Maharaja (2024 film)
2024 Indian film by Nithilan Saminathan
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Maharaja (transl. The Great King)[b] is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film[6] directed by Nithilan Saminathan. Produced by The Route, Think Studios and Passion Studios, the film stars Vijay Sethupathi, alongside Anurag Kashyap and Sachana Namidass (in her major film debut), with Mamta Mohandas, Natty Subramaniam, Abhirami, Divyabharathi, Singampuli, Aruldoss, Munishkanth, Manikandan and Bharathiraja in key roles. The story follows a barber in Chennai who goes to the police station to retrieve his stolen dustbin, only for the police to find his intentions to be something else.
Raam Murali[1]
Jagadish Palanisamy
| Maharaja | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nithilan Saminathan |
| Screenplay by | Nithilan Saminathan Raam Murali[1] |
| Story by | Nithilan Saminathan |
| Produced by | Sudhan Sundaram Jagadish Palanisamy |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Dinesh Purushothaman |
| Edited by | Philomin Raj |
| Music by | B. Ajaneesh Loknath |
Production companies | Passion Studios Think Studios The Route |
| Distributed by | see below |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 140 minutes[2] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹20 crore[a] |
| Box office | est. ₹190 crore[5] |
The film was officially announced in February 2023 under the tentative title VJS50, as it is Sethupathi's 50th film as the lead actor. Principal photography commenced the same month, predominantly taking place in Chennai throughout a single schedule. The official title was announced in July, coinciding with the filming wrapping and Think Studios joining as co-producers. The music was composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, with cinematography by Dinesh Purushothaman and editing by Philomin Raj.
Maharaja had its world premiere on 12 June 2024 in India, and had a proper theatrical release two days later. The film received critical acclaim, who praised Sethupathi and Kashyap's performances, Philomin's editing and Swaminathan's script and direction. It set several records, including the highest-grossing South Indian film in China, highest-grossing Indian film in China since 2018 and emerged the fourth highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024.[7][8][9]
Plot
Maharaja is a quiet barber working at Ramki Saloon in Chennai. While visiting a house with his wife and daughter, a truck crashes into the building, killing his wife. His daughter survives after a dustbin falls over her and shields her from the impact. Maharaja and his daughter, Jothi, affectionately name the dustbin “Lakshmi”.
Years later, Maharaja visits a police station to report that Lakshmi has been stolen. The officers mock him for filing a complaint about a dustbin, but he persuades Inspector Varadharajan to investigate by offering ₹5 lakhs. Maharaja claims that three men broke into his house, assaulted him, and stole Lakshmi. Secretly, however, he is using the investigation to track down the attackers. A toll receipt left behind by the criminals leads him to a delinquent named Dhana, whom Maharaja captures and kills after learning that one of the culprits is connected to the police station.
Flashbacks reveal that Selvam and Sabari were violent criminals who robbed houses, raped women, and murdered them. Selvam lived with his unsuspecting wife, Kokila, and daughter, Ammu. After Selvam was arrested during a police raid, he wrongly believed Maharaja had informed on him because Maharaja had earlier returned a gold chain Selvam had left behind at the saloon. Kokila, horrified by Selvam’s crimes, disowned him.
Meanwhile, the police decide to close Maharaja’s complaint by replacing the missing dustbin and forcing their informant, Nallasivam, to pretend to be the thief. During a staged reconstruction, Maharaja realises Nallasivam was one of the real attackers because of a distinctive deformity on his back.
The truth is then revealed. While Maharaja was away, Jothi had returned home from a sports camp organised by her teacher, Aasifa. Selvam, Dhana, and Nallasivam broke into the house intending to kill Maharaja in revenge for Selvam’s imprisonment, but instead brutally assaulted Jothi. Traumatised but determined, Jothi later asked her father to let her confront the perpetrators herself. Maharaja invented the stolen-dustbin story to investigate the crime without arousing suspicion.
Varadharajan reveals that he and his team uncovered Nallasivam and Selvam’s involvement while investigating Dhana’s death. Disgusted by their crimes, they deliberately brought Nallasivam to Maharaja so he could take revenge. After killing Nallasivam, Maharaja abducts Selvam and takes Jothi to confront him. She throws a bag of jewellery at him before leaving with Maharaja and Aasifa. Inside the bag, Selvam finds the gold chain he once bought for Ammu.
Another flashback reveals that, after Selvam’s arrest, Maharaja and his family visited Kokila’s new home to return the chain. While Maharaja was out buying a toy for Ammu, the truck crashed into the house, killing everyone except Ammu, who survived because Kokila’s dustbin protected her. Maharaja adopted Ammu, renamed her Jothi, and raised her as his own daughter.
