From the four walls of her rural home where her life revolves around being a dutiful wife, raising kids, milking cows, making cow dung cakes, and handling kitchen politics, Rani Bharti is hurled into the turbulent world of politics in a state that constantly grapples with corruption.
Actress Huma Qureshi as Rani Bharti makes an unlikely entry into such a world of the “kings”, set out to prove her worth as the “queen”. Created by Subhash Kapoor, SonyLIV’s latest offering ‘Maharani’ is a highly anticipated political drama which launches on May 28.
Qureshi said: “It's not often that one gets to play a character where you traverse in extremes as an artist. Playing a character as multifaceted as Rani Bharti with various shades in her character was a great honour.
“Rani’s journey is rare and full of grit which will surely strike a chord with the audience. I am very excited and can't wait for the show to launch soon on SonyLIV.”
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A twist of fate changes the ordinary life of Rani Bharti – she is overnight sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state. She is inexperienced yet tactical, docile yet defiant, shy yet strong, and hesitant but receptive. Sooner than she realises, she finds herself swimming in a sea rife with corrupt, immoral, manipulative, and power-hungry people. ‘Maharani’, at its heart, is much less a story of triumph, and more a searing look into the systemic oppression of women in society despite their indomitable spirit to turn every battle – personal or professional – around.
Creator Subhash Kapoor said: “With ‘Maharani’, our attempt is to tell a tale that is representative of the patriarchy in the world of politics. We are glad to bring this show to the audience through SonyLIV, which has built its image as a platform where stories are the real hero.
“I hope ‘Maharani’ cements this further and this story of Rani Bharti leaves a lasting impact on viewers."
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Will she be able to fight the innate patriarchy and yet be able to rally her troops to bring about change? Will she manage to unveil herself from under the ‘purdah’ of domesticity and draw open the curtains of politics?
‘Maharani’ is produced by Naren Kumar and Dimple Kharbanda, created by Kapoor with screenplay by Nandan Singh and is directed by Karan Sharma. Besides Qureshi, it also stars Sohum Shah, Amit Sial, Vineet Kumar, Pramod Pathak, Kani Kusruti, Inaamulhaq, Sushil Pandey, Atul Tiwari, Aashiq Hussain, Kannan Arunachalam, and Harish Khanna, in pivotal roles.
Saugata Mukherjee, Head – Original Content, SonyLIV, said: “SonyLIV has always endeavoured to tell stories that establishes an instant connect with our audience and cut across demographics. ‘Maharani’ is one such story about the pursuit of power and an ode to women’s unlimited potential.
“Huma Qureshi shines like a queen in the show. We are grateful to the creator Subhash Kapoor and director Karan Sharma for lending authenticity to this narration.”