Integritus Prime

I watched with great interest the film Maharaj on Netflix. It is, no doubt, a controversial film, not because people tried to ban it, but because it portrays a shocking story based on true events. Spoilers begin here.

The plot in short: Karsan (played by Junaid Khan) is a social reformer who is engaged to the innocent and beautiful Kishori (Shalini Pandey). They live in a community that is ruled by Jadunath Maharaj, or JJ. JJ is seen as an extension of God, a powerful religious leader who has ultimate power over the community’s notions of right and wrong. One day, Kishori is chosen by JJ for charan seva, which translates literally to “service of the feet”. We find out though, that it’s anything but that. Through a ritual mired in religious superstition, JJ is actually perpetrating violence against women in a most insidious way. JJ has made rape seem sacred.

To find out how, I’ve broken it down into 10 steps:

1. Establish the bridge: this refers to the bridge between God and humans. The swami or Maharaj class establish themselves as the authority on God and provided the serfs or commoners a supposedly trusted path to divinity. We can see many other religions that do this through churches or saints or leaders – it was notably (and very comically) depicted by Aamir Kahn in PK, so it’s no surprise that his son debuts in a similar role here. In this particular case, the Maharaj class provides the common people with a bridge to God and to heaven.
2. Use fear and power to control: JJ, played formidably (and creepily) by Jaideep Ahlawat, explicitly states in a scene with his council that he is using fear as a way to wield power over the common people. The main fear is that of upsetting God or doing something that is incorrect according to the scriptures, thereby jeopardizing moksha (liberation).
3. Establish wealth: through his reign in the haveli or the sacred palace, JJ is able to also acquire immense amounts of wealth through his influence over the people. He uses this wealth to do what he wants, while getting people to also obey him.
4. Misinterpret the scriptures: JJ interprets the scriptures in a literal way so he can essentially take advantage of the most innocent members of the community: young girls. He interprets “submit your body, mind and wealth to God” as “give your body to me”. He succeeds in being the first to touch young girls, and new brides – even before their husbands.
5. Turn abuse into a sacred ritual: JJ established a ritual that is essentially the defilement of young girls, and he linked this ritual to meaning within the religion. He called it charan seva, which literally translates to serving the feet, but in fact, it was the serial rape of young girls.
6. Target brainwashed young girls: In the community, religious tradition holds that charan seva is a great honor for young girls, who are told by their elders that it is a blessing to be chosen for the opportunity to give charan seva. A special sweet treat is made in the home of the chosen girl that night to celebrate the honor. The power of beliefs around this tradition, combined with a complete lack of sex education and knowledge of good touch and bad touch, young girls willingly allow themselves to be raped despite their inner sense that something very wrong is happening to them – as exemplified by Viraaj, played by Sharvari – she forms the exception, who ran away when she sensed JJ was going to violate her.
7. Frame abuse as education: JJ frames this obscene ritual as an education and a necessary requirement for the completion of one’s religious pilgrimage. His servant charges men 11 rupees to stand at a window and observe the rapes taking place. So, as a matter of ritual, men come to the haveli, pay the sum, and some even bring their young prepubescent sons so they can “learn” from this crime. In the film, we discover this deplorable practice through the eyes of the lead character Karsan, who observes the the rape of his fiancé, his beloved Kishori, by JJ.
8. Establish adverse consequences of noncompliance: thanks to JJ’s manipulation of the people, charan seva is seen as a necessary and sacred ritual without which the grave consequence would be service or devotion to God that is incomplete. This notion is so brainwashed into the community that even though inside, they may feel this is wrong, they fail to question, much less oppose this practice.
9. Erase evidence of wrongdoing: JJ is quite cunning. He erases all evidence of his acts. For example, if one of the young women fall pregnant, he feeds them poison hidden in a sweet to abort the child or sends them to a doctor for an abortion. Luckily, one doctor decides to stand against him, and speaks of JJ contracting syphillis.
10. Promote subjugation: through indoctrination of the sacredness of this rape ritual using the steps I’ve just mentioned, JJ forces people to maintain their silence and to allow all of their women to be defiled in this way in perpetuity.

It takes one social reformer (Karsan) to fight JJ and bring all of this to light in a landmark court battle that results in criminal investigations against JJ. Ironically, JJ is the one who starts the court proceedings by bringing a case of slander and defamation against Karsan, fueled by an egotistical desire to defeat Karsan. In the end, the women and men who once worshipped JJ testify against him, taking away the power they so willingly gave him.

This film is a must watch – don’t miss it! It is riveting, and splendidly crafted.