Super Deluxe (film)
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''Super Deluxe'' is a 2019 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
-language film co-written, co-produced, and directed by
Thiagarajan Kumararaja Thiagarajan Kumararaja is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film debut with the critically acclaimed neo-noir gangster film '' Aaranya Kaandam'' (2011), which earned him the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of ...
, and additional screenplay written by
Nalan Kumarasamy Nalan Kumarasamy is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He started his career as a short filmmaker and won the title of the first season of ''Naalaya Iyakunar''. He made his feature film debut with Tamil film, ''Soodhu ...
, Neelan K. Sekar and
Mysskin Shanmugha Raja, known professionally as Mysskin, is an Tamil film director, screenwriter, actor, singer, and producer. He made his directorial debut in 2006 with ''Chithiram Pesuthadi''. His subsequent films ''Anjathe'' (2008), ''Nandalala'' ( ...
. Produced by Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, Alchemy Vision Works, and East West Dream Work Entertainment, the film stars
Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...
,
Fahadh Faasil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Nati ...
,
Samantha Ruth Prabhu Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...
, and
Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramy ...
. As a hyperlink film, it revolves around four groups of individuals who find themselves in the most unexpected predicaments, each poised to experience their destiny, all on one fateful day. ''Super Deluxe'' marked the filmmaker's second directorial stint after ''
Aaranya Kaandam ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (; English title: ''Anima and Persona'') is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema. The story takes ...
'' (2011). Later, Kumararaja officially announced this project in November 2016 under ''Aneedhi Kadhaigal''. The filming process went on for more than a year, despite experiencing difficulties due to demonetisation, schedule commitments of the actors and technicians, and
Tamil Film Producers Council Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC), is a union for film producers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, based in Chennai. Formed on 18 July 1979, the group has a charitable trust fund to provide financial support to retired producers, voiced supp ...
strike. The film production finally wrapped up in June 2018, followed by a lengthy
post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...
phase. The film's score is composed by
Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
. The cinematography was handled by
P. S. Vinod P. S. Vinod is Indian cinematographer who works in Telugu cinema, Telugu, Bollywood, Hindi and Tamil cinema, Tamil films. He debuted as an independent cinematographer with the 2000 Tamil film ''Rhythm (2000 film), Rhythm'' and then went to work ...
and
Nirav Shah Nirav Shah (born 16 November 1974) is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film '' Paisa Vasool''. Career After having worked as an as ...
, after
P. C. Sreeram P. C. Sreeram ISC (born 26 January 1956) is an Indian cinematographer and film director who works in Indian films. He is also the president of Qube Cinemas, a digital cinema technology company. He is an alumnus of the Madras Film Institute. ...
who initially worked on the film's first schedule, walked out of the project midway. Sathyaraj Natarajan has edited the film. The film used the themes of nostalgia, science-fiction, political incidents, and emotions, using color as an important storytelling device. After a North American premiere on 28 March 2019, ''Super Deluxe'' was theatrically released on 29 March, distributed by
YNOT X YNOT Studios (stylised as Y?NOT) is an Indian film production company in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, established by producer S. Sashikanth. As of 2020, the company has produced 18 feature films, which includes productions made in the Tamil, Telugu, ...
. The film opened to critical acclaim praising Kumararaja's direction, storytelling and screenplay, along with the performances of the leading cast, particularly that of Vijay Sethupathi. Many critics listed the film as one of the "Best Tamil Films of 2019", and ''
Film Companion Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
'' ranked Sethupathi and child actor Ashwanth Ashok Kumar's performances in the list of "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade"''.'' The film was screened at the
Fantasia International Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
in
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,
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Prior to 2015, it was known as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan. Inaugurated ...
in
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, and
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a Victoria State Government-funded annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2012. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender prov ...
, where it was conferred the "Equality in Cinema Award". The film won four
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards is an annual awards ceremony for people in the Tamil film industry. It is presented by the Tamil language weekly magazine ''ananda vikatan''. The awards were introduced in the year 2008, honouring the films that w ...
, four
Zee Cine Awards The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way". They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...
, four Critics Choice Film Awards, two
Edison Awards Edison Awards is an American company that runs an annual competition honoring excellence in innovation in a broad range of categories. Company The Edison Awards were established by the American Marketing Association in 1987 and has been an i ...
, and a nomination at the
9th AACTA Awards The 9th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an award's ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2019. The main ceremony was held at The Star (Sydney), The St ...
for Best Asian Film. At the
67th National Film Awards The 67th National Film Awards were announced at a press meet on 22 March 2021 to honour the best Indian films certified in India between 1 January and 31 December 2019. The awards ceremony, at which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents it ...
, the film won Best Supporting Actor award for Vijay Sethupathi.


