Netflix’s Maharaj: How Aamir Khan’s son Junaid is different from other star kids?

Sharp eyes with a chiseled face, Junaid Khan is the next big star of Bollywood. Being Aamir Khan’s son, he refused to take any help from his father. With his brilliant screen presence, he became the talk of the town after the release of Netflix’s Maharaj.

In a recent interview, the 31-year-old star said that he observed a lot of how AK has learnt from his failures. “He has been doing this for 40 years now, he has seen everything,” said Junaid about his dad, whose last films Thugs of Hindostan and Laal Singh Chaddha tanked at the box office.

Junaid doesn’t like to take help from Aamir Khan

 His grandfathers, Nasir Hussain and Tahir Hussain, were renowned filmmakers and screenwriters. It’s obvious that he is born with the creative genes, but he surely knows do it his way. In fact, his father, Aamir Khan revealed on Netflix’s Kapil Sharma’s ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ how his children don’t listen to him. He said Jackie Shroff asked him to help Tiger Shroff when he was about to start his career in the industry but his own children don’t wish to do the same. This was followed by a collective laughter.

Junaid Khan’s role in Netflix’s Maharaj

Junaid avoided the big debut promotion and focused solely on his craft.  He didn’t want his first film to bea theatrical release, rather he opted for the digital platform. He played the role of Karsandas Mulji who was a mid-19th-century journalist, author, and social reformer in Bombay and Gujarat. Despite his brief 39-year life, he founded several magazines and notably defended himself in the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862 at the Supreme Court of Bombay. An active member of the Gujarati Gyanprasarak Mandalli, Mulji began his journalism career in 1851 with contributions to Rast Goftar. In 1855, he launched his magazine, Satyaprakash, which challenged outdated traditions and societal issues. A Vaishnav himself, Mulji exposed the misdeeds of Vaishnav priests, including their exploitation of women devotees. Junaid’s role was not of a lover boy, but of a knowledgeable man who wanted to bring about a change in the society and expose the Maharaj who was sexually exploiting women in the name of religion.

What was the Maharaj Libel Case?

On October 21, 1860, Karsandas Mulji, editor of the Gujarati newspaper Satya Prakash, published an article titled “The Primitive Religion of the Hindus and the Present Heterodox Opinions.” The article exposed the alleged adulterous and immoral acts of Vaishnav priests, specifically targeting Jadunathjee Brizruttonjee Maharaj of the Vallabhacharya sect. Mulji accused the sect of sexual exploitation, shamelessness, immodesty, rascality, and deceit, detailing how the Maharaj defiled the wives and daughters of his devotees.

In response, Jadunathjee Maharaj filed a libel suit against Mulji and Nanabhoy Rustomjee, the printer, on May 14, 1861, in the Supreme Court of Bombay. The trial began on January 26, 1862, and lasted twenty-four days and attracted significant public attention. On April 22, 1862, the Chief Justice ruled in favor of the defendants, upholding the press’s duty to expose such misdeeds. The court confirmed the truth of the sexual exploitation charges and highlighted that religious beliefs cannot obscure morality. This landmark judgment by Judge Joseph Arnould underscored the press’s role in moral accountability and was deemed the “greatest trial of modern times since the trial of Warren Hastings.

WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Maharaj here: 

Lachmi Deb Roy is the entertainment editor of Firtspost, Network18. She reviews films and series with a gender lens. Her interviews are called 'Not Just Bollywood' because she takes huge interest in world cinema. OTT over theatrical releases is her preference unless and until its a King Khan film. She takes interest in fashion, food and art reviews too. see more