Maharaja (2024 film)

Maharaja is a reserved barber employed at Ramki Saloon in Chennai. While visiting a local residence with his family, a runaway truck crashes into the building, killing his wife. His infant daughter miraculously survives when a metal dustbin falls over her and shields her from the collapsing structure. Out of deep gratitude, Maharaja and his daughter, Jothi, affectionately name the dustbin "Lakshmi" and keep it as a prized household object.

Years later, Maharaja enters a local police station to report that Lakshmi has been stolen. The officers initially mock him for demanding a grand larceny investigation over a common trash can. However, Maharaja successfully coerces Inspector Varadharajan into launching an official inquiry by offering a massive bribe of ₹5 lakhs. While Maharaja claims that three intruders broke into his home, assaulted him, and stole the dustbin, he is covertly exploiting the police machinery to track down a gang of dangerous criminals. Utilizing a dropped toll receipt left at his home, Maharaja tracks down a delinquent named Dhana, interrogates him, and executes him upon learning that one of the remaining accomplices possesses close ties to the police department.

Flashbacks reveal that a decade prior, a duo of sadistic criminals named Selvam and Sabari routinely terrorize the city by robbing households, assaulting women, and murdering their victims. Selvam lives a double life with his unsuspecting wife, Kokila, and their toddler daughter, Ammu. When a police raid results in Selvam's arrest, he erroneously concludes that Maharaja has snitched on him, as Maharaja has recently visited their neighborhood to return a gold chain Selvam had accidentally left behind at the barbershop. Disgusted by the sudden revelation of his depraved crimes, Kokila publicly disowns her husband before he was sent to prison.

In the present timeline, the corrupt police officers decide to quietly close Maharaja’s bizarre case by purchasing an identical replacement dustbin and forcing their regular informant, Nallasivam, to pose as the thief for the official paperwork. However, during a staged crime scene reconstruction at Maharaja's house, Maharaja instantly recognizes Nallasivam as one of his real-life assaulters due to a highly distinctive physical deformity on the man's back.

The grim reality behind Maharaja's crusade is subsequently unraveled. Days prior, while Maharaja was away on business, Jothi had returned early from an athletic camp organized by her supportive teacher, Aasifa. Selvam, Dhana, and Nallasivam have broken into the house intending to slaughter Maharaja as retribution for Selvam's lost decade in prison; finding only Jothi, Dhana and Nallasivam brutally assault the teenager instead. Though severely traumatized, a resilient Jothi requests her father to let her confront the perpetrators face-to-face. To bypass the bureaucratic delays of sexual assault cases and protect his daughter's privacy, Maharaja fabricates the absurd stolen-dustbin narrative to hunt the rapists down.

Varadharajan reveals that his team had already uncovered Nallasivam and Selvam’s guilt while investigating Dhana’s mysterious murder. Profoundly repulsed by the sheer depravity of the assault on a young girl, the officers deliberately delivered Nallasivam to Maharaja's doorstep to facilitate vigilante justice. After executing Nallasivam, Maharaja abducts Selvam and brings Jothi to the hideout to confront her final tormentor. Instead of executing him, Jothi disdainfully hurls a bag of retrieved jewelry at Selvam's feet before calmly walking away with Maharaja and Aasifa. Inspecting the contents of the bag, a bewildered Selvam discovers the exact gold chain he had purchased for his daughter Ammu before his imprisonment.

A final flashback bridges the two timelines, revealing that after Selvam’s original arrest, Maharaja and his wife had visited Kokila’s new residence to return the forgotten chain. While Maharaja stepped out to purchase a toy for the toddler, the tragic truck accident occurred, killing his biological wife, daughter, and Kokila. The surviving toddler, Ammu, was the child saved by the falling dustbin. Maharaja chose to adopt the orphaned girl, renaming her Jothi and raising her as his own.

In the present, Selvam notices a familiar birthmark on Jothi’s shoulder and undergoes a horrifying realization: the girl he let brutally violated is his own biological daughter, Ammu. Crushed under the absolute weight of his monstrous guilt, Selvam commits suicide by throwing himself off the roof of the building.

• 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

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]

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]

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]