Director: Shivam Nair

Cast: Naseruddin Shah, Om Puri, Paresh Rawal, Boman Irani, Neha Dhupia, Tara Sharma

One would have expected superb performances in thriller "Maharathi", since it consisted of experienced actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and Boman Irani. However, in honest terms, the film is a complete disaster and has failed miserably to impress the audience, the credit of which goes to a loose storyline that has no element to keep the interest of the audience alive. For any film, Plot is the central part and the plot of Maharathi is a total thumbs down.

The film is directed by Shivam Nair, who definitely seems to have had missed on some important aspects of filmmaking. The storyline starts off in an interesting manner, however it later fails to maintain the interest of the audience. Jai Singh Adenwala (Naseeruddin Shah) is rescued from a car accident by Subhash Sharma (Paresh Rawal), a struggling actor, and in return gets the job as his driver. When it comes to the personal life of Jai Singh, it is in a black hole since he does not get along with his much younger wife Mallika (Neha Dhupia).

The rage and hate in Adenwala's heart for his wife Mallika is so much that he commits suicide but challenges his wife Mallika to prove his suicide a murder, to claim the insurance amount. In order to get the money, Mallika join hands with driver Subhash to show the suicide as murder and mutually share the insurance money. So the two try to attempt to murder a man; who has already committed suicide.

However, as legality jargons attempt to muddle up the mystery, the story becomes complex and Subhash`s plan goes for a toss in the concluding reels.

Though the film otherwise is a dud, it sure has good camera work and dialogues. Another relief is that the film does not have the usual song-and-dance number.

The performance by Paresh Rawal is quite appealing and Naseeruddin Shah has done a brilliant job as the alcoholic filmmaker. Though Boman Irani gets less scope in the first half, he manages to impress with his antics. The performance by Neha Dhupia is fine and it seems that she has brushed up her acting skills; however, Tara Sharma does not fit the bracket and seems quite out of place in the whole movie. Om Puri, such a veteran actor, too seems misfit as the investigating officer. So overall the movie is capable of getting only two stars and not worth watching.