Maharaja
When movies blow up on social media, I like to take a wait and see approach. Generally, I let the initial excitement die down before watching it myself. But Maharaja was different. One of my friends asked me to watch it at midnight, and then another asked me to check it out in the morning and said “Hey Jainam this is a film you should watch for storytelling and directing” directly addressing me because I want to be a filmmaker someday and then another friend from the same circle praised it. And then a few more friends pinged me to watch it. It was all by chance. And that made me too excited because even though I don’t go by reviews because I think that sets a wrong image, this one felt different. Maybe because I have seen Vijay Sethupathi and Anurag Kashyap, and I know what could happen. So, Maharaja, it was.
Spoiler ahead
“Maharaja” is confusing from the start. Its non linear narrative structure as seen in “Memento” or “Following,” had me thinking about how coherent the movie was even when we see Sethupathi’s character getting shot every ten minutes. The disjointed timeline made everything so confusing until later when I knew that they were trying to show us how he dies every time he gets closer to finding out who killed Jothi.
The first half builds suspense unlike anything else in cinema history. With his rigid body language as if he is constantly constipated but also relaxed enough not care about anything else other than himself until people start dying around him just so we can move on with our lives already which never happens anyway since death seems inevitable anyways why bother living longer than necessary indeed oh wow what an interesting choice for someone whose life revolves around garbage cans but still manages to be funny somehow? Only Vijay Sethupathi could’ve done this role justice while making us laugh at ourselves too hard not knowing why. And then Anurag Kashyap comes into play and things take a darker turn as we find out more about him.
The whole movie starts when a man loses his dustbin yes, that’s right and tries everything to get it back. It seems trivial but as the plot unfolds, we realize how important this trashcan actually is. At first, the police just brush him off which is expected because let’s be honest what department would want to deal with someone’s garbage in their city? But then they do something illegal by trying too hard making us care about justice through revenge. They let Maharaja kill the rapist so technically speaking yes it was unlawful for them to do so but morally speaking I’m 100% behind it.
Selvam (Anurag Kashyap) is a complex character who loves his daughter deeply but does many bad things too. When we find out he raped her though holy shit my mouth dropped like damn dude really? Why would you hurt your own kid like that smh anyways karma catches up quick when she walks away forever leaving him alone forevermore until death do them part or something along those lines at least according to some religions maybe.
That last shot where Jothi steps on Selvam’s blood and leaves footprints in the cement while walking away from him will haunt me forever because it represents how her life has been ruined by his actions.
The ending is like Denis Villeneuve’s Incendis. We are left with this pit of sadness that was the mental trauma worth it even if we have decoded every mystery? “Maharaja” is an example of storytelling power which forces us to question our own morality. The film deserves applause for successfully interweaving comedy, suspense and social commentary within a coherent plotline. Every performance in the movie is outstanding, Vijay Sethupathi and Anurag Kashyap give their best performances yet while Natarajan Subramaniam’s portrayal as Inspector Varadharajan showcases his versatility as an actor.
The movie’s technical aspects are also worth mentioning. The editing is done in such a way that it adds to the non linear and captivating nature of the film. Action sequences are brutal and visceral which serves to heighten emotional impact on story telling.
“Maharaja” is one of those movies which stay with you long after credits roll up. It challenges you as a viewer, makes you think and ultimately satisfies your cinephile soul. So with deep thoughts themes, exceptional acting skills displayed by various actors plus brilliant story telling method used I must say it’s a must watch for any cinema lover out there! For me I think this has been my favorite films so far this year.
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