In the present, Selvam notices a scar on Jothi’s shoulder and realises she is Ammu, meaning he unknowingly caused his own daughter’s assault. Overcome with guilt, Selvam commits suicide by jumping from the building.
Cast
- Vijay Sethupathi as Maharaja
- Anurag Kashyap as Selvam
- Sachana Namidass as Jothi / Ammu
- Baby Shynika as Baby Jothi
- Mamta Mohandas as Aasifa
- Natty Subramaniam as Inspector S. Varadharajan
- Abhirami as Kokila Srilakshmi
- Divyabharathi as Maharaja's wife
- Singampuli as Nallasivam
- Aruldoss as SI Perumalsamy
- Munishkanth as Constable Kuzhandhaivelu
- Vinod Sagar as Sabari, Selvam's assistant
- Manikandan as Dhana
- Kaalaiyan as Councillor Karunakaran
- Kalki Raja as Police, a thief
- P. L. Thenappan as a salon owner
- Saravana Subbiah as Inspector
- Vetrivel Raja as Constable Dhanapal
- Bharathiraja as Gopal Thatha
- Mohan Raman as Doctor
- Poovaiyar as a salon staff member
- Lizzie Antony as a victim of robbery
- Poster Nandakumar as a school Correspondent
- Sreeja Ravi as Aasifa's mother
- Pichaikkaran Moorthy as Cyber-crime staff member
- Sangeetha V. as Varadharajan's wife
- Supergood Subramani as a toy shop owner
- Mullai Arasi as a thief's wife
- Pradeep K Vijayan as a saloon customer
- Hello Kandasamy as a constable
Production
After the success of Kurangu Bommai (2017), Nithilan Saminathan was signed by Sudhan Sundaram's Passion Studios to direct his next directorial under their production.[10] However, the project was in development hell for several years for unknown reasons. Nithilan then narrated the script to G. Dhananjayan, who suggested to the director that he should narrate it to Vijay Antony, which he did and impressed the actor.[11] Nithilan, however, had to receive a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Sundaram's production house. The company was not in favour of passing the project to another house, therefore not giving the NOC. Soon after, the company then stated that they would narrate the script to Vijay Sethupathi, and if he declines being part of the film, they would pass the project.[12]
Sethupathi, who was impressed by the script, agreed to be part of the film, leading to him replacing Antony. Sundaram's company made a public announcement on 1 February 2023, confirming the project. The project would signify Sethupathi's 50th film as a lead actor.[13] Tentatively titled VJS50, principal photography began shortly after a muhurat puja held the same day at a film studio in Chennai with the presence of the film's cast and crew.[14] On 12 July, in addition to the principal photography wrapping, the film's official title, Maharaja, was announced by the production houses.[15]
Anurag Kashyap, Mamta Mohandas and Natty Subramaniam were announced to play the lead roles alongside Sethupathi, while Divyabharathi, Abhirami, Aruldoss, Munishkanth, Manikandan, Singampuli, Bharathiraja, Vinod Sagar and P. L. Thenappan would appear in the supporting roles. Sachana Namidass introduced in the major role by playing the central character Jothi / Ammu.[16] Dubbing works were completed by 31 December 2023.[17]
Music
| Maharaja | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 7 June 2024 | |||
| Recorded | February–July 2023 | |||
| Studio | Sound Town Studio, Chennai RM Studio, Chennai Abbs Studios, Bangalore | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 7:13 | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Junglee Music | |||
| Producer | B. Ajaneesh Loknath | |||
| B. Ajaneesh Loknath chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Maharaja | ||||
| ||||
The music and background score is composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, in his first collaboration with Sethupathi; second with Saminathan after Kurangu Bommai.[18] The second single "Raja Paya Onnu" was released on 15 June 2024, after the film's release.[19]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thayee Thayee" | Vairamuthu | Sid Sriram | 3:08 |
| 2. | "Raja Paya Onnu" | Vairamuthu | Jithin Raj, Harshika Devanath | 4:05 |
| Total length: | 7:13 | |||
Release
Theatrical
Maharaja had its official premiere in India on 12 June 2024,[20][21] and was released theatrically on 14 June 2024.[22] Apart from its original Tamil language, it was also dubbed and released in Telugu.[23] The film was initially planned to be released in May 2024, but was later shifted to June due to unspecified reasons.[24] It premiered in Los Angeles on 28 June 2024, as it was selected as one of the closing night selections at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.[25] The film was released in China on 29 November 2024,[26] in over 40,000 screens.[27]
Distribution
NVR Cinemas bought the distribution rights of the film for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[28] AV Media Consultancy Release In Kerala Through.[29] Mani's Cine World, a Kerala-based distributor released the film across North India.[30]
Home media
The film began streaming on Netflix from 12 July 2024,[31] and had its television premiere on 31 October the same year on Star Vijay.[32]
