Super Deluxe: Unlike Anything Kollywood's Seen

Concept Poster of Super Deluxe

Official Trailer of Super Deluxe

Around late March of last year, Tamil film audiences were provided the opportunity to witness Thiagarajan Kumararaja's much awaited film after a hiatus of roughly eight years, Super Deluxe. Featuring an ensemble cast including the likes of Samantha Akkineni, Fahadh Faasil, Ramya Krishnan, Vijay Sethupathi, and Gayathrie, stories crafted by some of the finest directors in Kollywood (Mysskin, Nalan Kumarasamy and Neelan K. Sekar, and a sample of the absolutely riveting background score provided by Yuvan Shankar Raja, expectations were rightly soaring through the roof. Upon its release, the film received rave reviews from prominent individuals in the industry for the stellar performances essayed by the aforementioned cast, the colorful, vivid cinematography, the nonlinear, distinct storytelling, and the important themes that were omnipresent throughout the progression of the film. The film was soon available to be streamed on Netflix, and after setting aside a few hours, I watched the film. I actually ended up watching Super Deluxe twice on two separate occasions, as I wasn’t able to capture all of the subtleties that eventually led to each unique storyline intersecting at a common point. After the second viewing of this film, I couldn’t help but think about how fascinating, intriguing, and provocative the direction, performances and storytelling was of the film. It’s truly unlike any Kollywood film that I’ve had the opportunity to witness recently.

The film closely examines myriad different themes and topics regardless of how taboo they may appear in conservative Tamilnadu. Infidelity (relatively taboo in nature), teenage horniness (taboo in nature), religious allegiances (not explored in significant depth), toxic masculinity (stereotypically depicted in commercial films; other variants not really explored in depth), and transgender stigmatizations (extremely taboo in nature) are all on display in some form in the four crafted stories. Typically, content-oriented directors will choose to depict one or two of these themes in depth through a compelling screenplay and measured performances. However, Thiagarajan Kumararaja and his crew of established directors made it possible to seamlessly integrate all of the aforementioned themes into such a uniquely polished product. It is so refreshing to see some of these taboo topics get the exposure they rightfully deserve; I can only hope that future films directed by these kinds of directors will further explore the myriad complexities surrounding the themes present in this film and many more.

Super Deluxe isn’t without its moments of sheer absurdity and comedy that will remind you of films directed by Quentin Taratino. The revelation of an extraterrestrial being at the end of one of the story lines caught me extremely off-guard; however, its inclusion was extremely amusing and added some much-needed frivolity and lightheartedness in the film. The gangster present in one of the story lines is also hard to take seriously, but that’s the point of his role. His dialogue delivery, mannerisms, and overall behavior make those scenes that much more engaging and exciting. The colorful, vibrant cinematography mentioned as a plus-point by other critics, while a bit over-the-top at times, also helped ease the tension at certain stages during the film. Various camera angles are appropriately utilized to capture the condition and presence of various emotions, environments, and facial expressions. To top it off, Yuvan Shankar Raja’s varying background score aptly captures the suspense and tension, the facetiousness, and the sheer emotional agony that is woven throughout the film.

The raw sincerity of the performance essayed by Vijay Sethupathi makes you want to believe that he really is a transgender woman; he pours his heart and soul into allowing the audience to understand the daily plights and shame that transgender women must endure in modern-day India. Gayathrie’s primary role as Sethupathi’s wife is to emote, and she does this extremely well, making you empathize with her pain of being abandoned by her husband only for him to return several years later as a different person. Special shoutout to Ashwanth Ashokkumar as Rasukutty; his portrayal of childlike innocence at the beginning of the film yet grounded maturity during the middle parts and conclusion of the film deserves a thunderous round of applause. Fahadh Faisil and Samantha provide so much life into their performances as disgruntled victims of an unhappy marriage; moreover, Faisil’s monologues, depicting his anger and discontent with his wife’s infidelity, are simply whimsical and humorous while still making you feel sorry for his suffering. Samantha’s facial expressions and dialogue delivery were simply excellent, conveying her conflicted emotions and sincere apathy of what she committed and what she feels towards her husband. The teenage boys in their respective story lines essentially depict “themselves” with relative ease and naturalness. Lastly, Ramya Krishnan as the former adult actress-turned maid and Mysskin as the all-worshipping follower of God (husband and wife in the film) are extremely committed and flawless with their performances; the parting words of advice that Krishnan offers to both her husband and her son are extremely impactful and strongly resonated with me at the end of the movie.

There’s so much more that I could delve into with Super Deluxe, but I think I’ll save those analyses for future blog posts. This film is getting a solid 9/10 from me; I am truly amazed by the rapid progression of the quality of films that are coming out of Kollywood. It’s super encouraging to witness the success of these kinds of films, as it shows that Tamil audiences are also craving watching films that go beyond the socially constructed constraints of what’s deemed acceptable and appropriate. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take for Kumararaja to release his next film, but one can only hope that it isn’t going to take another eight years.