Plot


Shilpa's story

Jyothi and her son Rasukutty are awaiting the return of Rasukutty's father, Manickam, who abandoned the family seven years ago. To their shock, Manickam arrives from Mumbai as a
trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...
, Shilpa. Rasukutty wants to introduce Shilpa to his friends at school. On the way, a bigoted cop detains Shilpa, and she is forced into fellating a corrupt police officer named Berlin. Shilpa faces further harassment and humiliation from people at her son's school. Distraught, she buys a ticket to return to Mumbai, where she lives as a
hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
. On the way home from school, Shilpa loses Rasukutty. Now desperate to find her son, she goes to the police and meets Berlin, pleading with him to help her. After refusing to entertain Berlin for any sexual favors, she grapples with Berlin and places a death curse on him before escaping. Distraught, she finally decides to go home and finds Rasukutty there. Rasukutty reveals he discovered Shilpa's intention of abandoning them again after seeing the train ticket to Mumbai in her purse, leading to an emotional confrontation where Shilpa realizes that Rasukutty and Jyothi are ready to accept her as she is, and they all go on living together.


The TV story

Five teens (Gaaji, Soori, Mohan, Vasanth, and Thuyavan) skip school and gather to watch a
porn movie Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotical ...
at Thuyavan's home, only to find out that the
porn star A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dist ...
is Soori's mother, Leela. Soori breaks the TV in a fit of rage and runs away, crying. Thuyavan, afraid of his father finding out about the broken TV, enlists Gaaji and Vasanth into getting enough money for a new TV by the evening. They accept a job from a local gangster but fail to complete their assigned task. They then try to steal a North Indian pawnbroker's house, which fails too. Attempting to steal from him again, they are confronted by a girl with magical powers at the home who reveals herself to be an alien. She duplicates Gaaji, keeping one clone with herself for companionship. The friends get money from her to buy a new TV. They toss out the old broken TV through the broken roof of a disused building and set off to a cinema hall to finally watch a porn film.


Leela's story

Reaching home, an enraged Soori runs towards Leela with a screwdriver, intending to kill her after finding out she acted in a porn film. He trips and falls on the staircase and inadvertently stabs himself in the
abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
. A distraught Leela takes him to the hospital, and his father Arputham (formerly known as Dhanasekaran) is informed about the accident. Arputham is a survivor from the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
who believes that God saved him in the form of a Jesus statue which he held onto when the tsunami struck. He converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
after this experience, but is currently having a crisis of faith. He forcibly takes Soori from Leela and subjects Soori to
faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...
at his chapel while locking her out. Leela then gets her son admitted to a hospital with the help of a local counselor after she unsuccessfully pleads with her husband, but she now struggles to arrange for medical expenses. It is then revealed that Arputham's crisis of faith was triggered by a conversation with Shilpa earlier, when Shilpa, having lost Rasukutty, confesses her guilt to him over unknowingly escorting and delivering two children to a criminal gang, where the children were mutilated to make them more effective beggars, fearing that her
karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
has caught up with her and that her son might end up with a similar fate. Arputham states there can be no forgiveness for a person like her and tells her that she would be better off dead. Before leaving him, Shilpa tells Arputham that she tried to drown herself during the 2004 tsunami but survived by holding onto a rock, but didn't attribute any divinity to it, unlike Arputham. Arputham breaks the Jesus statue out of rage and desperation and finds long-forgotten diamonds inside it, which he uses to pay for Soori's medical expenses. Leela asks him whether he'd still have faith if he'd been saved by clinging onto a
teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
instead of Jesus. He reflects on that question while Soori reconciles with Leela.


