'Maharaj' director Siddharth P Malhotra revealed that Jaideep Ahlawat was not his first choice for the role of Maharaj Jadunath Brijratan. Read who was his first choice inside.
Starring Junaid Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Sharvari Wagh, ‘Maharaj’ has been the talk of the town ever since its release. While Khan stole the limelight with his debut role, Ahlawat also delivered a powerful performance as the villain in this period drama. Amidst the rave reviews, director Siddharth P Malhotra revealed that Ahlawat was not the first choice for this antagonistic role.
Speaking at a recent press conference, director Siddharth P Malhotra revealed that Jaideep Ahlawat was not his first choice for the role of Maharaj Jadunath Brijratan. The director revealed that the late actor Irrfan Khan was his first choice for the role. He said, “God bless his soul. In our opinion, nobody could play this role but Irrfan Khan.”
In the same conversation, the director also mentioned that this fact put a lot of pressure on Ahlawat who wanted to do justice to the role. Malhotra told Ahlawat that only he has the potential to match Khan’s legacy. He praised the actor for his performance and said, “We were very grateful that sir agreed and came on board. He’s rightfully getting all the love he gets for every film.” He also revealed that Ahlawat was unsure about how he would portray the villainous role. However, things worked out and he delivered a phenomenal performance.
Based on the 1862 Maharaj Libel Case, ‘Maharaj’ revolves around Karsandas Mulji (played by Junaid Khan) – a journalist and a social reformer. He fought for women’s rights and exposed Maharaj Jadunath Brijratan’s immoral behaviour. The film was set to release on June 14, but the release was delayed by a week after the Gujarat High Court put a hold on the film. It was finally released on June 21 on Netflix.