Credited cast: | |||
Naseeruddin Shah | ... | Jaisingh Adenwalla | |
Om Puri | ... | ACP Gokhale | |
Boman Irani | ... | Advocate A.D. Merchant | |
Paresh Rawal | ... | Subhash Sharma | |
Neha Dhupia | ... | Mallika Adenwalla | |
Tara Sharma | ... | Swati | |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Ashwin Nayak | ... | The ATM Guy |
Vivek Shauq | ... | Inspector Borkar (as Vivek Shaq) |
The caption of the movie says, "How would you murder a man who has already committed suicide". The story revolves around 6 characters a one time famous film director, his wife (a one time actor in his films), a chauffeur, a confidante lawyer, a caretaker and an ACP all trying to outwit each other. At stake is a life insurance policy worth Rs. 24 crores. A one time famous film director dejected by his wife's behaviour shoots himself and challenges his wife to prove his suicide as murder in order to get a booty of Rs. 24 crores. The director's chauffeur-cum-confidante helps the wife in achieving her target in the hope of sharing the booty. The story unveils as different characters enter and help the story move on. Written by Chandrakanth Patthi
Maharathi is a surprise package of 2008. The cast is well-set and play their characters with absolute finesse. Paresh Rawal & Naseerudin Shah are the vital players. Neha Dhupia, Tara Sharma & Om Puri do equally well. Special mention for Boman Irani.
Starting off with a suspense-creating setup, the plot describes the prologue. After 40 minutes, the real side of the plot is revealed. And this is when it gets interesting. It's an edge of the seat thriller in the second half, if you can bypass the monotonous, slow-paced first half.
Editing, make-up, costumes, studio setup are all very poor, giving a worn-out display of the whole movie. Cinematography & direction are fine. The writing is good, especially the dialogs towards the end. Other than having few plot holes, Maharathi is a good entertainer. Mildly interesting is what I would dub it!
BOTTOM LINE: Recommended. A 6.7 out of 10 for the story, plot & performances.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
Profanity/Vulgarity/Sex: No | Nudity: Very Mild | Mouth-Kiss: No | Violence/Gore: Mediocre | Alcohol: Critical | Smoking/Drugs: No | Porn: No