Reception
Critical response
Maharaja received critical acclaim from critics, who praised Vijay Sethupathi's and Anurag Kashyap’s performance, Philomin's editing, and Swaminathan's screenplay and direction.[33][34] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10.[35]
Arjun Menon of Rediff.com gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Maharaja is a surprisingly novel outing, rejuvenating the tired tropes of revenge films with a morally challenging revelation in the final hour, that compensates for the little contrivances in the writing."[36] Manikandan KR of Times Now gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Maharaja is a fairly good revenge/investigative drama that primarily works because of fine performances from its entire cast and some exceptional work by its stuntmen and stunt choreographer."[37]
Rakesh Tara of ABP News gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Maharaja is an ambitious attempt to blend serious societal issues with commercial cinema elements. While it succeeds in parts, particularly through strong performances and engaging music, it falls short in delivering a cohesive and compelling narrative."[38] Roopa Radhakrishnan of The Times of India gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Vijay Sethupathi is wonderful in his 50th film, and he has a well-written role at his disposal."[39] Anusha Sundar of OTTPlay gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Maharaja is a film that feeds you information in every frame and second, so losing a grip on it might leave you unable to understand when the knots are tied."[40] Bhuvanesh Chandar of The Hindu wrote "Maharaja is yet another sign of the serious filmmaker Nithilan is, and shows us how a good writer can convert even a dated idea into a gripping big-screen experience."[41]
Latha Srinivasan of Hindustan Times wrote "Director Nithilan Swaminathan and Vijay Sethupathi have delivered a film that’s definitely worthy of your time."[42] Swathi P Ajith of Onmanorama wrote "Maharaja is undoubtedly a thrilling revenge drama that deserves to be watched in theatres."[43] G.A. Gowtham of Uyirmmai wrote that Maharaja wears the crown of box office by its gripping screenplay.[44] Ananda Vikatan gave 48/100 and wrote this film gives punishment hiddenly to those who have similar thoughts on children.[45]
Janani. K of India Today gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Maharaja has a lot going on. Sadly, the hits and misses are not proportional, with the latter having the upper hand. These good moments get buried under dark humour, which hardly works, and many other shortcomings."[46] B. V. S. Prakash of Deccan Chronicle gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Director Nithilan deserves a pat since he makes the girl victim stronger and determined who wants to meet scrupulous characters and question them for their heinous act face-to-face and throws up another twist in the end."[47] Kirubhakar Purushothaman of The Indian Express gave 2/5 stars and wrote "The overarching problem with Maharaja is its ‘wannabe’ nature to come across as a gritty, dark, and emotional rollercoaster. It is more concerned about how it wants to come across than what it really is."[48]
Box office
Maharaja grossed ₹4.7 crore (US$490,000) on its opening day.[49] The film earned ₹7.75 crore (US$810,000) on the second day and ₹9 crore (US$940,000) the third day.[49][50] The film surpassed Garudan to become the third biggest opening for a Tamil film in 2024, behind Captain Miller and Aranmanai 4.[51] It grossed an estimated ₹52.6 crore (US$5.5 million) on its opening weekend of three days, becoming the highest opening weekend for a Tamil film in 2024.[1] On its fourth day, the film crossed ₹48.50 crore (US$5.1 million) from India, bringing its worldwide gross to ₹50 crore (US$5.2 million).[52][53]
The film's worldwide collection crossed ₹66 crore (US$6.9 million) globally in five days earning ₹60 crore (US$6.3 million) from Tamil Nadu.[54] It grossed ₹77 crore (US$8.0 million) in the six days of its release. The film became the fastest worldwide grosser for a Tamil film in 2024 and the fastest film of Sethupathi to reach the ₹50 crore mark.[7] The film collected over ₹70 crore (US$7.3 million) worldwide and over ₹48 crore (US$5.0 million) from the Indian box office in nine days.[55] It crossed the ₹80 crore mark at the box office worldwide in the 10 days of its release, grossing ₹81.8 crore (US$8.5 million).[56] After its release in China, it grossed ₹91.55 crores in the China box office, emerging the highest grossing South-Indian film in China to that point.[5]
Potential remake
After the success of the film, it was announced that Aamir Khan Productions acquired the Hindi remake rights, with its proprietor Aamir Khan planning to portray Sethupathi's role.[57]
Notes
- According to Jagran English, Maharaja was made on a budget of 20 crores which included promotion costs.[3][4]
- Also the name of the title character.
