We can call it a bai-product. There have been a number of notable films on the borderless, ambiguous relationship between the woman of the house and her precious househelp. I can easily recall Shabana Azmi with Rohini Hattangadi in Arth. And, Shabana again with Nimisha Sajayan in the recent OTT series Dabba Cartel.
Just this week, we saw Jaya Ahsan and her equation of underscored equality with her househelp Nirmala Di, played by that incredible actress Anubha Fatehpuria n Aniruddha Roy Chowdhary’s fabulous Dear Maa.
The Gujarati film Maharani, directed by Viral Shah, doesn’t come anywhere close to the films mentioned above. Manasi Parekh and Shraddha Dangar, both National award winning actresses, struggle to create a warm credible camaraderie as Mistress and Maid; or if you want to be political correct (not that anyone here is inclined to combat the hierarchical chaos beyond the mundane), Employee and Househelp trying to discover a middleground between professional distance and a sisterly kinship.
The writing invariably lets the two female leads down, in spite of their best intentions. The two female heroes in the original Marathi film Nach Ga Ghuma, Mukta Barve and Namrata Sambherao, caught the sur of the householder-househelp equation far better.
In this humdrum Gujarati remake, the dynamics of domesticity are squandered in amusement pokes, like Manasi’s funny boss at the bank, whom she appeases for coming late every morning with takeaway lunches. And that insufferable interlude with two househelps brought in by the couple’s mothers-in-law, ladling it out in a kitchen battle.
What works in pockets is Manasi’s desperate efforts to bring Rani back into her household after imperiously sacking her help. At one point towards the end, Manasi walks into Rani’s new employer’s home and threatens to take Rani away at grump point.
Manasi’s desperation to find a suitable househelp will resonate with the audience. But the film lacks finesse and sensitivity. It would rather be loud and fidgety when a bit of restraint would have gone a long way in making this a sincere attempt to understand the dynamics of domesticity, why working women need to pamper their househelps.
Maharani is not a bad film. It just doesn’t seem inclined to go far or deep enough into its central relationship. It is like that lazy kaam-wali bai who cleans only the surface and hurries home.