Vaembu and Mugil's story

Vaembu, an unhappily married woman forced into an arranged marriage, has sex with her ex-boyfriend while her husband is away, but her ex-boyfriend suddenly dies in the act. Her husband Mugil returns home to find the corpse. While devastated to discover that his wife had been cheating on him, he decides to dispose of the body as he didn't want this incident to be exposed, fearful of the stigma attached to having an unfaithful wife. Eventually, they manage to smuggle the corpse out of town and attempt to plant the corpse in a car on the railway track to stage the death as an accident. But they are caught by Berlin (the corrupt police officer from Shilpa's story), who blackmails the couple in return for sexual favours from Vaembu. As he advances towards the unwilling and distraught Vaembu, intending to rape her, the old TV thrown by the boys (from the TV story) falls on his head and kills him. The couple gets rid of both the corpses and reconciles with each other.


Epilogue

The friends from the TV story are finally watching a porn film at the theatre. The film starts with a doctor speaking philosophically about the mysteries of life and patterns through the universe, with everything being interconnected in ways as yet unknown to us. He then says he will reveal some of those secrets to the audience now and winks. The nurse nearby blinks and starts to take her clothes off, as the porn film title shows its name ''Vaazhvin Ragasiyam'' ("The Secret of Life").


Cast

*
Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...
as Shilpa a.k.a. Manickam, a transgender woman, Jothi's spouse, and Rasukutty's father who returns home after transitioning. *
Fahadh Faasil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Nati ...
as Mugil, an aspiring actor and Vaembu's husband who is devastated after discovering her affair, and helps her hide a dead body. *
Samantha Ruth Prabhu Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...
as Vaembu, Mugil's unfaithful wife who cheats on him with her ex-boyfriend, who suddenly dies in bed while being intimate with her. *
Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramy ...
as Leela, a former actress, Soori's mother, and Arputham's wife, whose porn film "Mallu Uncut" is accidentally seen by her son. *
Gayathrie Gayathrie Shankar (born 2 May 1993) is an Indian actress who appears in Tamil and Malayalam films. Her Tamil film debut was in 2012 with ''18 Vayasu'', and is best known for her role in ''Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom'' (2012). She had her M ...
as Jothi, Shilpa (Manickam)'s wife and Rasukutty's mother, who is devastated to find out that her husband is transgender. *
Mysskin Shanmugha Raja, known professionally as Mysskin, is an Tamil film director, screenwriter, actor, singer, and producer. He made his directorial debut in 2006 with ''Chithiram Pesuthadi''. His subsequent films ''Anjathe'' (2008), ''Nandalala'' ( ...
as Arputham a.k.a. Dhanasekaran, Leela's husband and Soori's father who is a preacher and who relies on
faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...
to save his wounded son. * Bagavathi Perumal as Sub-Inspector Berlin, a corrupt police officer, and the
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
's main antagonist who abruptly molested Shilpa and who attempted to rape Vaembu. * Ashwanth Ashokkumar as Rasukutty, Shilpa and Jothi's son. * Naveen as Soori, Leela and Arputham's son who accidentally saw his mother's porn film. * Vijay Ram as Balaji a.k.a. "Gaaji," Soori's one of the friends with a carefree attitude, who later develops a crush on The Alien Girl. * Mirnalini Ravi as The Alien Girl, who falls in love with Gaaji. * Jayanth as Mohan, Soori's best friend. * Abdul Jabbar as Thuyavan, Soori's friend whose TV was broken by Soori. * Noble K. James as Vasanth a.k.a. "Mutta Puffs," one of Soori's friends, an innocent boy whose sister is loved by Gaaji in a one-sided way. * Ramana as Ramasamy, Arputham's partner in his religious preaching. * Rengarajan Rajagopalan as Kanna, Vaembu's ex-boyfriend who suddenly dies in bed while intimate with her. * Kavin Jay Babu as Idi Amin, a local gangster. * Maheshwari as Mrinalini a.k.a. "Meenal," Leela's neighbour, her friend. *
Manushyaputhiran Manushya Puthiran (in Tamil: மனுஷ்ய புத்திரன்; born 1968) is a poet and writer from Tamil Nadu in Tamil Nadu, India. He was born as S. Abdul Hameed in Thuvarankurichi, the Tiruchirappalli district. He began his li ...
as The
Sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...
in "Vaazhvin Ragasiyam" porn film. * Dhwani Shree as The Nurse in "Vaazhvin Ragasiyam" porn film. * Porali Ramki as Kavuchi. * Balaji Tharaneetharan as Mani, Vaembu, and Mugil's house owner. * Harish as Sebastian Arumugam. * Heat Bakodia as Aakash, a five-year-old boy who is Mani's relative. * Avinash as Sunil. * Ravi Karthick as Kishore, a jewellery owner.


