Maharani, an engaging Hindi web series drama on the ruthless and murky political battles in Bihar, partially inspired by real-life incidents, follows the rise of a naive homemaker, Rani Bharati (Huma Qureshi), to the post of the Chief Minister of the state. Playing a significant role in this thriller is Malayalam actor Kani Kusruti, as an IAS officer Kaveri Sreedharan, who is Officer on Special Duty to Rani.
In the first season, Bihar’s Chief Minister Bhima Bharati (Sohum Shah) announces his wife, Rani, as his successor after he is critically injured. It is Kaveri who handholds the academically and politically illiterate Rani at every step. In the second season, a more confident Rani takes on her husband and her political rivals. Kaveri, now her confidante, sticks with her through thick and thin.
Recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Actress (2019) for her character in Biriyaani, Kani says that she came into the project through an audition. The language was not a problem since Kani’s character speaks Hindi the way she normally speaks. “It is not the Hindi you hear from a North Indian. I had to learn certain words and the usage needed for that role. But it is not just dialogues alone that make a character. I don’t wear saris the way Kaveri does; I don’t do my hair like that. So the costume, hair, make-up, production design... everything helped me become Kaveri. I also had to understand the mindscape of an IAS officer, especially the values the person upholds,” Kani explains.
