#Maharaja Review

#Maharaja

2024 - Tamil

Starring : Vijay Sethupathi , Anurag Kashyap, Mamta Mohandas, Natraj , Munishkanth ,Abhirami and Singampuli

Directed by Nithilan Swaminathan 

Plot : Maharaja , A Barber approaches the Police to register a complaint after his Home is burglarized and he's on a search for "Lakshmi". Who is the Lakshmi or what is it? Why the Police are refusing to register the complaint? Is Maharaja really behind "Lakshmi" or does he have an ulterior motive forms the rest of crux.

Vijay Sethupathi as Maharaja in his 50th Film shines big time. A Settled yet Mature performance that reasonates with the simple yet complicated character. One of his career best. Anurag Kashyap as the Antagonist gets a fantastic arc and a great role. His performance is good , dubbing voice too but a few lip synch issues here and makes it not connect 100%. Natraj (Natty) gets what looks a cliched negative cop role but the Second Half Arc makes it completely different and applause worthy. A Fantastic Supporting Role after Karnan for Natty. Mamta Mohandas gets a decent role but unfortunately is not utilized properly. Same goes with Bharathi Raja who merely gets a extended cameo but is also not utilized. A good comeback for Boys Manikandan. Abhrami again gets a meatier role than Mamta and has performed really well within a limited scope. Divya Bharati in a cameo looks good. Munishkanth and Aruldoss great roles and good performance. And Finally the Girl who acted as VJS Daughter has done a fantastic job especially with the climax Monologue. A Noteworthy perfomance.

Technically the film is strong. Dinesh Purushottaman's Cinematography is Simple and Effective while Philomin Raj's Editing is fantastic. The Way he edited some complicated sequences are terrific and smooth. Ajneesh Loknath's Songs are descent but his BGMs are just terrific. Especially the Finale Emotional BGM hits the right chord and makes the scene even more powerful. 

I personally don't want to divulge any information regarding sequences or scenes in Film . Nithilan's Airtight Screenplay makes each and every scene clinch towards the next sequence. Not even a Single scene is extra or unwanted. Each and everything moves towards a single direction. Special Mention about the Humour in First Half. It is very difficult to blend Humour into such a serious subject but Nithilan does it with ease and the best part is all the humour lands properly & doesn't dilute the seriousness.

On the Flipside, The Film does have very minor issues. The film's a bit over violence may not be suitable for family audience. And also it felt bad when wonderful perfomers like Mamta Mohandas and Bharathi Raja were not utilized properly and merely appeared as Background artists. And the Biggest hook is that the Climax Sequence is really hard hitting and might trigger some also.

Nithilan Swaminathan who directs his Second Film after almost 8 years hits the ball out of the park again. His writing is impressive and honest. A Film dealing with a very sensitive matter is addressed in a sensitive way itself that doesn't dilute the seriousness. Though the film has a very regular one line with some predictable plot points , the fantastic screenplay and performances of VJS , Anurag , Natty and the Girl make the film an worth the money thriller.

Highlights :

1)Vijay Sethupathi's Career Best Performance 

2) Wonderful supporting Roles by Anurag, Natty and VJS Daughter Character 

3) Interval Fight

4) Pre Climax Twist 

5) Occasional Dark Humour 

Overall: Maharaja is a taunt thriller that has a very simple line but it's fantastic screenplay and the leads captivating performance makes it very interesting. Watch out for a unique yet superb performance of Vijay Sethupathi, Anurag Kashyap, Natty and The Girl. Worth Watching in Theatre.

Rating : 4/5

Satellite Rights : Vijay TV

Digital Rights : Netflix