Maharaja Movie Synopsis
A hairdresser named Maharaja files a police complaint because ‘Lakshmi’ is lost. The police officers are confused over who Lakshmi is. But what does Maharaja really want?
Maharaja Movie Review
In this Nithilan Swaminathan directorial, a man called Maharaja (Vijay Sethupathi) files a police complaint because the ‘Lakshmi’ in his house goes missing. When he goes to the police station to file a complaint, there’s a thief in custody who is named Police. Maharaja, the film, is full of such droll contradictions.
To put it straight, this film is about two fathers. One played by Vijay Sethupathi, and another by Anurag Kashyap. The former lost his wife (Divya Bharathi) when his daughter Jothi was just a toddler. Meanwhile, the latter lives happily with his wife (Abhirami) and daughter.
It could have been one very straightforward or ‘we know what’s in store’ film for the audience if it was plain sailing. But undoubtedly it’s not about what happens next but about how those things happen differently from our expectations at every point of its narrative. Yes there are multiple faulty and disoriented moments all through its runtime .But still somewhere along these lines of thinking ,we might say that at least they were able to make us watch till end. Maharaja could have been one of those films wherein everything which plays out on screen is pronounced enough for us feel so much involved as an audience member. Not here though. What keeps you invested in this movie is not so much anticipation generated from making everything on screen pronounced; but rather having some thing else that creates desire wanting see further events where they would take place if shown differently.
Having said that, many parts seemed quite engineered contrived too hard. at least it seems like so at moments. The most evident for me is that one comic moment where Maharaja narrates how Lakshmi went missing. The fact of who/what Lakshmi is supposed to make us laugh and it’s indeed laughable this man has approached the police just because of who/what went missing. But some times makers stretch reactions more than they should. Yes situation funny but why make in your face so much done.
From the first look itself, the film has been portrayed as a violent film. With its lead named Maharaja, you would expect that we were in for mass outing right from go. But surprisingly enough, it starts with a fun game of Antakshari and Vijay Sethupathi is not initially presented as an out and out hero or as someone to fear. First, we see him working in a saloon and asking leave from his employer. Next time we see him, he is in a shop selecting toys from fancy store.
In terms of violence, especially against women, shown in the film is a point of debate. We use violence as a polish in most of our movies even when it’s not necessary for the story. What is debatable about Maharaja is that it uses violence against women to show how bad the villains are. There are many ways to make characters look bad in a film and one of them is through physical abuse towards females by the male character which makes us hate him instantly but in this movie it seems like they’re only doing that so we could see just how evil their enemies really are however I wish they handled this issue more sensitively.
Another thing that Maharaja fails to get right is its portrayal of the bad guys including Anurag Kashyap who plays one such character here. Having a big name actor does not ensure audience connection with his or her role; there needs to be some fleshing out done on them too except that didn’t happen in this film either. We’re told and shown that these people are ruthless and horrible human beings but what lacks in them mostly according my view as viewer is understanding why they became like so therefore were left with nothing other than knowing just what kind of people those were supposed to represent although casting someone like Anurag for this part does seem fitting considering makers would’ve wanted someone capable enough go up against Vijay Sethupathi’s antagonist however neither acting nor character registers at any given point throughout but still as long police officers investigating his complaint remain main focus then everything goes well till ending where things begin fluctuating upon shifting attention towards bad guys themselves .
In his 50th film, Vijay Sethupathi shines bright with an extraordinarily written character whom he portrays brilliantly. They must have worked hard while creating his role because almost all his actions have consequences thus showing how much effort was put into developing this particular individual since every word spoken by him also counts which actor does perfectly well. Unfortunately, other actors playing popular faces seem to be brought onboard just so that they can have some recognized names among cast members without adding any value whatsoever either towards enhancing their respective characters or advancing storyline itself – Abhirami, Mamta Mohandas, Bharathirajaa and Divyabharathi.
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