Team 'Maharaja' visited Kochi on 20 June, where they thanked the Malayali audience for making the film a phenomenal hit in Kerala.
Team 'Maharaja' at the press meet in Kochi. (Supplied)
Vijay Sethupathi’s Tamil film Maharaja has collected around ₹50 crore in less than a week of its release in theatres worldwide.
The movie is doing good business in Kerala and entered the second week of its theatrical run.
According to Sree Combines, who distributed the film in Kerala, more screens are being added across the state to meet the growing demand.
Against this backdrop, team Maharaja organised a success meet in Kochi on Thursday, 20 June.
Addressing the media at the success meet, Vijay Sethupathi said they didn’t expect such a tremendous response to Maharaja.
“We thought the movie would have a good run in Tamil Nadu. But we’re extremely happy with the overwhelming response it got outside the state. People are showering love on every actor and technician who worked on the film. I don’t know what to say!”
The actor also thanked the Malayali audience for making Maharaja a phenomenal hit.
When asked if the script was the hero in Maharaja, Vijay Sethupathi replied that the script cannot always be the hero in a film. “Movies don’t work only with a hero or a script. Every individual involved in the movie (from actors to technicians and crew members) is important for its success,” he asserted.
The versatile actor said he feels happy to be part of many milestone projects like Super Deluxe (2019), Kadaisi Vivasayi (2021), and Vikram (2022). “They became hits because audiences liked them. And now, they made Maharaja a success,” Vijay Sethupathi smiled.
He, along with team Maharaja, had been promoting the film in several South Indian cities for the past few days.
“I’m travelling extensively because director Nithilan (Saminathan) and the producer insisted on it. Well, all actors want their movies to become successful. But this is unexpected,” he added.
The Tamil actor said he believes that a person could be called a good actor if the audience feels that s/he is irreplaceable in a film. “All actors improvise the scenes in films. It is an everyday process.”
Vijay Sethupathi addressing the Kochi media. (Supplied)
When asked if he would be part of director Lokesh Kanagaraj‘s Kaithi 2, a sequel to Karthi’s hit film Kaithi (2019), Vijay Sethupathi reiterated that he won’t play a villain in future.
“People don’t know why I did villain roles. Be it Bhavani (in Master) or Jeethu Singh (in Petta), I played the roles because I liked them. I always wondered if a villain could have a love song. But I won’t play a bad buy anymore,” he clarified.
He further added, “Moreover, producers who want to make a film with me in the lead role should not face any difficulty with my ‘villain’ image.”
However, the actor hastened to add that he lent his voice to the Malayalam superhit film Turbo (2024) only at Mammootty’s request.
During the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, Vijay Sethupathi announced that he won’t play an antagonist or a cameo in future. He revealed that he was being flooded with offers to play an antagonist in many films, but some of the roles didn’t even have scope for him as an artiste.
Mamta Mohandas, who played a key role in Maharaja, thanked the audience for loving the film. “Malayali audiences accept all kinds of Tamil films. We all love Vijay Sethupathi and I am happy to be part of this movie. Nithilan is a brilliant writer and a phenomenal filmmaker and Maharaja proved it.”
Mamta also revealed that she liked the climax portion of Maharaja.
“In the movie, the prey (woman) gets the opportunity to speak to the predator (the sexual offender). No girl child has the opportunity to do so and I wish every woman would get it,” she added.
Further, she was all praise for Anurag Kashyap’s role of Selvam.
About his writing style, director Nithilan Saminathan said he loves non-linear plots.
“I write subplots while penning the story and check if they go with the main plot. I’ve adopted the same pattern for my previous film Kurangu Bommai (2017) and even my short films.”
The director said he made corrections in Maharaja script after consulting with Vijay Sethupathi.
He said he loves watching Malayalam films and added that Salt N Pepper (2011) and Thattathin Marayathu (2012) are his favourites.
(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)
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