Thiagarajan Kumararaja's Super Deluxe opens with a shot of Vaembu (Samantha) lying beside someone on a bed. The camera slowly moves around the room, pulling you in the direction it travels. Soon you realise that it's not the camera, but the director Thiagarajan Kumararaja who has lured you into his world. And this is world has eccentric characters like Arputham (Mysskin), who believes that he is god's right hand because he was the only one who survived the Tsunami when millions died. Kumararaja doesn't stop there. His thoughts are out-of-the-world (literally), outlandish, and outstanding.
There are 4 parallel plots taking place at the same time, involving the lives of Shilpa (Vijay Sethupathi), Leela (Ramya Krishnan) and Arputham (Mysskin), Vaembu (Samantha) and Mugil (Fahadh Faasil), and another one involving 4 boys. The best part about the writing is that these plotlines don't merge at one point. One sub-plot becomes an influencing factor in another, but after that, they part ways. The way the events unfold is interesting and makes the movie more engrossing. The trademark qualities Nalan Kumarasamy and Mysskin's writing is seen at a lot of places. A lot of humorous portions belong to Nalan's 'crazy' world. Who else can write a scene where a man dies while having sex? On the other hand, towards the end, there a sequence involving Mysskin, set in a subway, with green lighting. What more do we need to figure out that this has been written by Mysskin himself?
PS Vinod and Nirav Shah's visuals have an ever-lasting effect on us. The wise usage of frame-within-frame shots through doors, windows, and alleys creates a sense of being trapped, and this has been used for all major characters. The wise usage of vintage tracks of Ilayaraja falls on point. Yuvan Shankar Raja makes sure we feel the heat and soul of the scenes through his brilliant background scores and apt silences. The walls on all the houses and a police station, the make-shift flower pot on one of the apartments, the borders of sarees, the costumes of the characters, are all blue in colour. While this is supposed to create a stable feel, the characters are all unstable. This irony has been effectively used to elevate our cinematic experience.
Vaembu and Mugil's story become melodramatic after a point of time. And the biggest issue with the film is that they have the maximum screentime. Even the way their conflict gets resolved looks implausible. But, the way the terrific Fahadh Faasil and Samantha act, these issues are covered up. Shilpa's characterization brings out the best in Vijay Sethupathi, but not Vijay Sethupathi. Apart from the main leads, Bhagavathi Perumal and Master Aswanth, have done their job well and scored in their plot points. On the flipside, the second half could have been a bit more crisp, due to the 3 hours runtime.
The characters here are not just actors, but also the TV sets. Thiagarajan Kumararaja shows his love for Vadivelu in more scenes than one. When Vaembu confesses something important to Mugil, a TV set in the background goes "Innum Aaramikkave Illa, Adhukkulla Alarra!" (I didn't even start, but you're already freaking out?) Or take the scene where the couple is discussing divorce, and we hear Vadivelu say "Indha Kota thaandi neeyum vara koodadhu, naanum vara maaten,"
There are easter eggs present all over, and a lot of foreshadowing has been done. In a CD shop, there are posters of Gangs Of Wasseypur, Badlapur, Kill Bill, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and other action films. In another location, the walls of films are filled with posters of 'Alien' and 'Vaazhvin Ragasiyam', which become pivotal later.
Is that all what Super Deluxe is all about? Just a bunch of easter eggs, and terrific performances from the cast, each holding their forte in their scenes? No! Thiagarajan Kumararaja proves that he knows the medium of cinema quite well. He beautifully narrates four stories, each dealing with concepts like sexual abuse, porn film industry, bullying, marriage, abuse of power, religion, nationalism, and finally what life is. All these are conveyed with loads of humour, and the film also reinforces the fact that you don't need to constantly feed the audience with one-liners to evoke laughter.