Based on true events, Maurh follows the story of two individuals Jeona and Kisna who fight against the oppression of the British and the local landlords. The story here may not be novel from its core but this is presented almost like a Cowboy film from the West and it is this aspect of the film that makes the drama interesting. The screenplay standing at about a 135 minutes does make for a compelling viewing in a drama which is path-breaking for the Punjabi Film Industry.

The drama does open with the introduction of the principal characters while acquainting the viewers with the kind of oppression that people in the area are accustomed to. The dusty landscape does paint a picture of fear amongst the people who are meant to oblige with the higher officials or get killed instead. The writers do well in clearly demarcating the lines between different sects of people. So you have the oppressed people along with local bandits who fight for their cause on one side, and the British and the wealthy landlords on the other side. The environment is created with purpose wherein one of the characters decides to join the Bandits to fight for the cause. And thus a game of valiancy, bravery and betrayal begins.

The proceedings are engaging and engrossing that focuses on the shifting character dynamics between the characters. While the drama largely remains predictable, you are witness to smaller nuances that does make for a compelling watch. The events did remind me of the Hindi film Shamshera although this is a superior product to that film in terms of storytelling. The twist at the halfway mark is staged very well, even with the set of events prior to the main event, that added a lot of urgency to the drama. What follows is a cat and mouse chase with bouts of revenge thrown in.

I quite enjoyed the action set pieces that were a part of the narrative in the final 40 odd minutes. But the action without the required set of emotions wouldn’t quite work most of the times. And because you are invested in the characters and their journeys, you are also engrossed in the action set pieces. The finale act was a fitting end to the proceedings(if at all it was a little hurried) wherein the writers took care on not diverting from the historical facts and I quite liked the efforts there. Overall, the drama is largely predictable but scores with the setting and an intrinsic screenplay that manages to impress!