Maharaja Movie Review in My Personal Perspective

On TikTok, Malay people are singing praises for Maharaja. And I am swept by it too. So, here’s my review of the touted best film of the year!

The humor and “Lakshmi” the dustbin had me in stitches and established an emotional connection.

After Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, I feel Lakshmi’s anthropomorphism is the best. The owner joke is a twist and reveals Maharaja’s nonchalance about things like ownership and authority. It sets the stage for his characterization and what matters to him - his small family and a few friends. Ilayaraja and “Police” comedy are legendary.

First, they confuse you. Then they engage you. You can feel your brain growing to brain the back-and-forth non-linear screenplay.

To ease the confusion, they sprinkled humor and ingrained Maharaja’s persistent personality. Lakshmi is the red herring that carries the story and what happened - Maharaja’s daughter being raped and the enmity on Selvam’s behalf, unbeknownst to Maharaja.

Manikandan’s comeback.

I root for underdogs and Manikandan - what a return! From a college boy in Boys to a murderous villain, wow. He carries the villainy very well. My blood curdled when he steps into the room to rape Maharaja’s daughter and how much he itches to kill her after he’s “done with her.” 

Singampuli’s unexpected transformation.

I read the Wikipedia story as I watched Maharaja (Feel free to judge my impatience). And I thought the writers mistakenly wrote the character of Singampuli as Nallasivam - I couldn’t believe that the comedian could essay such a vile character and still keep his trademark. If any, this shows that the job of an actor is to act as prescribed. I wish to see more heroes breaking the mold like this - that way, matinee idols won’t exist and we can idolize scientists and social reformers.

The story is ordinary. The storytelling makes it extraordinary.

This is a plain old recycled story of revenge. However, how they told the story grips and hypnotizes you, you see yourself in the movie. Kunal Singh from Kadhalar Dhinam got a much-needed revival and immortalization. And the fact that it’s a “rugged boy” who is a fan of that 90s choco boy is an irony I can’t get over. 

The police officers reminded me of the policeman in Laapata Ladies.

Though corrupt, claimant of an air of supremacy, and authoritarian, Natty and his subordinates work hand and glove with Maharaja to seek revenge. The cinematic liberty of the police working against the law should be seen only as a cinematic liberty though.

The impenitence of Selvam (Anurag Kashyap) and his comeuppance.

This was quite triggering for me. Because, I have come across so many men who try to get sexual with me without my consent (like asking how much for one night) getting angry when I say “Yeah, bet your mom is doing the same “service.” So, watching the love Selvam has for his daughter and complete disregard for other women induced trauma in me. Though Maharaja maintains that Jyothi is his daughter till the end, not Selvam’s, it’s tenuous.

The thing is, men in real life who are like Selvam don’t face any consequences. So, that made me feel helpless and powerless as a woman.

I reported this man who sexually harassed me on Facebook to his workplace. He was fired and he behaved just like Selvam - oblivious to the wrongs he did and intent to avenge. He issued murder and rape threats to me. So did a lorry driver whose verbalized advances were met with silence on my part. These are the flashes I got as I proceeded to sink into the movie - it was a dark place.

Even with an excellent screenplay, Maharaja relies on the narrative of sexual violence toward females and how men feel about it when it happens to the females they care about. If item songs are used to feed male voyeurism, sexual violence against women is leveraged for the male savior complex. In between, women’s human traits, agency, and emotions are squeezed into non-existence. 

It’s also an ordinary story of men saving women, perpetuating the protector and savior mentality - we also saw it in Chiththa. Since the victims are minors, I guess this stands. But in reality, children are protected by adults and women are adults. The lack of female adults assuming the protector role further ingrains the patriarchal mindset that women are victims and men are protectors. 

Bharathiraja's character egging the father of the raped girl on only fueled the savior mentality.

Trisha does this role of protector in Raangi but the plot is so askew - she falls in love with a boy her niece talks to. The movie Mom, starring Sridevi is good but it didn’t get much traction - but it captured the victim’s trauma and what something like rape does to a family realistically. Malini 22 Palayamkottai is another impressive one. But that too, didn't do well.

Of course, VJS, Natty, and everyone else are great actors and did justice to their roles. Yes, they did show Jyothi’s bravery in facing her abuser and her spoken resilience. And it deserves applause. But then it’s a flatline from there. Miss Aasifa (Mamta Mohandass) isn’t used well - she has so much more potential - no worries about stealing the limelight from VJS coz I believe this movie isn’t about heroism. It’s about justice.

Yes, I cried. Because, as a woman who’s been through sexual violence, it hit me differently - in ways most men can’t understand - because I am not a female they care about.

The most triggering scenes are when the thieving duo (Selvam and Sabari) cooks a meal in their victims’ kitchen before raping and killing their victims. And the dialogue, “She’s so beautiful. My wife is away moreover.” Also, the conversation between Maharaja and Singampuli where the latter says that at least he didn’t kill “Lakshmi” is a trope that chilled me to the bone.

I understand the placing of such scenes is for maximum impact. But it affects women adversely and I’m unsure how men can derive from this trauma women are inflicted with when we watch a movie or pass by a place. They are just going to say, “It’s just a movie. Movies are for entertainment.” I hope those men think about it and behave better with all human females, not only the ones they care about.