Production


Development

Following the release of ''
Aaranya Kaandam ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (; English title: ''Anima and Persona'') is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema. The story takes ...
'' (2011), which opened to critical acclaim, the film's director
Thiagarajan Kumararaja Thiagarajan Kumararaja is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film debut with the critically acclaimed neo-noir gangster film '' Aaranya Kaandam'' (2011), which earned him the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of ...
officially announced his next film after a gap of five years, in October 2016. The untitled film had
Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...
and
Fahadh Faasil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Nati ...
(in his second Tamil project after Velaikkaran) featuring in the lead roles, with
Samantha Ruth Prabhu Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...
announced as the lead actress in early November. The same month,
P. C. Sreeram P. C. Sreeram ISC (born 26 January 1956) is an Indian cinematographer and film director who works in Indian films. He is also the president of Qube Cinemas, a digital cinema technology company. He is an alumnus of the Madras Film Institute. ...
was announced as the
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
and
Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
, who worked with Kumararaja in ''Aaranya Kaandam'', was chosen as the
music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...
. Sathyaraj Natarajan, who worked in the same month as an assistant to
Praveen K. L. Kuchipudi Latha Praveen is an Indian film editor, based in Chennai, who works predominantly in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and English films. He is a recipient of one National Film Award, one Tamizh Nadu State Film Award among others. He ha ...
was chosen as the
film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...
, and Vijay Adhinathan was the
production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...
. Kumararaja co-produced the film along with East West Dream Work Entertainment and Alchemy Vision Works. Initially, the film was titled ''Aneedhi Kadhaigal'' (Amoral tales), but following a series of schedule changes during the filming process, the new title ''Super Deluxe'' was announced.


Writing

In an interview with ''The Hindu'', Kumararaja said the film does not belong to any single genre, because "One may burst into laughter while the other might be in a state of shock for the same scene." Kumararaja worked with four directors:
Mysskin Shanmugha Raja, known professionally as Mysskin, is an Tamil film director, screenwriter, actor, singer, and producer. He made his directorial debut in 2006 with ''Chithiram Pesuthadi''. His subsequent films ''Anjathe'' (2008), ''Nandalala'' ( ...
,
Nalan Kumarasamy Nalan Kumarasamy is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He started his career as a short filmmaker and won the title of the first season of ''Naalaya Iyakunar''. He made his feature film debut with Tamil film, ''Soodhu ...
and Neelan K. Sekar to work on the screenplay and also unsuccessfully approached
Anurag Kashyap Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France a ...
,
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
and
S. J. Suryah S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...
as he wanted the storyline to be "interesting". Each writer had planned different segments and different characters in the storyline, which overlap each other in the end. He declined the film as an anthology, but considered it a "fresh attempt in narrative storytelling". He preferred to write the script using the Kino Fist technique the manipulation of narrative by jumbling up the sequence of frames through shooting and editing by Soviet filmmaker
Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...
. Kumararaja wrote, "One story, then another, and then I cut from one scene to the next", to bring in a non-linear narrative.


