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By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | July 23, 2024 Rating: 3.5/5 The Essence: Maharaja (Tamil with English subtitles) is a film for those who enjoy a thought-provoking mystery […]
By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | July 23, 2024
Rating: 3.5/5
The Essence: Maharaja (Tamil with English subtitles) is a film for those who enjoy a thought-provoking mystery with a unique storytelling approach. If you’re looking for a fast-paced psychological thriller with unexpected twists and turns, this film is worth checking out.
There are layers of unadulterated fragments of the past that keep cropping up, keeping the narrative off balance, yet in check.
Sometimes, the viewer wonders where he has landed within the plot because the Director, Nithilan Saminathan, does not hand out everything on a platter. He passes on the scenes and then lets the Editor, Philomin Raj wield his magic. I say this because it is a complex task to skew the narrative, yet keep the flow going, if you know what I mean!
The jumping of scenes keeps you engaged and engrossed, as well as have you playing out the plot in your mind. Mid-way, you let go because it gets too taxing. Then you are lured again to join the dots. In the final scenes, you are yet again confused just like the central character who is out to regain his stolen dustbin. But then again, you get some clarity.
However, even though you are so invested in the goings-on on screen, the final layer, when peeled, leaves you reeling for its sheer complexity. The final scenes unravel the knots from the beginning scenes as the mystery behind the stolen dustbin, aptly named ‘Lakshmi’, reaches its peak.
When the movie is over, you are still left wondering and still trying to make sense of the plot, joining the dots, and wondering when you, as a viewer, lost the plot. Fact is, Nithilan Saminathan and Philomin Raj, never lost the grip on the narrative, they pushed the envelope further towards you than you expected.
Initially, you are as confused as the cops, but when you wind up the stairway to the top, everything becomes clear.
Maharaja (Vijay Sethupathi) is a soft-spoken barber who lives an ordinary life with his wife played by Divya Bharathi and his daughter. The character’s meek personality is established in the first few scenes itself when he wants the day off to go shopping for his family, and when he communicates with his wife from across the road whilst buying a toy for his daughter.
Even though the scene is just a two-three minutes Saminathan packs a punch in detailing their bond. Divya Bharathi has no dialogue, just sitting across the shop in her own home, her body language, coupled with apt facial expressions, leaves a lasting, haunting impression. She is killed as a truck rams into their home. Maharaja watches in disbelief. Their daughter, however, survives, as an iron dustbin falls from the loft, over her, protecting her.
Next, we see the father-daughter bonding and their love for the dustbin, now revered and named ‘Lakshmi’. Maharaja and his daughter, Jothi (Sachana Nemidas) are inseparable. However, for the first time, she leaves for a sporting camp, leaving her father alone. She tells him to take care of himself and ‘Lakshmi’.
As luck would have it, one day, three thieves break into his home, while Jothi is at camp, and steal the dustbin. Maharaja reaches the police station to file a complaint about the missing dustbin. When he is ridiculed, he offers a bribe of rupees 5 lakhs, to help get his dustbin back.
Slowly, the cops realize that there is more to the dustbin than what meets the eye. What is so valuable about the dustbin, that Maharaja wants it back, and is even willing to pay a hefty price for it?
And this is where the viewer is taken for a ‘cinematic ride’, as the plot keeps going back and forth. As the cops try to piece the puzzle, so do you as a viewer.
Vijay Sethupathi is brilliant, as a young barber, and as a father who is in search of his lost possession. Without saying much he packs a punch with his performance. Even in the few violent scenes, he attacks mercilessly without the added paraphernalia that goes with violence in the South Films.
Anurag Kashyap who plays Selvam, the negative character is beyond brilliant. A psychotic, he enjoys a meal during every barbaric attack. He he leads a dual life: One as a thief who steals, kills, and rapes, and another as a doting father and caring husband. The neurosis of his personality is complete!
Abhirami, who plays Selvam’s wife, like Divya Bharathi, leaves a lasting impression with her performance. Sanchana Nemidas and Mamta Mohandas who plays Jothi’s coach are eye-catching.
There’s violence in doses and certain gory scenes are left to the imagination. Even though there’s a gross underplay of emotions from Maharaja, there’s no denying the excess in certain places.
Maharaja is a film for those who enjoy a thought-provoking mystery with a unique storytelling approach. If you’re looking for a fast-paced psychological thriller with unexpected twists and turns, this film is worth checking out. h.
CREDITS
Producers: Jagadish Palanisamy, Sudhan Sundaram
Director: Nithilan Saminathan
Star Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Sachana Nemidas, Diyva Bharathi, Abhirami, Anurag Kashyap, Mamta Mohandas
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