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Make no mistake: Maharani remains a rare series wherein successive seasons were better than the earlier ones. Given the crackerjack tempo and electrifying developments in Episode 1 of this season, I wagered to myself that Maharani 4 would follow the tradition and make for the best of them all.
I must admit however, that while the show is engaging and enthralling as a political drama, for me, it did not eclipse the brilliance of Seasons 3. But that’s fine, because it is not easy to develop a fictional political story depicting the backward state of Bihar of the past (we have just received the Assembly Elections result for the state!). It takes a lot of inspiration (from real life) and imagination too to spin a fictional narrative that echoes real-life political machinations and one-upmanship.
Chief Minister Rani Bharti (Huma Qureshi) is now gray-haired and mother to Surya (Darsheel Safary), who wants nothing to do with politics and is studying and wanting to remain and do a job in London, Jaiprakash (Shardul Bharadwaj) and Roshni. Jaiprakash has his own approach to life and tends to go wayward as he aspires to follow his parents in their profession—Rani’s husband was a politician as well. Roshni (Shweta Basu Prasad) is level-headed and docile and has no political ambitions.
Rani now eyes the post of Prime Minister, and her adversary is the existing one—Shreenivas Joshi (Vipin Sharma), a ruthless as well as corrupt man who is heading a coalition at the center. In the deadly cat-and-mouse game that emerges between Rani and him, neither will back down, and the two will go to any length to grab or retain (respectively) their positions.
The series expertly goes into the shenanigans of the politicians and their advisors, sidekicks and supporters, exploring every area seen in Indian politics: betrayals, returns to alliances, money power, blackmail, shady deals, manipulations, scams and “commission reports”, political vendetta, media involvement and partisanships, personal skeletons, conspiracy, doublespeak, unfulfilled ambitions and above all, the miasma that is still around—dynastic politics.
The show is created by Subhash Kapoor, who has helmed the political movie, Phas Gaya Re Obama and also the Jolly LLb film franchise. Director Puneet Prakash steers the drama through every aspect with great craftsmanship. From illegal progeny to planned murder, Maharani 4 goes the whole hog and it by the last episode (with its unexpected culmination) it is again obvious that yet another season will be coming. Thus, while Maharani 4 does remain a much-above average fare as a standalone show, on second thoughts, comparisons with Season 3 can be a needless nitpick!!
Huma Qureshi as Rani does not have to prove anything anymore: as always, she is restrained yet awesome in her show of sheer power. A fantastic new addition is Shweta Basu Prasad as Roshni Bharti, who is made the Bihar Chief Minister for a definite agenda. Two more performers shine: Shardul Bharadwaj as Jaiprakash, at once vulnerable and devoid of scruples, and Vipin Sharma as the amoral and quietly sinister prime minister. Vineet Kumar as Gauri Shankar, the slimy serpent of a man, and as two Rani loyalists, Kani Kusruti as Kaveri, Rani’s secretary and Pramod Pathak as Satyendranath Mishra, also make their characters shine, as both are given an extra sheen here.
The music score works and the dialogues remain at a high level. But if you are a first-time watcher, I would urge you to see the earlier 28 episodes over three seasons, to get to understand and appreciate this one,
Rating: ***1/2
Sony LIV presents Kangra Talkies’ Maharani 4 Created by: Subahsh Kapoor Produced by: Dimple Kharbanda & Naren Kumar Directed by: Puneet Prakash Written by: Nandan Singh & Subhash Kapoor Music: Mangesh Dhakde Starring: Huma Qureshi, Shweta Basu Prasad, Shardul Bharadwaj, Vipin Sharma, Vineet Kumar, Darsheel Safary, Saddam Hussain, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Amit Sial, Kani Kusruti, Pramod Pathak, Rajeshwari Sachdev & others
