MAHARANI replica of Bihar politics

MAHARANI, a Web series of SonyLIV, is purportedly throwback footage on Bihar politics following  Lalu Prasad Yadav picked his spouse Rabri Devi as Chief Minister to replace him after he was named as an accused in a multi-crore fodder scam. Bheema Bharati played by Sohum Shah is Bihar’s popular chief minister from OBC community. Rani Bharti played by Huma Qureshi born and grew up in rural Bihar becomes the accidental Chief Minister of her home state. Despite her husband being a powerful strap in India’s eastern state in the 1990s,  she is not bothered about politics. Nor is she aware about the profession of her husband.  She lives happily in her ancestral village home with her three children. We see the almost uneducated lady in a new incarnation after she takes over the reins of the caste and problem ridden state. Created by  Subhash Kapoor, it is co-written by Kapoor and Nandan Singh, and directed by Karan Sharma set between 1995 and 1999. It narrates how the housewife who becomes a chief minister overnight and learns to navigate the corridors of power. Initially, an object of ridicule for lack of knowledge about politics and rustic mannerism, Rani soon becomes a  formidable challenger to her husband’s opponents and eventually her own ageing spouse  Bheema Bharati. Governor Ghanshyam (Atul Tiwari) belonging to the so-called higher caste is keen on ousting the OBC CM. Huma Qureshi has splendidly enlivened  Rani’s overnight transformation as a shrewd politician -administrator. She is ably supported by Sohum Shah, Amit Sial, Atul Tiwari, Kani Kusruti, Pramod Pathak. Mohammed Ashfaque Hussain, Kannan Arunachalam as the state’s Director General of Police (DIG), and Ranjana Sinha, as a fearless police officer, play the secondary cast successfully. Inaamluhaq, as an honest bureaucrat, provides much-needed humour to the viewers. Pic courtesy: Sony