Maharaja - Deception on a Razor's edge

Maharaja

Tamil / Drama / Crime

150 mins / Netflix

Disclaimer - Specifically chose the above poster - The movie deals with dark themes and is fairly violent, with some scenes being quite disturbing.

Reviewing this movie is a really tough. Being spoiler free - it is tough to share what i experienced, without dropping a plot hint. Every single detail seems to matter.

In my previous post (on Garudan), i had lamented on the quality of Tamil movies in the past 15 months. Thankfully, the faith is restored , thanks to Maharaja (not to be confused with the Hindi Maharaj , also on Netflix). The picture is written and directed by Nithilan Swaminathan, who made his debut with the very impressive Tamil thriller Kurangu Bommai. 

Maharaja ( Vijay Sethupathi, VJS in his 50th movie and a welcome return to form, after his recent villainous turns) is an old man who lives and cares for his teenaged daughter Jyothi.  Jyothi is a very good athlete in school and is away on a sports camp, when their home is burgled and Maharaja is beaten up unconscious. 

The police, do not take him seriously. Instead, led by Inspector Varadharajan ( Nataraja Subramaniam, Natty ), they see an opportunity in Maharaja's desperation and look to fleece him of his money. Maharaja, is at station, every day , pushing for the investigation - to the point where every single person recalls his narration of the happenings of the fateful night -  verbatim, as a matter of ridicule. As the cops look to complete their "false" investigation and close Maharaja's case, they uncover something which blows their (and the audience's ) mind.

Maharaja - demands your focus from the beginning to the end. Deception lies beneath every character and every scene.  The screenwriting is the highlight of the movie, elevating it beyond usual movies of the genre.  The background score by Kannada composer Ajaneesh Lokanath is good.

VJS is stunning - the opening sequence, when he is shopping for a gift,  itself shows his calibre. Natty, is solid, as the smooth talking , condescending cop. Anurag Kashyap plays Selvam, a serial burglar, who runs an electric shop as a front. He is good, but the lip sync is downright awful, diluting  his performance.

There are some sequences which could have easily been edited and seem to serve no purpose. The elongated sequence in the jail when VJS tells his story, made to a comic effect - seems repetitive (given the audience is introduced to his steadfastness in another sequence at the school), is one such example.

Quite a few  characters serve absolutely no purpose - Veteran Bharathi raja as Maharaja's employee, Mamta Mohandas as Jyothi's coach.  The movie could have easily benefited from a slick 110 min run time (like Kurangu Bommai). The female actors deserved better writing. These would have elevated the film into the masterpiece category.

Nevertheless, this is an absolutely TOP NOTCH film and should be on everyone's list,  before kicking the bucket on 2024.  Full credit to the writer director in making this movie, headlined by one of India's best actors ever! , who placed his full trust on this project, given his recent box office debacles. I can sing so many more praises, but as i mentioned earlier in the review, it is tough without spoiling it for the viewer.

Oh … and the last frame of the movie .. wow 🤩 

Ps:- Natty (Nataraja Subramaniam is a famous Cinematographer - his work includes Ranjhanaa, Jab we met. As an actor , he is best known for his performance in the superb Sathuranga Vettai , a MUST see and the evil cop in Karnan)