Junaid Khan describes "Maharaj" as a captivating script and an “inherently dramatic” story, marking his debut in the Hindi film industry with this social drama.
Originally planned for a direct-to-digital release on Netflix, the Yash Raj Films project was quietly released on the streaming platform on Friday night without much fanfare or pre-release promotion.
Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra and produced by Aditya Chopra, "Maharaj" stars Junaid, the son of Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta, in the role of the real-life 19th-century social reformer Karsandas Mulji. This marks his debut almost four decades after his father, Aamir Khan, entered the industry as a romantic hero in 1988's "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak".
"I don't know about it being an unconventional (debut) because YRF is a big banner, and Sid sir wanted me (in the film). The story is inherently very dramatic. I have been doing theatre in Mumbai since 2017. Sid sir asked me to come and test for this film. I didn't think of it as conventional or unconventional," Junaid told PTI in an interview when asked if the film was an unconventional choice as a newcomer.
"Maharaj," based on an 1862 libel case involving Mulji and a Vaishnavite religious leader, briefly ran into legal trouble. The sect members filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court against the film.
The release of the premiere was postponed by a week, but the high court approved its release after a short delay, stating that it did not single out any religious group. Junaid, who is working on two more films, one of which is with Aamir Khan Productions, is glad that the issue was resolved quickly.
The movie, which is based on Saurabh Shah's Gujarati novel of the same name and also stars Jaideep Ahlawat, Sharvari, and Shalini Pandey, was previously scheduled to be released on Netflix on June 14.
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