MAHARANI - V View Reviews #18

This web series is a journey of a homemaker, to a smart and shrewd politician. The plot revolves around Rani Bharti, a homemaker who is the wife of Bihar's chief minister Bheema Bharti. Their life takes a sudden and an unexpected turn. Chief minister Bheema Bharti is paralysed in an assassination attempt. To save his seat and keep the power at home, he makes his dutiful and homemaker wife Rani Bharti the chief minister. She is an illiterate woman with absolutely no exposure to the world outside her village, with no formal education or knowledge and understanding of politics and intricacies of the government. Her life changes drastically overnight. She assumes the office reluctantly with her mind constantly fixed on her home, family and pets. It is a dramatisation of the roller coaster journey of a female politician. A journey from a wife of the chief minister to becoming chief minister herself.

With the backdrop of the 1990s, this fictional story is loosely based on real political events. In reality, Rabri Devi was appointed Bihar's chief minister in 1997 after her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav was forced to resign because of his involvement in the fodder scam.  On the reel, after being shot, Bheema Bharti resigns as the chief minister of Bihar and appoints his wife, Rani Bharti as his successor. She has no political and leadership experience. She manages to navigate Politics with the help of Kaveri Sreedharan,(OSD) an officer on special duty. The political events at both places are very similar. Overall the plot line is interesting in its treatment. It is a show of ambition, power, and the drama that follows. It has a good pace and justified twists and turns. It is powerfully scripted and the background score adds to the overall effects of the series. It is engaging with local flavours like Chatt Puja and the Bhojpuri language. It is a good effort to cover the political, social background of that time, the mass murder, caste-based politics, corruption, scam, violence, backstabbing etc.

What makes Maharani engaging is the outstanding performance of its actors.

Huma Qureshi as Rani Bharti is the protagonists. She is a delight to watch. She shines with her looks and her performance. Her long drawn vermilion(sindoor), her Bhojpuri terms n sayings, her body language, manners, sitting postures, expressions all add to Bihar's ethos. Her character is loosely based on the life of Rabri Devi.

Sohum Shah as Bheema Bharti is pretty good. He enacted his part as a strong-headed politician with conviction. His role reminds us of the biggest fodder scam. Picking bits n pieces from Lalu Yadav's life Sohum is exceptional in his acting.

Amit Sial as Naveen Kumar is impressive. He plays the role of sharp-witted opposition leader and carries his character mostly at ease. He reminds us of Nitish Kumar.

Kani Kusruti as Kaveri does not have much screen time or dialogue. Yet her role is outstanding. Her bond with Rani Bharti is the highlight of the series.

Inaamulhaq as Parvej Khan uncovers the truth behind the seed scam. He perfectly played his role as a Bengali officer probing the fodder scam.

Promod Pathak as Mishraji is again exceptional in his role.

Vineet Kumar as Gauri Shanker Pandey, Tanu Vidhyarti as Khyati is equally competent. The other characters also justified their role. It's the effortless and flawless actors that keep us hooked throughout the series for 10 episodes. It's not only a  political thriller but also a wife-husband relationship maturely handled.

Maharani streams on Sony Liv.