Tamil cinema relies on commercial action as well as dramatic films. But, rarely do films use drama to deal with sensitive subjects. Director Nithilan Swaminathan’s ‘Maharaja’ is one such revenge drama that talks about an important topic that has been relevant for several decades.

Maharaja (Vijay Sethupathi) is an aged father who lives with his daughter Jothi (Sachan Nemidas). One day, he goes to the Pallikaranai Police Station in Chennai to lodge a complaint about ‘Lakshmi’ being stolen. The police wonder who ‘Lakshmi’ is but they discover that it is a rusted iron dustbin. The dustbin is important in Maharaja and Jothi’s life as it later saved his wife’s life during a fatal accident.

Then we have another father, Selvam (Anurag Kashyap), who along with his accomplice breaks into deserted houses, steals and rapes the women. Maharaja’s complaint is not taken seriously, but he is willing to bribe Inspector Varadhan (Natti aka Natarajan Subramanyam) to find the culprit. But, everyone knows that there is more to Lakshmi and Maharaja than meets the eye.

Watch the trailer here:

Nithilan Swaminathan announced his arrival as a filmmaker in 2017 with the critically acclaimed ‘Kurangu Bommai’. With ‘Maharaja’, he is back with a violent revenge thriller that is well-intentioned on paper. Talking about ‘Maharaja’ without giving away spoilers is really a task. But, spoilers aside, ‘Maharaja’ makes maximum use of the non-linear story pattern. Was it effective? Partially, yes! But, mainly disappointing, especially in the second half where the story comes together.

The first half of ‘Maharaja’ is all about the power establishment. We get to see multiple stories one after the other. It’s inconsistent and leaves you scratching your head. But, it’s still interesting, because you know Vijay Sethupathi’s Maharaja is up to something. It’s in the second half where the plot points converge. However, the lead-up is filled with convenient writing choices, resulting in a lot of assumptions.

Also, while dealing with sensitive subjects, there should be a proper understanding of where to draw the line. Even though the director’s intentions may have been good, ‘Maharaja’ has crossed that line. It relies on well-planned twists and violence to evoke emotions.

Vijay Sethupathi has lived up to the role of Maharaja, who is a good father. His transformation scenes, action sequences and performance are perfect for the film. Anurag Kashyap, on the other hand, was not a good fit for the film. His lip sync problem reduced the seriousness of the performance. Sachana Nemidas has got limited screen time and he has done it well.

There is a lot going on in ‘Maharaja’. Sadly, the hits and misses are not proportionate, with the latter having the upper hand. These good moments are buried under dark humour, which hardly works, and several other shortcomings.