Director Siddharth Malhotra Reminisces about Junaid Khan’s Debut Film Delay; ‘I Shed Many Tears’
Junaid Khan’s debut film, Maharaj, faced a brief hurdle before its release but finally premiered on June 21. The film was temporarily put on hold due to concerns about hurting religious sentiments, but the Gujarat Court later gave it a clean chit.
Director Siddharth P Malhotra has opened up about the challenges leading up to the film’s release.
Maharaj director talks about the making of the film and its ‘painful’ release
In a recent interview with ANI, Siddharth P Malhotra shared his experience of the difficult journey to the film’s release.
“This is the story of an unsung hero that should be told. This is the whole journey of a hero. And he is fighting for women’s rights, for everything. So a script was made, it was approved, Junaid was narrated, Jaideep sir and all the other actors came. The film was also made,” he said.
“But the period of release was very painful,” the director added.
Filmmaker Siddharth recalls crying over Maharaj’s release
Director Siddharth Malhotra also remembered how Maharaj was judged despite being made with the “pure intention” of not harming any community.
“…So we got a cover, a poster. And the judgement was done. So that was a big pain. I cried a lot. I literally cried. My father Prem Kishen, my mother, everyone came home and supported me,” he shared.
The director mentioned that the film promotes positivity, being “pro-religion” and “pro-humanity”.
Siddharth expressed his happiness at the recognition Junaid and Jaideep are receiving for their work on the film, as well as the positive feedback on the writing and dialogues.
Junaid Khan reveals how the team felt over its stay order
Junaid Khan, who plays Karsandas Mulji in Maharaj, shared that the team felt uneasy during the stay order period but stayed faithful to the film.
Maharaj is now available for streaming on Netflix.
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