'Maharaja' On Netflix Movie Review: Vijay Sethupathi's Stellar Performance Is The Highlight In Nithilan Swaminathan's Well-Written Tale Of Revenge

‘Maharaja’: Story

The story revolves around a barber, named Maharaja (played by Vijay Sethupathi), who works at a shop in Pallikaranai, Chennai. His day revolves around his job and taking care of his daughter, Jyothi (played by Sachana Namidass). His simple life takes a wild turn when his dustbin, which he named Lakshmi, is stolen. Maharaja goes to a local police station to file an FIR for his missing dustbin, but is instead, ridiculed by the cops at the station who refuse to file his complaint.

He is not taken seriously by the cops, but he refuses to leave the police station. However, Maharaja is adamant about getting his dustbin back. He bribes the authorities with Rs 5 lakh and that leads them to become assertive. They rope in their informant to find the dustbin. But things are not as simple as they seem. Secrets lie hidden in plain sight. The movie revolves around this quest to find the dustbin and it also unravels Maharaja’s past.

‘Maharaja’: Performances

For his 50th film, Vijay Sethupathi chose a film that gave him a well-written character. As Maharaja, the actor delivers a fine performance. He has always been a reliable performer and this film goes on to prove that yet again. He has captured the nuance of his character quite well – from the body language to the vulnerability and even the balancing of emotions. His character turns into a softie when it comes to his daughter and a force to reckon with when it comes to revenge. He has successfully captured this hard-to-achieve duality with such ease.

Anurag Kashyap, on the other hand, delivered an earnest performance. But it just wasn’t it; there was some element missing. After a certain point, you could not force yourself to ignore his lip sync. You can see that he has put in an effort here. But when you compare it with the other villainous roles that he has played, this comes across as a sure-shot miss.

‘Maharaja’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects

What works well for ‘Maharaja’ is how well the story has been chalked out by Nithilan Swaminathan. He could have opted to tell this story in a linear way where every event follows the other. But he took a different approach and elevated this revenge saga. The makers have chosen a non-linear format to tell the tale and that’s what makes the difference. The movie has a lot of puzzles and clues strewn all across the runtime which will always leave you with thoughts. While this non-linear storytelling format might keep you glued to the story throughout, it also runs the risk of the audience losing interest as the plot constantly jumps from one timeline to the other.

Apart from the story being well written, what makes your skin crawl is how they have portrayed violence. The violent scenes will make you feel uncomfortable, especially those that depict violence against women. The makers really could have benefitted if they brought this element several notches lower because the strong screenplay has several elements that can hold the movie upright without using shock value elements.

Additionally, what also does not work for ‘Maharaja’ is how the makers have only chosen to focus on Sethupathi’s character. His character is well-written and well-rounded. But when you finish watching the film, it feels like the makers did lip service while writing the other characters. The movie would have been much grittier if they decided to focus equally on all the characters and develop their arcs in a better fashion.

‘Maharaja’: Cast & Crew

Director: Nithilan Swaminathan

Writer: Nithilan Swaminathan

Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Anurag Kashyap, Sachana Namidass, Mamtha Mohandas, Natarajan Subramaniam, Vinod Sagar, Manikandan

Available On: Netflix

Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes

Languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada

‘Maharaja’: Can Kids Watch It?

No, the movie has scenes that depict violence and also use strong language.

Outlook’s Verdict

What lies in ‘Maharaja’s favour is a well-written and well-executed plot. The film pans out slow initially, but it picks up pace eventually. The way the makers have filled the story with clues makes the audience engage actively with the film. Vijay Sethupathi has excelled in whatever role was given to him and was asked of him. But where the movie failed was its use of forced humour, the portrayal of violence, and the ignored trajectory of the other characters. Despite this, ‘Maharaja’ still makes for a good watch. I am going with 3 stars.