EXCLUSIVE | Junaid Khan on Netflix & YRF's 'Maharaj': 'Nobody will make a film to hurt people, Aamir Khan doesn't give tips unless…'

Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra and produced by Aditya Chopra, Maharaj features Junaid, son of superstar Aamir Khan and producer Reena Dutta, in the role of the real-life 19th century social reformer Karsandas Mulji. His debut comes almost four decades after his father burst on the scene as a romantic hero in 1988’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.

The film has been mired in controversies ever since it has been announced due to its sensitive subject. It’s based on the libel case that happened back in 1862. It sees Jaideep Ahlawat as the culprit named Maharaj Jadunath aka JJ, who uses naïve women as sexual pawns under the garb of religion and beliefs. The volatility of the narrative didn’t allow the film to have a release for a week, when it finally streamed on Netflix from June 21 onwards.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Junaid and Siddharth spoke about the film, the controversy it has created, and much more.

Edited excerpts from the interview

What do the two of you have to say about the title Maharaj? Is it used for Jaideep’s character who everybody worships or can it also be used for Junaid’s character who stands up for justice and what is right?

Siddharth: You just answered it actually. It’s for both. The film is clearly Junaid’s journey and the libel case that happens, and how he stands up for it. So for me, of course, that is the journey that he stands up against the Maharaj, who filed a libel case on it. So that’s why the title; also the book was called Maharaj. The play was called Maharaj in Gujarati. So that became the apt title after going through about 15-20 titles.

Junaid: I have absolutely no opinion or say on the title.

But this is your debut and it has been a great debut I would like to say. So when the script came to you, was it an immediate yes?

More or less. I really liked the story. I really liked Sid sir’s past work. Yash Raj is one of the biggest producers in the country today probably. So I didn’t see any reason not to do it. I had full faith that Sidharth would handle the film since the subject is sensitive. I had full faith that he would handle it with sensitivity and care and make sure that it’s correctly portrayed.

Did you have any aspirations or ideas or how to make your debut? What kind of story it should be? Should it be conventional? Should it be something completely different from what we have seen before?

Not really, actually. I was doing stage in Bombay. I would sometimes get calls for auditions or readings for films. I would go and this happened to be one of them.

Siddharth, how did you prepare for Maharaj? How was your prep like as a director?

It all started six years ago. After I saw the play, we first translated the Gujarati book full in Hindi. Then Sneha came on board. During the research, we felt this may hurt people’s sentiments so we should not keep this in our film. Our film should be against Karsandas’ journey against one man. The entire journey or the preparation has been to keep in mind the sentiments of people. So keeping all that in mind, if your intentions are pure and you don’t want to do something wrong, that is what went behind here totally.

Junaid , I want to talk about your introduction scene when an untouchable is sitting on the floor and you say ‘Áll I wanted was some chutney and you told me your caste.’ So he’s not just a journalist, he’s also a social reformer. So how did you approach this character? How was your prep to play him?

I think we prepared for about a year. He’s a real person but not too many people have an idea about his personality. We only have access to his writings that are in the public domain, his articles, his newspaper. So deriving a personality from what he wrote, which was something that, I think we did beautifully. And then we worked on rehearsals and getting it properly. Though as a reformer, I know it’s the introduction initially. The untouchables would announce they are passing by and asked people to move away. And that guy gets scared when my character is introduced. He asks ‘Why are you doing this to me? You want me to get in trouble?’ So it shows that he’s above and all those things. So that gives you the nobility. We are talking about a story, about a man in today’s times in 1862 who’s beyond all this.

There are so much relevant topics that the film deals with and yet as a filmmaker were you surprised at the issues that cropped up?

See, I didn’t expect that, I thought people would see the film. People wanted to ban the film just by seeing the poster, I was not ready for that, to be honest. Don’t judge a book by its cover. When people saw it and told us that actually it was a pro religion, actually pro humanity film, I was really happy. People are watching it and loving it for what it is and what we meant to say through the film.

Junaid, when Aamir Khan came to know that you are doing a film like Maharaj, what was his reaction and did you take any tips from him?

No actually. He really liked the script when he read the story; but he doesn’t really give any tips unless you ask for it (Laughs).

What are you going to take back from the character that you have played? What did you like about him?

I actually had a great experience working on the film. And Karsandas is really inspirational. I think there’s a lot for us to take back, to take with us in our lives. And I hope not only me, all of us do.

People say that there should be freedom of speech and expression, but there should be limitations. As audiences, as an actor, and as a director, what is your take on it?

Siddharth: But that’s a contradictory statement. Freedom of speech and then limitations is contradictory in your question only. If there’s freedom of speech, then how can there be limitations? And if you’re if you’re putting the limitations, the limitations come if you are doing something against to harm somebody. When you are not harming somebody, then don’t judge a book by its cover. So I think freedom of speech is we’re in a democracy, and it should be encouraged as far as the intention of that speech is not defamatory. If that intention of that speech is defamatory, then we’ll get the intention. Then the entire world is with you and with with all of us, you know.

Junaid: When films are made, they’re never made to offend people. We want somebody who would like it, not feel hurt by it. I mean, nobody is going to make a film to make people feel hurt by it because people will then not like it and not watch it. You make films for people to like, and I think this film is made with that sensitivity of getting the message about society at large because it is a larger message. It’s about society in general.

Working as an Entertainment journalist for over five years, covering stories, reporting, and interviewing various film personalities of the film industry see more