Junaid Khan and Jaideep Ahlawat’s period drama Maharaj will be released on Netflix on June 14.
The film is based on the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862, which was ignited by allegations of sexual misconduct by a priest and is considered to be a significant legal battle in history. The film, directed by Siddharth P Malhotra, also stars Shalini Pandey and Sharvari.
Maharaj, billed as a “fight for the truth between a powerful man and a fearless journalist,” is produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films Entertainment.
In his Hindi film debut, Aamir Khan’s son Junaid plays the role of Karsandas Mulji, who was a journalist and social reformer. A protégé of the scholar-leader Dadabhai Naoroji, Karsandas wrote on widow remarriage, stood up for the oppressed, and sowed the seeds of reform in society.
He was the editor of the Gujarati newspaper, Satyaprakash and found himself in the middle of a defamation case filed against him by Jadunathji Maharaj, a religious priest, for an article in his newspaper.