Cast: Huma Qureshi, Amit Sial, Vineet Kumar, Pramod Pathak, Kani Kusruti, Anuja Sathe, Sushil Pandey, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Sohum Shah

Director: Saurabh Bhave

Language: Hindi

A subject as dense as politics always needed longer format and thank god we now have a platform like OTT where length and complexities are never an issue. Creator Subhash Kapoor’s and director Saurabh Bhave’s Maharani is now entering its season three. A lot has happened in three seasons and three years. Rani Bharti, played by Huma Qureshi, was sucked into the world of politics after his husband Bheema (Sohum Shah) announced her as his successor. What followed next were some unexpected events of deceit, what else but politics, and now it’s time for revenge.

The milieu hits the right note and by now, the characters have become familiar so the their reactions are familiar too. And unlike many other political dramas, Maharani doesn’t resort to screech for higher impact. The chaos the people on the show are surrounded by do the job of conveying their conflicts and concerns.

What is season three about?

Rani Bharti is behind the bars and Navin Kumar, played by Amit Sial, has taken to power. The state of Bihar is likely to turn a little more gory as a game of vengeance and violence is all set to ensue. It’s not just a face off between two brawn’s but rather brains. It also helps that Kapoor as the creator, has breathed the fragrance of small town with the Jolly LLB franchise and the underrated Guddu Rangeela. What’s more fulfilling is that he creates an ensemble that can be relied on easily.

Will the game ever end?

Come to think of it, all of a sudden, a man appoints his wife as his successor. An outsider, completely alien to this dingy world, feels lost at first, before transitioning into a lady of steel with balls of iron. And when her husband is eliminated and she’s blamed for it, she swears what else but revenge. Politics is a field where confrontations and stabbings barely end. And why it should? A game of power is no longer a game of chess that ends on a cerebral note. It’s now a marathon where the race begins exactly where it ends. Which takes to the question- If season four is in the making, what to expect then?

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Maharani season 3 is now streaming on Sony LIV