The first look poster of Nithilan Swaminathan's *Maharaja* is included here. Looking at it, you can see an image of an eagle near Vijay Sethupathi's face and a wolf near Anurag Kashyap's face. Nithilan has indicated the nature of their characters right on the poster.
Those who have attended personality development classes will know what the Eagle Attitude is. Eagles adapt to change, are patient, and can focus on their prey due to their determination and sense of purpose. An eagle will never surrender to the size or strength of its prey. It will always fight to win its prey or regain its territory, no matter the size of its problems. This information can be found online. Eagles generally hunt alone and are called "Rasali" in Tamil. They are considered the kings of birds. The hero's name is Maharaja, which means king. Essentially, he is alone. The two scenes in the movie that prominently showcase this attitude of the hero are his stance against the school owner and a similar scene in the police station. When he asserts himself, the power of his grip is magnificently portrayed by Sethupathi on screen. Knowing the person he is looking for is in the police station, he patiently endures and waits with an eagle attitude.
Anurag Kashyap is symbolized as a wolf. Wolves hunt in packs. Selvam does not plan or execute an operation alone. He is also very attached to his family. The strong family bond of wolves is noteworthy. Another notable thing on the poster is the phrase "What Goes Around Comes Around." This theme is reflected in the screenplay across various characters.
Nithilan has primarily shaped this story based on this theory. Looking at the characters, two out of the three people the hero is searching for come to him. Manikandan steals a cooling glass he finds in a car left at the mechanic shop for delivery. He might have taken it thinking it was just an ordinary pair of glasses, but it was actually given to the counselor by the deceased actor Kunal. There is no replacement for it. This is why the counselor comes to the mechanic's shed, causing a commotion, which then leads him to go to the bar in anger and create a scene there. Finding a parking slip from his house and realizing it belonged to the counselor's car, Sethupathi goes to the bar, finds Manikandan, and this leads to his death and a clue about the second person at the police station.
In the initial police station scenes in Maharaja, you can see that Sethupathi inspects everyone, including Natty, by patting their backs. When an elderly policeman is changing his dress, Sethupathi is standing behind him, and he gets beaten up because of this. He deliberately pours water on the policemen and pats their backs. These scenes are seen when Natty arrives at the police station.
The characters in the movie are introduced to the audience by showing their backs first. Maharaja's search for someone is like groping in the dark. However, the phrase on the poster is relevant here as well. Munishkanth, while going to buy a dust bin, meets Singampuli's character there. The person Maharaja is searching for, who is ridiculed and beaten by the police, eventually comes to him like a karmic cycle. The dust bin incident is reminiscent of *Kavyaneethi*. means Poetic Justice!
Looking at Singampuli's character in detail, his perverted mind is shown occasionally. When buying a new dust bin, he says the dialogue, "Touch it, it will be as smooth as a girl's cheek." Even when he falls before Sethupathi in the end, he uses the weakness of being a father to threaten him. Singampuli's exceptional performance, moving from comedy roles to this intense portrayal, is remarkable.
Regarding Anurag Kashyap's character, when he and his gang plan to rob houses and his accomplice tries to rape the women there, he consents to it. His fate catches up with him when he has to give permission for his own daughter to be raped. A woman crying and pleading for her daughter in the film mirrors his life situation, leading him to cry and plead for his daughter at the climax. In his determination to ensure his daughter faces no harm, Selvam, who will do anything for money, ends up showing a red diamond-studded anklet designed for his daughter. In the end, the scene shows his blood pooled at his daughter's footsteps.
Another interesting aspect is the characterization of the police officers. Natty's character is someone who hatches various schemes for money. Initially shown colluding with a thief in a gold theft case, he insists that any request should be told to his wife at home. He values money but isn't entirely a negative character. Arul Dass's character, when Sethupathi first tells him Lakshmi's story and learns his wife has died, says sorry, but his typical police ego emerges when Sethupathi raises a hand against him. Their sole focus is to make a lot of money somehow. When he realizes there is money in Sethupathi's bank passbook, Arul Dass sincerely works to get it, finds Manikandan's tower location, reaches Binny Mills, and sees Singampuli's call on Manikandan's phone, understanding the crime. Natty's character has a family consisting of a wife and a daughter. The emotional connection seen in the later scenes is typical of fathers with daughters.
The timeline of the movie is significant. At the beginning of the film, Nithilan shows "Ramki Saloon Shop" in detail because it helps establish the timeline for the audience when Anurag Kashyap visits the same saloon later. The saloon named after the old actor Ramki will catch anyone's attention. The chain of events unfolds like an antakshari game, where one song leads to the next. For example, the boss tells the employee to attend to all customers before taking leave. Anurag arrives, Sethupathi goes outside to buy a battery, Anurag suspects Sethupathi overheard his phone conversation, and Sethupathi reaches Anurag's house to return the forgotten necklace, which he had already understood. The police arrive precisely at that time. Believing everything happened because of Sethupathi, Anurag ends up in jail. The chain of events is depicted symbolically in the movie.
At the beginning of the movie, Sethupathi breaks the statue of a mother and child, showing only the mother's part being broken, symbolizing that the child was saved. Later, we see the character Jyothi played by Sanchana. At the end, the statue of the child is also shown to be broken. Occasionally, we see Sethupathi checking WhatsApp voice and video messages sent by his daughter, indicating a specific date. His subtle performance shows the emotions of a father hearing his daughter's voice intermittently.
Looking at Jyothi's character arc in the linear narrative of the movie, the first time we see her is when Anurag Kashyap gives her a toy stolen from a house after a robbery, which she refuses. Continuously saying no, Anurag throws the toy into a dust bin, raising the suspicion that he might have taken the dust bin Sethupathi is looking for. Later, Jyothi is portrayed as a bold and mature character. When her friend takes her shoes without asking, she gives them to her friend and insists on getting another pair, leading to Sethupathi being late that night. Singampuli, who has been following Sethupathi for a month, says his routine is precise, and he arrives home at 9:30. However, when he is late because of buying shoes, the events unfold.
In Tamil cinema history, it is common to show that a girl commits suicide after being raped, or in classic films like *Naatamai*, the rapist marries the victim. Nithilan has portrayed the character Jyothi very strongly. The statement "People like me will stand tall no matter what happens" is commendable.
*Maharaja* is presented in a non-linear narrative. Events happening in 2009 and 2023 are shown here and there. Thinking about the movie in the correct order reveals how engaging a simple story can be through its screenplay. Watching this movie reminds one of *Incendies*, *Oldboy*, and the Malayalam film *Iratta*. However, each film delivers a different mood. *Incendies* narrates the sufferings of humanity due to war, *Oldboy* explores how revenge drives a person, and both *Iratta* and *Maharaja* faced similar criticisms regarding their portrayal of rape. The world only becomes silent when someone loudly shouts "Silence."
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