Characters

Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...
was reported to play a full-fledged feminine character in the film, but was later revealed as a transgender, with the character named as Shilpa.
Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramy ...
was earlier announced as a second female lead after
Samantha Ruth Prabhu Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...
and had also shot her portions for the film, but due to creative issues she walked out of the project, and
Nadiya Moidu Zareena Moidu, known by her stage name Nadhiya, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her debut in the Malayalam film ''Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu'' (1984), alongside Mohanlal and Padm ...
was later brought on board. But, Nadiya also exited the project, as she was not satisfied with the script and the director re-approached Ramya Krishnan for the role, which she immediately agreed to. Krishnan played the role of Leela, a porn star in the film (within a film), Mallu Uncut, and she described her role as "most challenging ever in her career". Mirnalini Ravi, who rose to fame with
dubsmash Dubsmash was an American video sharing social media service application for iOS and Android. Founded in Germany by Jonas Drüppel, Roland Grenke, and Daniel Taschik, the company relocated from Germany to Brooklyn in 2016. On December 13, 2020 ...
, was roped in to play a pivotal character after she was selected by an audition. Though she did not reveal anything about her role, and her portions being set in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, her role was later revealed to be an
alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
girl, which was the film's "surprise factor".
Gayathrie Gayathrie Shankar (born 2 May 1993) is an Indian actress who appears in Tamil and Malayalam films. Her Tamil film debut was in 2012 with ''18 Vayasu'', and is best known for her role in ''Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom'' (2012). She had her M ...
was paired opposite Vijay Sethupathi, which marked their fourth collaboration after ''
Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom ''Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom'' (), abbreviated as ''NKPK'', is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film, written and directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan in his directorial debut. Produced by V. S. Rajkumar under the studio Leo Vision, ...
'' (2012), ''
Puriyatha Puthir ''Puriyatha Puthir'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed by Ranjit Jeyakodi and produced by Deepan Boopathy and Ratesh Velu under, ''Rebel Studio Productions''. Vijay Sethupathi, Gayathrie, and Mahima Nambiar featu ...
'' (2017) and ''
Seethakaathi ''Seethakaathi'' is a 2018 Tamil-language magic realism comedy film written and directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan, starring Vijay Sethupathi in his 25th lead role in a film. The film began production in April 2017. Upon release the film received ...
'' (2018). For her role as a married woman, she was instructed to gain weight, but she eventually fell ill during the shoot because of her uncontrolled diet. Thiagarajan later advised Gayathrie to maintain a balanced diet and the team also prepared home-cooked food for her during her shoot. Mysskin, apart from co-writing the screenplay, also played a pivotal role in the segment. His role was initially auditioned to
Anurag Kashyap Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France a ...
, but he refused the project and later expressed regrets at not being a part in the film after watching the screening of the film.


Filming and post-production

Filming of the first schedule began in October 2016, but it was immediately halted after 15 days of shoot due to demonetization implemented by
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
and the actors' commitments in other projects. In July 2017, it was announced that P. C. Sreeram had opted out of the project, as his schedule was being conflicted with '' Pad Man'' (2018). As a result,
P. S. Vinod P. S. Vinod is Indian cinematographer who works in Telugu cinema, Telugu, Bollywood, Hindi and Tamil cinema, Tamil films. He debuted as an independent cinematographer with the 2000 Tamil film ''Rhythm (2000 film), Rhythm'' and then went to work ...
, who had worked with Kumararaja in ''Aaranya Kaandam'', was roped in to replace Sreeram and
Nirav Shah Nirav Shah (born 16 November 1974) is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film '' Paisa Vasool''. Career After having worked as an as ...
handled additional cinematography. Vijay Sethupathi, who had completed the first schedule of '' Junga'', started shooting for his portions in the same month and completed it by October. Mysskin's segment began filming in January 2018, and was completed before March 2018. Following the Tamil Film Producers Council strike, which ended in April, the makers resumed shooting for the last segment of the film featuring Fahadh Faasil, and the shooting was completed in its entirety after the segment's completion in June 2018, and post-production subsequently began. Thiagarajan and Mysskin revealed in an interview that there are several sequences in the film that involved 100150 takes. For a scene featuring Ramya Krishnan, the team took 37 takes, which spanned two days. The team planned to shoot the film in
film camera A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either on an image sensor or onto film stock, in order to produce a moving image to project onto a movie s ...
, but the lack of negative films prompted the team to use
digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...
. As per Kumararaja's request, the locations had "shapes and textures and a sense of age and limitations in terms of lighting" to give a depth to the images. The shots were entirely filmed indoors, and for a few sequences, exterior shots were used. Kumararaja also had used saturated color gradings instead of vibrant colors to reflect the film's theme. He gave an example about Mysskin's segment, which had a marine feel to resemble the track being connected with the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
.


