Maharaja reigns with Vijay Sethupathi in the lead
Writer-director Nithilan Swaminathan’s second venture, Tamil film Maharaja, now showing on Netflix, has swept both the box office and critics off their feet. The film, with Tamil star Vijay Sethupathi in the lead, raked in $9.8 million globally within 10 days of its release and is the highest-grossing Tamil film so far this year. Aamir Khan Productions has acquired the adaptation rights of the movie. Aamir Khan (whose son Junaid debuted in the Hindi period drama Maharaj this year) is set to portray the eponymous lead in the Hindi adaptation of the Tamil film.
So, is Maharaja worth the hype? (Fair warning: There are a few spoilers here.)
Maharaja’s search for Lakshmi
The movie starts with an innocuous-looking man named Maharaja (Vijay Sethupathi), coming to the police station to report a robbery. He has a large bandage on his left ear and appears distressed when he speaks about the people who broke into his house, attacked him, and took away his beloved Lakshmi. He wants the police to retrieve Lakshmi before his daughter returns from her camp.
Lakshmi is a metal trash can. Years ago, when a freak accident destroyed his house, his wife and child were trapped under the debris. The trash can fell on top of the toddler, saving her life. Since then, the trash can has earned a revered position in the house, with the father and daughter treating it as a deity. The police laugh him out of the police station, but the man is adamant. He even offers them an absurd amount as a bribe just to get them to take his complaint seriously.
Parallelly, we are introduced to Selvam (Anurag Kashyap) and Sabari (Vinod Sagar), who are a pair of thieves. They break into people’s houses, rob them, rape the women, and kill the occupants. Selvam loves his wife and dotes on his child. However, a freak set of events leads to Maharaja and Selvam’s worlds violently colliding.
As a viewer and a writer, I had a few theories about how the plot would go from there, but I couldn’t predict the turns this movie took. What starts as a rather absurd plot soon turns into one of the most compelling stories I have watched. This is a brutal, violent, and gut-wrenching journey, one that should be seen to be believed.
Sethupathi, Kashyap excel
This is Vijay Sethupathi 50th film. The movie was announced in February 2023 under the tentative title VJS50. As the titular character, Sethupathi has the heavy lifting, and he more than lives up to the task. His character undergoes a complex gamut of emotions, ranging from grief, rage, desperation, helplessness, and catharsis. Sethupathi portrays each of them to perfection. Even when he isn’t speaking, his face and eyes convey everything he is feeling. In one scene, Maharaja is made to repeat the tale of the break-in. The subtle quake in his voice, the tremble in his hands, the way he shifts in his chair – the audience can feel the deep anguish in him. Sethupathi makes the audience connect with his character from the first frame.
Anurag Kashyap’s Selvam is a violent man. He is ruthless, cruel, and vile. His bond with his daughter is his only soft spot. Kashyap’s laugh, his body language, his mannerisms, were so intimidating, they elicited a visceral reaction from me. His very presence is menacing. A friend who is fluent in Tamil assures me that his diction was pretty good too.
Natarajan Subramaniam does a commendable job as Inspector S. Varadharajan, even though the scope of his role is rather limited in comparison. Special mention to Singampuli as Nallasivam and Sachana Namidass as Jyothi Maharaja for nailing their parts.
Nailing the non-linear narrative
There are moments when the narrative shifts abruptly, leaving the audience confused and feeling disconnected from the story. This may dissuade some viewers from carrying on, but I urge you to stay with the film because, eventually, the pieces will fall into place. This is a masterclass in storytelling that employs non-linear narrative.
A narration like this requires flawless editing, and Philomin Raj does just that. B. Ajaneesh Loknath’s music elevates the storytelling: be it the soulful melody that plays when the father and daughter are together, the poignant notes when Maharaja breaks down, or the rousing background score of the action scenes. Dinesh Purushothaman’s camera captures the small town of Tamil Nadu perfectly, transporting us to the time and place effectively.
Creative liberty that works
One criticism that the film gets is that some events are a little too convenient. But I see it as a narrative choice. Sometimes writers use exaggeration, ridiculousness, or hand-of-fate as a stylistic device and I see nothing wrong with it. Is it convenient in some places? Perhaps, but it didn’t hinder the storytelling itself.
I went into the film without even seeing the trailer, so I had no idea what to expect. When it began, I thought I was in for an absurd comedy about a man and his trash can. But this movie confounded all my expectations and presented something entirely unexpected.
So, was this movie worth the hype? Yes. It absolutely was.
