Film- Maharaja
Director-Nithilan Saminathan
Cast- Vijay Sethupathi, Natty, Anurag Kashyap, Abhirami, Mamta Mohandas, Sachana Nemidas, Bharathiraja, Munishkanth, Manikandan, Singampuli, Bharathiraja, Arul Doss, Vinod Sagar, Kalki, Divya Bharathi.
After his exciting debut work ‘Kurangu Bommai’, Nithilan ventures into yet another suspense crime thriller,a vendetta story that springs many shocks and surprises as the narrative evolves.
The plot revolves around Maharaja, a barber, who approaches the police with the complaint that ‘Lakshmi’, cherished by him and his daughter Jothi was missing (splendid work by Sachana). Inspector Varadhan (Natty) and his team step into the case after Maharaja promises them a huge sum. That Maharaja has a deeper agenda is not difficult to guess. On another track is Selvam and Sabari (Kashyap, Vinod), who break into isolated houses and go on a steal-rape-kill-mode. How the tracks converge forms the rest.
Nithilan has weaved a quagmire of puzzling turns and twists, played havoc with time lines, made his protagonist a laughing stock, who is ridiculed, humiliated and slapped around by nearly everyone he encounters, particularly the cops he had gone seeking help. Any other maker would have faltered in forming these into a coherent whole. But Nithilan weaves his way out of it with panache. And as the storytelling progresses, he skillfully manages to maneuver through them all, the pieces fitting in and making sense. It’s a scenario where the audience can’t afford to get distracted, lest they miss some crucial elements in the plot.
There is a melancholic streak in this brutal, violence-filled scenario. The twist towards the end seems to reflect the old adage, about the sins of the fathers being visited on the children. The film has a strong emotional quotient that helps camouflage the glitches and the loopholes.
Also, whenever certain sequences related to Maharaja tends to seem a tad far-fetched, Sethupathi’s act lends credence to it. His mannerism of mumbling, fumbling, pauses and spontaneous reactions leads one to feel the possibility of there being a character such as Maharaj. Who can at times be weird, incomprehensible and unpredictable, but with a method to his madness. Maharaja’s habit of adamantly clinging to whatever was next to him- such as a pole- and not letting it go as he desperately attempts to put forth his point, generates some amusing moments. Like the scene at the police station where he literally brings the roof down.
There is not much space for women in such a scenario. So the presence of an actress of the caliber of Mamta Mohandas is puzzling. Abhirami gets some space and scope as Selvam’s wife. Kashyap’s Selvam is coolly menacing. Selvam’s persona and character- shifting, is well etched, the actor essaying it with elan. In fact most of the characters are not entirely black and white, there being this dual-personality to many of them. Whether it is Singampuli’s Nallasami a Police informer; or Natty’s Varadhan a cop attracted to lucre, but with the urge to do the right thing.
Refreshing and novel in its take, ‘Maharaja’ (143 minutes) is worth a watch.
Malini Mannath
Malini Mannath 