Soundtrack

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
composed the
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
for ''Super Deluxe'' in his second collaboration with Kumararaja after ''
Aaranya Kaandam ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (; English title: ''Anima and Persona'') is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema. The story takes ...
'' (2010). Unlike the previous film, which had no songs, Kumararaja planned a
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
having a mix of
retro style Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, and
contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
. But they decided against doing so, and it eventually became Raja's third film without a soundtrack after ''
Adhu ''Adhu'' () is a 2004 Tamil-language horror film directed by Ramesh Balakrishnan, starring Sneha as a spirit possessed girl. The film, that has Aravind, a newcomer, Suha, Kazan Khan and Vijayan in supporting and Abbas in a cameo role, is a ...
'' and ''Aaranya Kaandam''. Instead, the team used yesteryear compositions of
Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
, being
license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
d for the film. A promotional song titled "Ding Dong" was composed, which was included in a promo teaser. Yuvan scored the music for the film's background, which was critically acclaimed. After being praised for his work in the film, fans insisted to release the
film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
as a separate album. Later, the original soundtrack was released on 27 May 2020.


Marketing and release

Thiagarajan Kumararaja had initially planned to premiere the film at the
71st Cannes Film Festival The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 May 2018. Australian actress Cate Blanchett acted as President of the Jury. The Japanese film ''Shoplifters'', directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, won the Palme d'Or. Asghar Farhadi's psycho ...
during May 2018, which could not happen due to production delays. In February 2019, it was revealed that
YNOT X YNOT Studios (stylised as Y?NOT) is an Indian film production company in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, established by producer S. Sashikanth. As of 2020, the company has produced 18 feature films, which includes productions made in the Tamil, Telugu, ...
, the distribution arm of YNOT Studios, had acquired the film rights. The official theatrical trailer was released on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
on 22 February 2019, which had Vijay Sethupathi narrating the entire segments of the storyline through the trailer. ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' and ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' reviewed the trailer as "highly intriguing". The film's publicity designer, Gopi Prasanna, created a
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
tribute for the film, which was considered to be his first professional artwork. ''Super Deluxe'' received an A (adults only) certificate from the censor board without any cuts, unlike ''Aaranya Kaandam'', which had 52 cuts. It also had a speculated runtime of 176 minutes. The film was screened in more than 800 theaters across
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
on 29 March 2019. A special premiere was held at the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on 28 March in 85 locations distributed by Prime Media. Despite being an adult-rated film, the film was watched by family audiences owing to the fanbase of Vijay Sethupathi across rural and urban audiences.''Super Deluxe'' was screened and was conferred the "Equality in Cinema Award" at the 2019
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a Victoria State Government-funded annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2012. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender prov ...
. It was also screened at the
Fantasia International Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
, the largest genre film festival in
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and the
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Prior to 2015, it was known as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan. Inaugurated ...
. After its theatrical premiere, the film was made available for streaming on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. It was dubbed in Telugu under the same title and released directly through the streaming service Aha on 30 July 2021.


