Fans of Vijay Sethupathi may be happy to know that the first look poster for the star’s next film is out. Titled Maharaja, the film marks Vijay Sethupathi’s 50th outing. The film is to be written and directed by Nithilan Saminathan, known so far for Kurangu Bommai (2017). The music will be scored by B Ajaneesh Loknath, known for his work in Kannada cinema, especially in the 2022 film Kantara.
The first look poster of Maharaja shows Vijay Sethupathi with greying hair and a beard, seated on what appears to be a barber’s chair while covered in blood and a wound on his ear. He is also wielding a machete in the poster, while men in police uniform lurk in the background. Mysteriously, the chair is surrounded by building debris and other knick knacks including a strange bust of a woman and child.
Maharaja also marks VJS’s return to Tamil cinema after his latest role in a Bollywood film, Jawan, directed by Atlee and starring Shah Rukh Khan. The actor had made his debut in the Hindi-language industry with the comedy-thriller series Farzi alongside Shahid Kapoor and Raashi Khanna. The actor dubbed his own dialogues despite it being his first time speaking Hindi on screen.
Read:
Jawan review: Shah Rukh Khan brings anti-establishment cinema to Bollywood
Farzi review: Vijay Sethupathi, Shahid anchor a gripping but politically messy thriller
The team of Maharaja includes MeToo accused lyricist Vairamuthu, who has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women including playback singer Chinmayi Sripada, and light music singer Bhuvana Seshan. Bhuvana spoke out earlier this year in June about the harassment she allegedly faced from Vairamuthu. At the time, she told TNM that Vairamuthu had threatened to “make or break her” if she did not agree to sexual favours. Vairamuthu had last written the lyrics for Legend (2022), starring Saravanan Arul from the business family that founded Saravana Stores.