Maharani Movie Review: A well-intentioned but overlong comedy

In the iconic political satire, Sandesam (1991), there's a hilarious scene where two political parties desperately try to claim ownership over a dead body in a bid to make him their party's martyr. Maharani opens on a similar note. The victim here is Chaaniyil Gireeshan (Gokulan), a mentally affected person, whose death leads to a local political furore. But how did he actually die? We learn this through a local writer, who is working on a novel based on the incidents that lead to Chaani's death. The action is set in a society where political and caste groups are actively involved. It again rings back to Sandesam. Much like the Sathyan Anthikad classic, Maharani also pivots around two brothers— Ajeesh (Shine Tom Chacko) and Vijeesh (Roshan Mathew), who are part of an Ezhava family.

Cast: Roshan Mathew, Shine Tom Chacko, Johny Antony, Harisree Ashokan

Director: G Marthandan

While the names of political groups have been changed, the film doesn't hold back when it comes to addressing caste. When Aji, who is in love with a Nair girl, jokingly says, "Manja ayath kondu veetil moru kachayth polum vekatha teama" about the girl's family, it's bound to leave you in splits. But it's also a reminder of how caste-based discrimination is still eerily prevalent around us. In another scene, when someone casually remarks about how Chaani turned mentally ill after a broken relationship, you can't help but think if he is also a victim of this discrimination. There are enough hints to substantiate it. Throughout the film, we see him rambling to a statue of Sree Narayana Guru, a social reformer who fought against discrimination. In fact, discrimination is the film's overarching theme. Caste aside, there's political discrimination as well. We see staunch activists of one party refusing to even step into the other party's land. All of this might make Maharani sound like a serious, hard-hitting film, but it's anything but. 

Ratheesh Ravi is known for scripting Ishq and Adi, both of which were gripping dramas with strong political undertones. In Maharani, he attempts the same under the garb of a comedy. The results, however, are mixed. For starters, the film certainly looks overstretched. Take the two most crucial scenes—one just before the interval and the other, towards the end. Viji's missing girlfriend Rani is on the phone and people around are anxiously waiting for some information about her location. Both these scenes are so needlessly stretched that we start losing patience just like the characters in it. It would have worked only if the writing was consistently funny. Marthandan's execution is also subpar with the characters allowed to repeatedly ramble on. It almost felt like the makers were unsure of where to stop or how to proceed further.

Maharani is at its funniest when Roshan, Shine and Johny Antony come together. Johny Antony, the recent favourite for cool dad roles, is hilarious as the friendly father who smokes pot with his sons. There's something affable about him irrespective of the fact that almost all his characters and their portrayals are the same. Roshan, in probably his first full-length comedy role, excels and proves that he can pull off light-hearted roles as well. With his charm and good looks, playing a local Casanova is no daunting task for him. However, it is disappointing to see Shine Tom Chacko yet again sticking to his over-the-top acting style. His performance in this film is merely an extension of the Shine we see in interviews lately.

In a pre-release interview, director Marthandan mentioned that Maharani is like a mini Twenty 20 in terms of the huge number of characters in it. It's perhaps true, but sadly, not all of them are well-defined. Most of them are relegated to a couple of dialogues or a few glances. Harisree Ashokan is among the very few who get a meaty role, but his performance at a very crucial point is spoiled by some strange choice of music. In an emotionally charged scene, we see the veteran breaking down like never before in his career, but the music (Gopi Sunder) in the background suggests something funny and ruins a poignant moment that could've stayed for long. The same cannot be said about the film, though. Despite being under 130 minutes, it feels like it overstayed its welcome.