Review of the film Maharaja: Vijay Sethupathi portrays a single parent who is determined to recover a stolen trashcan, but his grievances go far deeper than first meets the eye.
Since the meticulously crafted turns and twists are the film’s greatest strengths, it is difficult to talk about Maharaja without revealing anything away. Some seem forced, but they work, while some make you feel like you’re part of the director’s con game and writing gimmick without your will. An old, battered man named Maharaja (Vijay Sethupathu) enters the Pallikaranai police station in Chennai and complains that three burglars broke into his home and took his “Lakshmi.” The police become enraged when they question him and discover that the missing item is an old iron trashcan. The film’s prologue establishes Maharaja’s assertion that the trashcan holds sentimental significance for both him and his daughter because it spared the latter from a catastrophic accident that claimed the life of his wife.
As viewers, we can easily understand that Maharaja’s presence at the police station is not all that it seems. In addition, he asserts in an odd way that one of the robbers has an ear on the back of his body. He receives repeated slaps for attempting to ascertain whether a police officer has an ear sprouting on their back. However, they begin to take him seriously when the Maharaja offers Inspector Varadan (Natty) a bribe of lakhs of rupees . In a different tale, Anurag Kashyap’s character Selvam and his partner rob remote homes and rape the ladies within. To add to the confusion, there is another story of a mechanic who steals sunglasses from the late Tamil star Gunaal and gets physically assaulted by the owner of the automobile for doing so. In an attempt to wrap up the investigation, the cops begin stealing money from Maharaja and attempt to create a dustbin clone. But during the entire movie, the trash can was never the main focus. Maharaja has been on a covert mission from the beginning, and when the screenplay’s chaos is resolved, it may come as a shock or even be tragic, but if one can keep their emotions in check, it is not too difficult to see through all the plot devices and issues with the handy writing.
Nithilan Swaminathan penned a story around an intriguing central idea, manipulating the narrative and chronology to suit the concept, giving the impression that the plot was carefully planned. The intention behind this thoughtful and complex piece of writing is to take the audience by surprise and leave them thinking, “I didn’t see that coming.” Maharaja is therefore less of an interesting movie and more of a visual puzzle. The title “puzzle” is appropriate given how haphazardly and deliberately the scenes are arranged to deceive the viewer. At the conclusion, when the jigsaw video segments are assembled, a typical revenge story takes shape. The cause of the carnage is a subject that Tamil cinema repeatedly revisits with insensitivity. When it comes to films that advocate for causes, there isn’t much separating exploitation from caring. Maharaja doesn’t appear to handle the situation well.
The entire movie hinges on the performances, with Anurag Kashyap seeming awfully miscast in spite of his best attempts, and Vijay Sethupathi carrying the film as a reticent elderly guy who keeps saying the same thing again and over. His lip sync errors are startling. Anurag sticks out like a sore thumb, despite the editor and cinematographers’ best efforts to hide it. Regarding the film’s intended dark humor, the same may be argued. Hits are not as often as misses. The Gunal fan gimmick doesn’t add much to the movie as Nithilan created a maze, and as a viewer, I was more concerned with getting out of the chaos than laughing at some dreadful jokes. The main issue with Maharaja is that it has a “wannabe” quality that makes it seem like a harsh, depressing, and intense emotional rollercoaster. It is less concerned with who it really is and more with how it wants to seem.
Cast of Maharaja: Mamta Mohandas, Anurag Kashyap, Abhirami, and Vijay Sethupathi
Director of Maharaja: Nithilan Swaminathan
Maharaja: Two-star rating