Maharaja follows the story of a local barber who wishes to file a report about a burglary that lead to ‘Lakshmi’ being robbed. What seemed like a trivial case soon deepens with the introduction of other characters. The story here can best be termed as an old wine in a new bottle. There is no real novelty factor and if I were to trace it on the storyboard, it would be pretty straight forward with the kind of narrative at its core. This is not to say that it is bad, in fact it is gory and disturbing but just from a story writing point of view the plot is simplistic. But, and *drumrolls*, a very BIG BUT….The screenplay standing at 140 odd minutes is nothing short of a screenplay writing masterclass, given how a simplistic story was transformed into something totally different with elements of comedy and mystery seamlessly added in the drama. This not only hoodwinked the viewers but also lead to a narrative structure where the mystery is kept intact right until the end, with a whole lot of twists and turns to keep you intrigued and engaged. 

The drama here is quick to introduce the protagonist but what follows is a series of scenes that have little to no context between them. As a viewer, you aren’t even sure about the intended timelines of the scenes, or even the characters who appear and showcase one of their character traits. The sequences are just enough to hold your attention even as they appear to be independent episodes from the lives of characters, even as a bunch of them are tactfully introduced. This grammar of narration is largely different from the world building and characterization that we are used to. As a result, it is easy to be disconnected from the drama very early on in the film. But Maharaja is a game of patience, and patience will definitely pay-off over the course of its immaculate screenplay. 

The proceedings are engaging yet trivial to begin with when the protagonist wishes to file a report about ‘Lakshmi’. But as the case deepens, there are multiple twists and turns in the screenplay that organically join the events of the film that upto that point, were following a non-linear narrative. Slowly but surely, you do get an idea of what exactly is happening, even while there remains a clout of doubt on who the allies of the protagonist actually are. Make no mistake, the events are gory and violent even as the drama jumps timelines culminating into a fascinating interval block that definitely clears the picture to an extent. 

It is hard to predict the outcome of the story given its complex and layered screenplay structure. As a result, each time you seem to figure out the ‘mystery’, a new twist changes the dimension of the film. The entire screenplay that unfolds like a giant jigsaw puzzle is intelligent while successfully hoodwinking the viewers into believing a fact before making a U-Turn in the coming minutes. Here I must say that about two-thirds in the film, I could see the final twist of the film that eventually played out in the disturbing finale act. It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but I was invested in the journey more than anything even though there were minor liberties taken in the third act. The ending was emotional and extremely dark, just as I had predicted but it was the screenplay that was nothing short of a writing masterclass that indeed should be used as a case study in film school.