Junaid Khan’s debut film has been making the rounds on the internet recently. Inspired by true events that took place during colonialism, the film follows the story of Karsandas, who strives to remove controversial and immoral traditions from India, specifically those aimed at molesting women. The one major event the film focuses on is the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862.
Story: Avani Kulshreshtha
Jadunathji Brajratanjee Maharaj had initiated the lawsuit against Nanabhai Rustomji Ranina and Karsandas Mulji for defamation. Karsandas claimed that Jadunathji Maharaj used incorrect theological arguments and took advantage of people’s immovable beliefs in social practices for his own lustful purposes. Being a progressive thinker and wanting to protect women from the Maharaja’s actions, fights against the practice of ‘charan seva,’ a service that religious leaders demanded of women which was in essence just masked sexual exploitation.
The Maharaj is portrayed to have an immense following, and people place blind faith in him. JJ Maharaj (Jaideep Ahlawat) is portrayed as a self-proclaimed descendant of Krishna and therefore holds immense power over the people. Because of this, the Maharaja Libel Case had a very high participation of the common people, and was also called “the greatest trial of modern times since the trial of Warren Hastings.”
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This case was a landmark trial in Bombay and was ultimately ruled in favour of Karsandas, resulting in improved lives of countless women and a decline in exploitation by religious priests. This case is also a perfect example of religion vs morality. The presiding judge of the case, Justice Joseph Arnould, had written in his judgement, “It is not a question of theology that has been before us. It is a question of morality. The principle for which the defendant and his witnesses have been contending is simply this: that what is morally wrong cannot be theologically right.” The win of Karsandas therefore gave momentum for the erosion of all other sexist and exploitative practices that used to take place in the name of religion by those in power.
However, this Yash Raj film also faced backlash, and people claimed that it portrayed the Vaishyas in a negative light. Due to this controversy, the film’s release was postponed, and it was finally released on Netflix on June 21st, even though the Central Board of Film Certification had given the film all the permits.
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The film does portray this case very well, and it is now up to the viewers to decide if this truthful portrayal is offending to a community or is just an attempt to recognise and acknowledge the unknown faces that have worked hard and dedicated their entire lives to make the country a better place for all communities and social groups.
*दलित टाइम्स उन करोड़ो लोगो की आवाज़ है जिन्हें हाशिए पर रखा गया है। *
महिला, दलित और आदिवासियों के मुद्दों पर केंद्रित पत्रकारिता करने और मुख्यधारा की मीडिया में इनका प्रतिनिधित्व करने के लिए हमें आर्थिक सहयोग करें।
