Maharaja Movie Review

Nithilan Saminathan’s Kurangu Bommai was a very impactful film that got us thrilled and emotionally invested in its proceedings superbly, going onto become a memorable one. In his sophomore effort in Maharaja, the director works out a stronger and tougher screenplay, delivering a solid film that will stay on our minds for long.

Maharaja is the story of a simple but strong-headed barber, who turns up at the police station to log a complaint to find his missing ‘Lakshmi’, one of the important characters in his life. The introduction to Maharaja’s character is given through his daughter’s POV, and we get to know the kind of man that he is in even the simplest of challenges thrown at him. The film then moves into a narrative that is layered and twisted, yet very clear to the audiences. From a neatly progressing first half, the film transforms itself with a special interval block that is massy and powerful. And when you think that is the peak, you get an even better second half that is packed with an emotionally gripping narrative loaded with twists and turns.

Maharaja’s big plus is in how Nithilan arranges his series of events and reveals his past and present through a screenplay and edit pattern that is fresh and interesting to the audiences. The director does not wait long to throw up surprises, as he plans them 15-20 minutes apart from each other, which helps the film majorly throughout.

And it is up to Vijay Sethupathi, who in his 50th film, delivers a cracker of a performance that reminds us of the fantastic actor that he is in author-backed roles that have a good bit of ‘mass’ in them as well. The actor is pitch perfect with his portrayal of ‘Maharaja’ here, and this is one of the roles where he gets everything right starting with his voice modulation. The film also benefits big time from the presence of Anurag Kashyap (who struggles with his lip sync but still good), Mamta Mohandas, Abhirami, Natty and the others in the cast.

Maharaja is also aided superbly by Ajaneesh Loknath’s background score which balances out the emotional sequences and the powerful ones with the right sensibilities. Visually and editing wise too, the film strikes gold.

Maharaja is one of those films that gets every department right, and when a film does that, it ought to be celebrated. Right in the sixth month of the year, we have got a film that has beaten every other film out there so far, and will be a tough one to beat in the days to come as well. Brilliant, from top to toe.

Maharaja Movie Review Rating: 4.5/5