Madha Gaja Raja movie review: Vishal, Santhanam power this Sundar C throwback to simpler yet sus times

This conundrum finds a way to solve itself by simply understanding that Madha Gaja Raja or MGR is a Sundar C film. Over three decades in the industry, Sundar C has managed to create a brand for himself. Despite dabbling in various genres, including comedy, action drama, horror, and slice-of-life films, most of his movies carry his brand of irreverence and glamour. For instance, one might ask why a film about what a friend would do to save the skin of his other friends in deep trouble, have him take time out to attend a Yoga session featuring a glamorous instructor and a roving camera in the hands of the cinematographer.

But you don’t ask it because you know it is a Sundar C film, and everyone, including the actors and the audience, are primed for the same. Now, is it right? Is it needed? Is it voyeuristic? Does the gaze need an immediate revision? Are we reading too much into it? Should it be looked at with this amount of seriousness? Wait, Raja (Vishal) is now springing out of the well with Madhavi (Anjali) and Maya (Varalaxmi) in his arms, and has broken into the extremely catchy “My Dear Loverr-u” by Vijay Antony… let’s come back to this debate after that.

The first half of Madha Gaja Raja is a sped-up version of Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups with a few changes made to accommodate local sensibilities. For instance, it is a running race instead of basketball, a glamourous sister-in-law instead of a glamorous step-daughter, a marriage function in the favourite teacher’s family instead of the death of the favourite teacher, etc… Here too, Raga and his gang of friends are boisterous, crass, endearing, and the embodiment of the statement, ‘Boys will be boys.’ This leads to scenes where objectification is par for the course, and garden variety misogyny is thrown in for fun. But because it is about boys being boys, we are asked to sympathise with their plights.

Vishal, Anjali and Varalaxmi star in Sundar C’s Madha Gaja Raja.

But if we are able to look past it all, and still laugh a lot or smile wide despite our eyes rolling, it is because the film brings back Santhanam, the comedian. He is in his elements, and like he effortlessly used to, masks all the cracks to make us split our slides with laughter. In fact, he powers the entire first half’s humour quotient with his one-liners that borders on the risque, and manages rare moments of vulnerability that shows us Santhanam’s penchant for sentiment. However, MGR has no time to let these moments pan out, because it is cut from the cloth of other Sundar C films, which means, it is more important to flash cut to other scenes rather than allow them to breathe.

Since the other two friends — Nithin Sathyaa and Sadagopan Ramesh — need something to do in the film, there is the entire second half where MGR has to fight it out against a very powerful Karukuvel Vishwanath (Sonu Sood) to bring justice to his friends. And these portions sag a lot mainly because the narrative is so flimsy that we can’t wait for the action sequences to be over, and wait for Santhanam and Co to return. But till that happens, we have to see Raja and Vishwanath clashing against each other in a battle of wits that is not too clever, but is so fast-paced that we don’t really have time to sit and think of the archaic nature of this battle. And it is clear that the makers knew it too, and that’s why they bring back Santhanam, and he takes care of the rest. The laughs keep on coming, and it is a terrific mix of nostalgia and wistful thinking that makes us throw our weights behind Madha Gaja Raja.

We see the late Manobala appear in a cameo reminiscent of the legendary Nagesh from Magalir Mattum. The trope is the same, and the execution is not too far behind. Manobala is terrific, and with the combination of an in-form Santhanam and Vishal with able support from the likes of Lollu Sabha Manohar and Rajendran, that entire stretch is comedy gold. It is funny because it is silly, and team Madha Gaja Raja know it too. This levity adds a lot of weight to the Raja-Vishwanath war, and it makes us realise why the initial portions of this clash felt disengaging. It is simple. The movie’s strength is comedy, and any time, it moves away from that, the film falters.

As we all know, humour comes in all shapes and sizes. In the film, we have double entendres, jokes bordering on taboo, hilarious one-liners that are heavy on the rhyme-scheme like ‘Wife-a vaadi podi nu sollaama, water can moodi na solla mudiyum’, meta references like the late Manivannan saying, “Criminal-oda ponnu, police kaaran payyan, rendu perum love panraanga… ‘amarkkalama’ irukke,” and a joke-a-minute attempt at slapstick and conversational humour. Tamil cinema is indeed facing a scarcity of comedy films of yore because almost every comedy actor worth their salt have turned heroes.

On that front, Madha Gaja Raja is a reminder of why we have TV channels in Tamil playing comedy scenes 24×7. Sundar C’s comedy is irreverent, and his heroes too have a lot of fun with the coterie of comedians in his films. Probably why, it is refreshing to see Vishal have lot more fun in his scenes with Manobala and Santhanam when compared to his final face-off with Sonu Sood, where he sports an eight-pack.

Also, to give credit where it’s due, if given the opportunity, Sundar C might not make Madha Gaja Raja the same way in 2025. Of course, aiming for political correctness in a Sundar C comedy is like searching for Manobala’s car in a haystack. There’s no point, and the earlier we get to that realisation, the easier it gets to enjoy the ride. But still, one can assume that Madha Gaja Raja might have been toned down in some places, elevated in a few others, and overall, been a different kind of a comedy caper if it was made in 2025.

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But deep down in your heart, do you actually think it would have been the case? But one thing is for sure, whatever happens, however tough it gets, the film might still be hilarious, offensive, glamorous, and fast-paced because for over three decades one man has always managed to have the last laugh… and that’s Sundar C.

Madha Gaja Raja Movie Cast: Vishal, Anjali, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Sonu Sood
Madha Gaja Raja Movie Director: Sundar C
Madha Gaja Raja Movie Rating: 2.5 stars