Siddharth P Malhotra Reveals Why He Hired Junaid Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat

Filmmaker Siddharth P Malhotra’s (of Hichki fame) latest film, Maharaj, addresses an old issue that plagues human society - blind faith in fellow humans. Based on the real life of an Indian journalist from the 1860s, the film features Jaideep Ahlawat (Pataal Lok, Jaane Jaan, Three of Us.) and Bollywood star Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan in lead roles. In an exclusive interview, director Malhotra talks about the film’s journey, sailing through the controversies around it, the stay against its release and more. Here is an excerpt from the conversation:

Jaideep Ahlawat as Jadunath Maharaj

Ahlawat plays the titular role of Maharaj, the corrupt Godman in Malhotra’s Netflix film. It is a menacing character that exploits devotees in the name of service to the God. Named Jadunath Maharaj in the film, the character maintains a calm posture at all times, even when his supremacy is challenged by a young man.

Was Jaideep Ahlawat your first choice?

Siddharth P Malhotra: I couldn't see anybody but Jaideep as Maharaj. I think after Irrfan Khan, if there's someone who can pull off that kind of pedantic and dramatics, it is him. It was all written in the script and I think only Jaideep could bring the layers necessary for the character. We approached Jaideep but he was like ‘Can I do this part? It's too complex, I can't do it’. I told him to hear it. And I'm glad he agreed.

He went through a huge transformation and there's a story actually not not many know. So the first scene of the film, Ahlawat’s entry scene, was shot one year later and he had begun shooting another series called Pataal Lok for which he had to put on a belly again. When I called him and said he has one day of shoot left, he told me he had put on weight and has a belly. I was like, in today's times VFX helps with all that. So I asked him not to worry about it. But, being the purist that he is, Jaideep refused. He asked for three months’ time and promised to get back in that shape. He actually worked three months and got that body back for a one day of shoot. Now after that what would you, what would a director tell Jaideep Ahlawat? You will just work with him in every film!

Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan in lead role

Junaid Khan makes his debut with Malhotra’s latest directorial. Khan has received wide praise for his work in Maharaj. While he did not audition for the part, director Malhotra had seen his auditions for other roles earlier.

How and why did you get Junaid Khan to play Karsandas Mulji?

Siddharth P Malhotra: We discussed the possibility of getting a big superstar for the main lead. Karsandas Moolji was 23. He was a boy, you know, he was a boy with idealism. I compared Junaid's pictures as Karsan, and the original Karsan's picture in a social media post. You can see the similarity - he has much the same jawline, structure, moustache, it's almost the same zone. Karsan was very earnest and honest.

I also felt that bringing a filmy hero would add that baggage to the film. I was at a place where getting a big star was very easy, but we went in with the conscious decision that we want to have someone who's raw, but sincere and earnest.

Did Junaid audition for his role?

Siddharth P Malhotra: I was already interacting with Junaid because I was meeting Aamir sir. I had also seen Junaid’s audition for Laal Singh Chadda - he auditioned for the lead role and I loved it. So, I recommended his name to Adi (Aditya Chopra) and when we went to Aamir and Junaid, they loved it.

Controversy around Maharaj

The idea of after-life is a fascinating one and has enchanted mankind since time immemorial and most religions believe in the concept. Netflix India’s Maharaj is one that takes a sharp dig at a route that many people take in the process of securing a better after-life - that of following a mentor. While mentorship is not a bad idea, blind faith in anything and anyone is aways harmful. Marking the debut of Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan, Maharaj hopes to raise awareness against such blind faith and also reinstate love for God and humanity.

Unfortunately, the film was mired in controversies right before the release. Although it is about a case that was actually fought in a court British India in 1862, a faction in India claimed the film may incite ‘hatred and violence’ against the Pustimargi sect in the country. The film was delayed for a week before the court declared it had nothing objectionable and Maharaj finally landed online Netflix on June 21. It was lapped up by audiences and ranked in top viewed non-English films on the platform.

Were you apprehensive of offending anyone during the making of the film?

Siddharth P Malhotra: The apprehensions were not there when we were scripting it, to be honest. I would be lying if I said we had apprehensions then. The apprehensions came much later on. And I was made to realize them much later on. That's my ignorance, maybe.

For me, it was a story of a man who's not challenging religion, he's from the same religion. And my writers were from the same religion, are from the same religion. My wife is from the same religion. The actors, there are about 55 actors and technicians on the film. No one objected. Of course, you can like it or not like it, that's your choice, but see it for what it is before you judge it.

We did not keep anything that was objectionable in the book, or in the original libel case. Ours is the story against one man's ideology, not against a community, not against religion. In fact, it's pro-religion. For me, here was a man who was fighting for women. I'm glad his great grandson reached out to me and told me that he loved the film. That's beautiful.

Luckily, the judge who saw the film, after an entire courtroom drama playing out in front of us live, we're thankful to the judiciary that they saw the film and realized that there's nothing objectionable to anybody's sentiments. We did let go of certain footage way before during the censor time. But even that was done non-objectionable. But we did that, we followed the rules, we went through the entire process. And then we came with a film that we believe was right to put out.

What was it like to see the film’s release stalled?

Siddharth P Malhotra: It takes a toll because for a filmmaker, it's like a baby in the womb. You can't move on. This film has been in my womb for five years. I can't move on to another film till that is done with. It's still a baby I have to protect.

My parents moved in, my wife and a few people from YRF and Netflix held my hand in that time. I also revisited the film when all this happened, I revisited the entire film and we found nothing to take out because we had already taken out everything. So we were like, but there is nothing in the film to take out.

Your heart breaks, you're crying, you're weeping, you don't know what's going on. I am overtly emotional and sensitive, I'm not like, borderline sensitive, I'm very sensitive. I'm thankful to the judiciary finally that they saw the film for what it is.

The subject of Maharaj is a sensitive one, and people are easily offended with films. How did you ensure your film was sensitive, but also raised questions you wanted to ask?

Siddharth P Malhotra: By being sensitive. All of us were sensitive to what we are shooting. Even if it was a lovemaking scene, we did not shoot to titillate. We shot it from a distance to just make the audience understand what happened, but we avoided sensationalizing anything in the film. All the technicians, our top technicians on the film, they did a lot of research. Whatever we felt, could be even a tad bit (objectionable to anyone)... we took it out before we took the film to censors. Then it went to CBFC and then censors gave their cut. We've actually been very, very cognizant.

Did you make any changes during the edit?

Siddharth P Malhotra: These discussions took place after the edit. When made the exact film which was on paper. Then when we edited it, we chopped more than half an hour of the film. This was pre-censor, we removed whatever we believed could be (objectionable to anyone).

((This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.)