Maharaja Story

Vijay Sethupathi plays the titular character Maharaja, a hairdresser and father living with his teenage daughter. One day, he goes to the police station to lodge a missing complaint. He claims his prized possession Lakshmi (an iron wastebin), owing to sentimental reasons, has been stolen by a trio, putting the police officials in a fix. But is that all the true intentions of this case or is there more to it, is what Maharaja all about.

Maharaja Review

Watching Maharaja has got me reminded of filmmaker Nithilan Saminathan’s debut film Kurangu Bommai. There are more parallels between the two, which fixates its storylines on a particular object which appears quotidian by nature, but hold more value that intended. In fact, to be precise, become a rather different entity all together than what it comes across by the face value. Both the films feature ruthless yet economically-struggling villains who can go to any extent to get what they desire. Yes, desire seems to be the word that applies to why these antagonists want to rob off their victims. If Elango Kumaravel’s Sekar from Kurangu Bommai became overwhelmed by desire of money which makes him commit heinous crimes, only to leave him in a situation that makes him regret it every passing day, there is a similar wicked desire leading to karmic play in Maharaja too (with a similar red herring), leaving its villains in helpless scenarios. Only that they are way too brutal and settle for convenient writing choices.

In one of the earliest posters of Maharaja, reads the phrase, “What goes around, comes around”. In essence, Maharaja makes this point in its two-hour-odd long film by adopting a non-linear narrative and extreme jumps in timelines. It is so much so that, the film takes the first half to set up the base and introduce the premise and characters, to slowly unravel the happenings and order of events during the climax. But for you to feel a catharsis of karma hitting back like a boomerang, Maharaja begins to lack cohesiveness and instead takes convenient choices, the biggest grouse out of the film. Characters who appear in various timelines of the film seem to get connected with each other, besides the fact that some even appear to take actions and know the backstories only so that the film gets to end in the way it wants.

Maharaja’s first half boasts some black comedy with quirky one liners, like “kuppa tottiyil kuppa kuda illa” (there is no waste in the waste bin), and a quick comic take on Ilaiyaraaja-Rahman debate. But at the same time, there are also certain over-the-top scenes involving a thief named Police and custodial violence, that may not contribute to entirety of the film. There is also much ambiguity looming over certain characters. Giving an example and by no means a spoiler that Anurag Kashyap’s Selvam is the antagonist in the film, we are never told why he does what he does, including a few ruthless scenes and decisions that demonstrate his diabolic nature, given he appears to be a loving man to his folks. But we are also shown his familial background, giving rise to questions on his nature and connections with accomplices who tend to get conveniently set within the clockwork of the film’s twists and turns. As much as we get to know of Maharaja (a superb Vijay Sethupathi) and his daily routine, we aren’t told or shown much of the antagonists and how they are connected apart from being just so happened to be there.

Vijay Sethupathi holds the fort brilliantly with a mix of his innocence and sympathy along with his signature style of delivering a particular dialogue in repeated fashion. But on the lop side, Asifa (Mamta Mohandas)- a physical education trailer, Gopal (Bhararathiraja)- a fellow barber with Maharaja, and a snake which makes special appearances, do not seem to weigh in much for the film.

Maharaja is a film that feeds you information in every frame and second, that losing a grip of it might leave you not understand when the knots are tied. A revenge drama at its essence, the film brilliantly sets up its premise, and for a film that jumps narratives withing an eye’s blink, tends to connect the dots, but in a convoluted manner that it wants you to buy its random choices.

Maharaja Verdict

Maharaja is a departure of sorts from the landmark films that stars have been doing to remember by. Vijay Sethupathi, who excellently convinces his role and attempts to justify a film which is not spared by certain commodious and lethargic gimmicks it does, not to forget an excess influx of characters.

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