The recent Netflix release Maharaj is, like most Bollywood dramas, mediocre. The pall of 바카라male saviour바카라 never leaves it, and its sanctimonious hero ensures that the movie plods via preachy monologues. Which is a pity because the source material, an 1862 libel case, makes for a powerful and relevant story. Set in Bombay, the film revolves around the conflict between a journalist, Karsan (Junaid Khan), and a religious leader, JJ (Jaideep Ahlawat), who in the guise of charan seva sexually exploits his followers. When Karsan바카라s fiancé, Kishori (Shalini Pandey), falls prey to him and dies by suicide, he exposes JJ through a searing editorial that sparks the libel lawsuit.
Around the halfway mark, drenched in a downpour, Karsan reaches JJ바카라s temple to rain on his parade. A wide staircase separates the two, making JJ tower over him. It바카라s a rare nice scene, where delicious dialogues drive the war of words. 바카라Ishwar paap dhota hai, bota nahin hai, JJ [God cleanses, not creates, sins],바카라 thunders Karsan. This confrontation doubles up as a metaphorical tussle바카라between power and powerless, divinity and rationality, prayer and protest바카라which is still relevant in Indian democracy. Because just like a politician betrays a voter, here, a priest has betrayed a follower.
Karsan looks like many young voters itching to rail their grievances, and he does so through a method alien to the dictatorial leader: dissent. 바카라Whether someone says anything or not, I will,바카라 he adds. 바카라I바카라ll both raise questions and publish articles on you.바카라 The ice-cold JJ opens his eyes바카라almost about to smile바카라and says, 바카라Aj ka lekh kal ka raddi hota hai, Karsan Das. Sanatan sirf dharma hota hai [today바카라s papers are tomorrow바카라s scrap. Only religion is eternal].바카라 Karsan retorts, hammering a crucial difference: 바카라Now I바카라ll fight바카라not against dharma but against its gatekeepers.바카라 Many people in Ayodhya had told me something similar last month when, after the BJP바카라s electoral defeat in their constituency, they had to 바카라prove바카라 their Hinduism: 바카라It바카라s believed that if we vote for the BJP only then we바카라re considered Hindus. So the people of Ayodhya want to say something to the BJP: we don바카라t want your certificate.바카라
If the Ayodhya story can be interpreted as how Hindutva consumes itself, then Maharaj바카라s censorship controversy echoed the same theme. A few weeks before its release, the Bajrang Dal accused the movie바카라s producer, Yash Raj Films, of 바카라vilifying Hinduism바카라, 바카라disrespecting Lord Krishna바카라, and 바카라offending the feelings of Hindus바카라. But, quite ironically, the film바카라s literary source material, the Gujarati novel Maharaj, was written by a Hindutva ideologue, Saurabh Shah.
When JJ finds out that Karsan has published the article, he closes the temple바카라s gates, forcing him to apologise. Since many devotees break their fast only after their morning prayers, JJ바카라s power move fulfils two distinct ends: instigating his followers to attack JJ and telling them, indirectly, who the real God is. Karsan, however, brings the idol바카라s photo outside the temple and urges them to pray to it. 바카라He himself has taught us, right?바카라 Karsan asks. 바카라That God is everywhere. Then isn바카라t this also Shri-ji? Why can바카라t we just pray to Him and break our fast?바카라 This reduction of God to a person or a party also finds resonance in today바카라s times. Consider the recent Parliamentary session, where Rahul Gandhi, pointing towards the treasury bench, said, 바카라Those who call themselves Hindus [indulge in three main things] 24 hours: hinsa, hinsa, hinsa. Nafrat, nafrat, nafrat. Asatya, asatya, asatya [violence, hatred, and falsehood].바카라 Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, 바카라Calling the entire Hindu society 바카라violent바카라 is a serious issue.바카라 To which Gandhi replied, 바카라Narendra Modi is not the whole Hindu society. The BJP is not the whole Hindu society. The RSS is not the whole Hindu society.바카라
In Maharaj바카라s climax, when JJ바카라s attorney accuses Karsan of exacting revenge through the lawsuit, he contextualises his motive through an argument that, just like the above two scenes, says as much about the past as the present. 바카라My respect towards my religion is more than ever. But I바카라m angry at those who use its ideals and purity for their own benefit.바카라 A case as old as 1862 speaks to us, in 2024, not like a muffled long-distance call but a piercing scream. To paraphrase JJ, then, the only sanatani thing in this world is not faith but its disturbing distortion.
