Sanjay Dutt as The Good Maharaja

Filmmaker Vikash Verma shares some exclusive information about the film 

In an exclusive interview with film director Vikash Verma, most recently in the public eye for his mega budgeted Indo-Polish Film, ‘No Means No’, we were able to get first-hand information about his next project, ‘The Good Maharaja’, A true story based on events that occurred during World War II, already gaining much curiosity and fame as one of the most expensive projects in Bollywood.

A very enthusiastic Vikash said;

“The Good Maharaja is a story based on the Indian Maharaja of Jamnagar, Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja , also called Jam Saheb. During World War II he provided refuge to 1000 polish children brought out of the then USSR, upholding the very core of Indian Morals. The film harkens back to the era of Kings and Royalty in India, And will be shot in India, primarily in Balachadi, Jamnagar Gujarat where Jam Sahib had set up the camp for all the Polish kids during the war.”

He informed us that principal photography for the film has already begun, and the production has scheduled the portion to be filmed in Balachadi, Jamnagar for the latter half of 2022.

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‘The Good Maharaja’ stars Sanjay Dutt in the titular role of  Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawangar (now Jamnagar, Gujarat India) and Dhruv Verma who will be playing the lead role of a Russian Sniper, whether he is playing the protagonist or antagonist is not known. Along with them are Gulshan Grover, Deepraj Rana, Sharad Kapoor, Ana Adore, Kat Kristian and Nazia Hussein from India, and talented actors from Poland such veteran actress Anna Guzik, Natalia Bak, Pawel Czech, Sylwia Czech, Jerzy Handzlik and Jacek Binda.

The film will have a mega-budget of a whopping ₹400 Crores! With this kind of production value we are sure to expect grandeur on another level. When asked about the preparation, Vikash said “With this kind of a piece set in such a significant time of the world’s history, research is the most important, for all aspects of the film. Be it the scripting, dialogues, action, costumes etc. Every department is engaged in conducting thorough research to bring most authentic viewing experience to the audience.”

The production team is already working hard on procurement of all possible material from this period of the second world war. Jahnavi Verma one of the creative heads is aiding the Art Direction team by researching about The Good Maharaja and combing through archives in London. The team is focused at gathering enough information to completely enrich the sets and bring forth total realism in the film sets, props and backgrounds.

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When asked about OTT platforms and their increase in market share in today’s time, Vikash said that he feels OTT nowadays is surely a blessing for the industry but theatre is the place where mega films should release first. “We shot No Means No in Poland in extreme conditions (-30 degrees) with five cameras and on a high production value. Only big-screen viewing can justify the vast canvas and scale we shot with. Due to the unfortunate conditions of the Pandemic,  a theatrical release has become all the more challenging. OTT can be the final landing ground but cannot replace the cinema experience.”

To conclude, we are sure that audiences are not only waiting for No Means No with baited breath, but what started out as a whisper about ‘The Good Maharaja’ has now definitely become a desirous roar to experience this historic epic that will be presented to the Indian audiences at scale never before done.