Huma Qureshi as Bihar’s immovable Chief Minister Rani Bharti in SonyLIV’s Maharani was initially modelled on Rabri Devi.
She now has a life of her own, far beyond anything Laloo Yadav or any man could ever imagine for an illiterate housewife.
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Huma Qureshi has grown with the series. Her ‘Bihari’ accent doesn’t feel put-on any longer. And if Rani Bharti is enjoying wrestling and defeating her opponents, Huma too is having a ball playing the first really powerful female politician on screen since Shabana Azmi in Godmother.
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That said, I must admit that watching eight more episodes of Rani Bharti’s raajnitty-gritty is more than I could take. With every episode stretching into almost an hour, this was like too much of a potentially good thing.
Not that the script lacks in grit. These guys know Bihar’s politics inside-out. The yoking of actual incidents with their fictional counterpoint is delectably connectible. Among the newer characters, Jaiprakash Bharti, modelled on Laloo and Rabri’s elder son Tej Pratap, froths with possibilities.
Bhardwaj’s Jaiprakash is uncouth, but he is not unscrupulous. The actor imbues a certain charm to his untutored character.
The rest of the cast remains committed to pushing Huma Qureshi’s Rani Bharti up the ladder without having to look down. But the writing is way too broad and spectral, spreading itself from Delhi to Kashmir, and not always because it needs to, but because it aspires to create an impression of geopolitical grandeur.
The storm-in-a-teacup approach works to an extent. Puneet Prakash, who directs this season, faces an uphill task: how to keep the protagonist’s political manoeuvres a step ahead of her opponents and the audience.
The core thrust of Season 4 is Rani’s resignation as CM and her appointing her daughter ‘Rosni’ (read: Roshni) as her successor. There is this rousing sequence before Roshni’s oath-taking ceremony with her brother, where he explains to her why he can never resent their mother favouring her.
These are actors who know their job. The writing supports their characters most of the way, but fumbles in overstaying its welcome. Several sequences go on much longer than needed. If Rani Bharti is a bit of an overreacher, so is the series.