A mom (Gayathri Shankar) and her young son (a superb Ashwanth) await the return of a father who had fled from home several years ago, in the middle of the night, seeking a new identity. When the moment of reunion arrives, amidst an ensemble of relatives who have come to witness the event as mostly sadistic spectators, only one of them is delighted as expected ("Return of the Prodigal Purushan").
Grand plans of five teens to skip school and make merry in youthful exuberance go awfully awry. While one of them ends up in a hospital in a freak accident, a break-away group of three are buffeted between a whimsical don and even more wacky happenings ("A tale of two TV sets").
A faith healer is confronted by a situation of personal crisis which forces him to explore the strength of his faith that he preaches ("Salvation").
A corpse, a corrupt and lecherous cop, a don, a former porn star, an aspiring actor, several minor characters who leave a mark with their minimal screen presence and just when we think that this couldn't get any more intriguing, the writers conjure up a character which is even more colourful. Super Deluxe presents all this and much more in a resplendent rainbow of fully fleshed out characters - howsoever minor - populating a potpourri of plots.
Thiagarajan Kumararaja (TK), who had made a stunning debut with Aaranya Kaandam (2011) - a cult classic - proves that he was no flash in the pan. This is a massive and ambitious upgrade as he handles a talented cast consisting of multiple stars including Vijay Sethupathi, Samantha Akkineni, Fahaad Faasil, Ramya Krishnan and Bhagavathi Perumal. The acting is consistently superlative across the board with spectacular performances from the leads as well as minor characters. Vijay Sethupathi is reborn and inhabits the character of a transgender while Samantha and Fahaad are utterly convincing as the recently wed couple caught up in relationship issues. Yuvan Shankar Raja provides a sparse, yet spectacular score combined with a healthy dose of Tamil and Hindi songs of yore which coheres well with the situations.
TK shares co-writing credits with three other noted directors - Mysskin, Nalan Kumaraswamy and Neelan K Sekar. While the threesome bring in their own brand of mastery, the same has been carefully choreographed into a magnificent chimera by TK who leaves his own indelible mark as he seamlessly weaves in the multiple subplots and meta moments in life-like splendor. The writing is subtle, layered, richly detailed, consistently funny and smartly propounds its central philosophies without being preachy or moralistic or melodramatic. Check out the surgical strikes of social commentary made by Fahaad Faasil on contemporary issues like nationalism, caste structures and broken state systems.
The common thread that runs through all the episodes reflect on how we, as individuals, are trapped in and trampled upon by the superficial structures imposed by a constantly judging society. The key to happiness, therefore, is in being non-judgmental and accepting persons and events for what they are.
The common thread that runs through all the episodes reflect on how we, as individuals, are trapped in and trampled upon by the superficial structures imposed by a constantly judging society. The key to happiness, therefore, is in being non-judgmental and accepting persons and events for what they are.
This is a heady cocktail from a genius on top of his game. A jugalbandhi of genres - a quintessentially quirky, incorrigibly irreverent, wonderfully weird, spectacularly screwed up and audaciously amoral comedy of errors.
A TOUR DE FORCE ! A MUST WATCH !!
RATING - 4/5
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