Reception


Critical reception


India

''Super Deluxe'' opened to mostly positive critical reviews. On the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, it holds an
approval rating An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...
of based on reviews, with an average rating of .
Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu'' ...
in his review for ''
Film Companion South Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
'', praised the director on how he had concentrated on both the larger structure of the story and also on the minute details. He stated, "This is an utterly unique film," and went on to say, "All of this would be little more than postmodern pranks if not for the film's magnificent ''design''. This is not the first film to tell the story of three couples, but where earlier directors treated these stories like intimate domestic drama, ''Super Deluxe'' makes them something almost infinite, spanning the breadth of human (and other) existence". Writing for ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'', Srivatsan S. called the film as a spiritual successor to ''
Aaranya Kaandam ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (; English title: ''Anima and Persona'') is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema. The story takes ...
'' and said, "No other filmmaker has probably romanticized the Tamil cinema universe with pop culture references as much as Kumararaja ..If ''Super Deluxe'' is what you get from a filmmaker who was in exile, then you don't mind waiting a few years from now till he comes up with his next eccentric film." M Suganth, in his review for ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'', gave 4 (out of 5) stars and wrote, "There is black comedy, double entendres, swear words, WTF moments, political and social commentary, romance, sentiment and even a musing on what it means to be life on Earth. There is ambition, genius, and also a beating heart." Kirubakaran Purushothaman of ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
'' gave 4.5 stars (out of 5) and said, "Thiagarajan Kumararaja crafts a path-breaking film that deserves more than one watch to understand the depth in each characterisations". ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
''-based critic Karthik Kumar gave a 5/5 rating and said, "Super Deluxe is built on the premise of morality. It questions what is right and what's wrong and in the process, makes us understand that what's right for someone need not necessarily be wrong for others." He called the performances as "top notch" and considered the film as "Tamil cinema's most eccentric and boldest attempts in recent years".
Sowmya Rajendran Sowmya Rajendran is an Indian writer. She is the winner of Sahitya Akademi's 2015 Bal Sahitya Puraskar and has written over 20 books. She has written young adult fiction, picture books and inspirational books for children. Career Rajendran's w ...
of ''
The News Minute ''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Dhanya Rajendran, Chitra Subramaniam and Vignesh Vellore in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, And ...
'' too gave the same rating and said, "''Super Deluxe'', like ''Aaranya Kaandam'', will open new doors of possibility for Tamil cinema. It may well be that the industry, which is already seeing quite a bit of successful experimentation, is stepping into the Deluxe age." Calling it as "one of the best Tamil film in recent times", Sreedhar Pillai, in his review for ''
Firstpost ''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18. The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...
'', assigned a score 4 (out of 5), saying, "Thiagarajan Kumararaja delivers a film of substance which also entertains". Writing for ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'', S. Subakeerthana rated the film 4 stars (out of 5) and called it an "intellectually stimulating experience". He went on to say, "It's hard to categorize this film, which has got everything — wholesome entertainment, humor, noir, and a bit of sci-fi. ''Super Deluxe'', undoubtedly, is one step higher than ''Aaranya Kaandam'' — in terms of treatment, writing, and presentation." Suparna Sharma of ''
Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ( ...
'' wrote, "Super Deluxe presents, then lovingly creates and frames the most masculine of archetypes on one side, and on the other are women, seeming rendered powerless by morality, gender, sexuality, and virtue. And then, slowly, it shows what they all are really made of". She gave the film 4 out of 5 stars. Udhay Bhatia of ''
Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
'' said, "''Super Deluxe'' is too pleasurable and fluent from minute to minute, scene to scene to get hung up on the stuff that doesn't work." A critic from ''Indiaglitz'' gave the film 3.75 (out of 5) and said, "Super Deluxe is an unforgettable, not to be missed top-notch cinematic experience that deserves to be celebrated." ''
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
'' gave a review: "Super Deluxe benefits enormously from winning performances by its lead actors". ''Behindwoods'' gave 3.5 (out of 5) and said, "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." In contrast Gauthaman Bhaskaran of ''
News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...
'', gave a mixed review, saying, "''Super Deluxe'' could have been far more exciting had it been pruned by at least 45 minutes". He further praised Vijay Sethupathi's performance, giving the film 2.5 stars (out of 5).


Overseas

Rachel Saltz of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said, "Kumararaja's work is stylish and wry, with an indie-cinephile sensibility. Part of that sensibility is a frankness about sex that's still unusual in Indian movies, especially commercial ones. Though nothing explicit is shown, all the story lines in ''Super Deluxe'' have a little sexual motor, and there's plenty of frank, off-color language, too." Ranjani Krishnakumar of ''
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' said, "''Super Deluxe'' is a delicately intelligent commentary on modern life with such powerful writing and artful filmmaking." However, she added, "The biggest strength of ''Super Deluxe,'' is the characters. Despite the many interesting characters (and excellent actors) that share screen space, we understand and empathise with them ..Kumararaja packs so much into so little time that we walk away feeling like we know these people, even if we don't really like all of them." Joe Leydon of ''
Variety Magazine ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...
'' said, "Thiagarajan Kumararaja's unstable mix of dark comedy, brutal thriller and
Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left fo ...
-ian melodrama is shamelessly excessive but undeniably entertaining". He further wrote, "There can be no denying that ''Super Deluxe'' has more than its share of draggy sections where the passage of time and the escalation of humiliation make themselves uncomfortably felt. Ultimately, however, the sheer chutzpah of the film, and the dedicatedly in-sync performance by the cast, are enough to keep audiences appreciatively absorbed." Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl of ''
The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
'' said, "''Super Deluxe'' makes you question what man often takes for granted. Be it sexuality, God or relationships. And it doesn't provide you the answers on a platter. It is for you to find out." He further called the film as a "comeback of epic proportions for the gifted filmmaker." Critics Thomas McNulty and Merrick Sinclair of ''
Hollywood Insider ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' said, "''Super Deluxe'' is a masterfully put together web of storylines. Each plot is unique and interesting in its own way, so the audience is never bored. With expert acting, beautiful cinematography, and a non-stop story, ''Super Deluxe'' transcends language barriers and is enjoyable by all audiences."


