supreme Court of Bombay. This information is shared through text on screen. The source material is a book of the same name by Saurabh Shah. Mulji is played by debutant Junaid Khan, son of Aamir Khan.

Maharaj dropped quietly on Netflix on June 21, a week after its planned date, without a customary marketing campaign or any fuss over Junaid's pedigree. The delay was due to a stay order from the Gujarat High Court on a petition by members of a Hindu sect who felt the film would defame their group and hurt sentiments. Apart from this legal challenge, Maharaj has also faced threats from militant Hindutva bodies and boycott campaigns on social media. Even after the court okayed the release, the producers have kept it low-key.

This is an unusual debut for a star child, both in terms of the film's theme and minimal promotions. The latter is a smart move though.

The team behind Maharaj perhaps understood that in this moment of time, with the debate over nepotism refusing to disappear, not doing PR for the son of a star as big as Aamir might generate more curiosity than any publicity blitzkrieg would. Their decision makes double the sense keeping Maharaj's subject in mind, as majoritarianism is rampant across many parts of India, and works of art come under attack not only for what they contain, but also due to the religious identity of the artists involved.

In the news cycle, Maharaj is of particular significance because it comes right after a general election that has buoyed the liberal ecosystem.

Critiques of religion and its torchbearers have always had the potential to charge up emotions. In Maharaj, Mulji's own family is enraged when he objects to the sexual exploitation of women in the community by JJ (Jaideep Ahlawat), the character modelled on Jadunathji. Over 150 years since the episode chronicled in the film, the current combustible atmosphere in India has left little room for scrutiny of any aspect of religion.

When viewed through this lens, Maharaj is remarkable - gutsy, unequivocal in its stand against JJ, unapologetic about Mulji's non-conformism. Junaid has a screen presence and comes across as sincere. The glimpses of rawness in his craft do not detract from his charm. Ahlawat embodies arrogance and lasciviousness. In his adapted story and screenplay, writer Vipul Mehta makes no bones about his denunciation of blind faith and manipulative religious authorities.

Having said that, Maharaj gradually becomes more preoccupied with the causes it has taken up than the human beings affected by them, thus diminishing its emotional resonance. While it spells out certain points more than necessary, in certain areas it lacks clarity. It especially falls short in articulating a definition of consent in sexual relations when one party has the might of religion backing him, and in deconstructing Mulji's saviour complex, which leads him to bulldoze a woman into fighting her oppression while indulging in horrifying victim-blaming, instead of being a sensitive ally.

Maharaj remains arresting despite these failings for two reasons. First, because Mulji's battles back then find echoes in battles being fought by feminists, religious reformers and rationalists even today. Second, because no work of art can be viewed in isolation, outside the circumstances in which it has been created.

Coming as this film does from the Hindi industry that has by and large been genuflecting before the government and all right-wing forces in the past decade, it is impossible to look away from its courage.