Accolades

''Super Deluxe'' won four awards at the
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards is an annual awards ceremony for people in the Tamil film industry. It is presented by the Tamil language weekly magazine ''ananda vikatan''. The awards were introduced in the year 2008, honouring the films that w ...
 – Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (
Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna (in the Telugu and Kannada film industries) is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramy ...
), Best Cinematography (
P. S. Vinod P. S. Vinod is Indian cinematographer who works in Telugu cinema, Telugu, Bollywood, Hindi and Tamil cinema, Tamil films. He debuted as an independent cinematographer with the 2000 Tamil film ''Rhythm (2000 film), Rhythm'' and then went to work ...
and
Nirav Shah Nirav Shah (born 16 November 1974) is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film '' Paisa Vasool''. Career After having worked as an as ...
) and Best Music Director (
Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...
). The film received four nominations at the inaugural ceremony of
Zee Cine Awards Tamil The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way". They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...
: Best Supporting Actor – Female (Krishnan), Best Child Artist ( Ashwanth Ashokkumar), Best Editor ( Sathyaraj Natarajan) and Best Art Director (Vijay Adhinathan), and won all of them, including a Jury Special award for Best Actor – Female (
Samantha Ruth Prabhu Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...
). The film won five Critics Choice Film Awards: Best Movie of the Year, Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Writing, and two Edison Awards. At the
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a Victoria State Government-funded annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2012. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender prov ...
held on 8 August 2019, the film was nominated at four categories and won two – Best Actor (Vijay Sethupathi) and an Equality in Cinema (Honorary Award). It received a nomination at the
9th AACTA Awards The 9th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an award's ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2019. The main ceremony was held at The Star (Sydney), The St ...
for Best Asian Film. At the
67th National Film Awards The 67th National Film Awards were announced at a press meet on 22 March 2021 to honour the best Indian films certified in India between 1 January and 31 December 2019. The awards ceremony, at which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents it ...
, held for Indian films released in 2019, the film received an award for Best Supporting Actor for
Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...
.


Film charts

''Super Deluxe'' was listed at many critics' top ten lists. In addition, ''
Film Companion Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
'' ranked
Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...
and child actor Ashwanth Ashokkumar's performances in the list of "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade"''.'' * 2nd S. Subakeerthana, ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' * 2nd Haricharan Pudipeddi, ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' * 3rd Siddharth K., ''
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
'' * 4th Janani K., ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
'' * 5th Surendhar M. K., ''
Firstpost ''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18. The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...
'' * 6th Rohan Naahar, ''Hindustan Times'' * 6th
Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu'' ...
, ''
Film Companion South Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
'' * 7th
Anna M. M. Vetticad Anna Mercy Mathews Vetticad, commonly known as Anna M. M. Vetticad, is an Indian film critic and journalist. She has been in the field of journalism since 1994. Vetticad has also hosted her own interview show, ''Star Trek'', on Headlines Today ...
, ''Firstpost'' * 7th Sayantan Mondal, ''
The Quint ''The Quint'' is an English and Hindi language Indian general news and opinion website founded by Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur after their exit from Network18. The publication's journalists have won three Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Aw ...
''


Legacy

The film's poster, designed by Gopi Prasanna, was listed in ''Posterphilia: Top 10 Indian Movie Posters of the Decade'' by ''
Film Companion Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
''. ''Moviecrow'' too listed the poster in ''Best Tamil Movie Posters (2019)'' and reviewed: "The synchronicity of Super Deluxe's events is captured in this poster and interestingly it turned out to be an exact representation of all things that appear in the film. There's a sense of striking appeal to the embossed nature of the poster."


References


External links

* * * {{Portal bar, Film, India, LGBT, Transgender 2010s Tamil-language films 2019 films 2019 LGBT-related films Cross-dressing in Indian films Films about pornography Films about sex addiction Films about sexual abuse Films about trans women Films scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja Films set in Chennai Films shot in Chennai Hyperlink films Indian avant-garde and experimental films Indian LGBT-related films