Part C : Narrative Mapping Task
Timeline of How Events Are Revealed to the Me (Screen Time) 1. Film opens with antakshari in the barber shop. 2. Jothi is seen at a sports event with no clear identity. 3. Scenes with suspenseful ticking sounds, garage actions, and a bar fight. 4. An FIR is filed for “Lakshmi,” misleading the audience. 5. Psychological scenes like cupboard with serpent sound build tension. 6. Maharaja follows, attacks, and murders one man. 7. Clues point to Anurag — buying locket, phone call, haircut scene. 8. A duplicate dustbin is found. 9. Police question Maharaja about the dustbin. 10. Flashback reveals Jothi’s past trauma and escape. 11. False acting by a suspect is exposed. 12. Hospital flashback and emotional scenes confirm Jothi is alive. 13. Anurag is arrested ( Flashback ) 14. A girl arrives with her teacher, appears to be Jothi. 15. Final twist: she is Anurag’s daughter; real Jothi is safe.
3. Reflection
The film Maharaja uses non-linear editing to build emotional suspense and mislead the audience with purpose. By showing events out of order, it manipulates what the audience knows and when they know it. For example, when the FIR is filed for "Lakshmi," and Maharaja clings to a dustbin and locket, we are led to believe that Lakshmi is his lost or dead daughter. Only later do we discover that Lakshmi is the dustbin that saved his real daughter Jothi — a powerful metaphor that hits harder because of how long it is hidden. The editing uses flashbacks, sound effects, and emotional objects to connect the past and present. One of the most surprising moments is when a girl arrives at the end, and we assume she is Jothi, but she turns out to be Anurag’s daughter. This delayed reveal brings shock and closure. If the story were told in a linear format, the emotional tension, confusion, and symbolism would be lost. The non-linear structure allows us to feel Maharaja’s grief, silence, and trauma in the same fragmented way he experiences them.
• Did any reveal surprise you because of how it was edited?
Yes ,In the climax scene, Maharaja and Anurag confront each other on a rooftop. Tension is high as past trauma surfaces. Anurag has long believed Jothi is Maharaja’s daughter and shows no remorse. But during a conversation with Jothi, she speaks with calm confidence and unexpectedly gives him a piece of jewellery. As Anurag sees the chain — the one he had once bought for his own daughter — his expression changes. Flashbacks rush in. He realizes Jothi is not Maharaja’s daughter… she is his own daughter. The truth shocks him to the core, and overwhelmed by guilt and the weight of his crimes, he chooses to end his life by suicide.
Part D : Editing Techniques Deep Dive Choose any two sequences from the film that demonstrate exceptional editing. In two critical scenes from the past, editing deepens the emotional misunderstanding that drives Anurag’s guilt. On the day of his daughter’s birthday, Anurag visits Maharaja’s salon and forgets her gift — a chain he had bought for her. At the salon, he casually discusses a crime with his partner, unaware that Maharaja might have overheard. Later that day, during his daughter’s birthday celebration, Maharaja visits to return the forgotten chain. But just as Maharaja arrives, the police arrest Anurag. This sequence is cross-cut in a way that suggests to Anurag — and to the audience — that Maharaja might have informed the police. 
This misunderstanding becomes a key emotional trigger later in the film. Anurag carries this belief for years, adding resentment and bitterness to his actions. Right after this arrest scene, the editing jumps suddenly to the rape scene of Jothi, which occurred when Anurag returned from a camp. The placement of this traumatic flashback intensifies the emotional weight and connects all timelines through guilt, missed responsibility, and irreversible damage. These scenes not only build suspense but also prepare the audience for the final rooftop realization where all past misunderstandings collapse. Scene | Editing Techniques Used | Impact on Viewer | Notes | (Past) Anurag visits Maharaja's salon on his daughter’s birthday. | Casual conversational pacing, over-the-shoulder shots. | Viewers don’t realize the importance yet. | Dialogue with crime partner is unnoticed by audience at first. | Anurag forgets his daughter’s gift (chain). | Close-up on the forgotten gift on the counter. | Foreshadowing begins; viewer registers emotional neglect. | This chain becomes key later in the film. | Maharaja is at the birthday celebration to return the chain. | Cross-cutting between Anurag’s celebration and police arrival. | Surprise and tension build quickly. | Police arrest Anurag; viewer unsure why. | Anurag believes Maharaja informed police. | Internal monologue, flash of suspicion. | Builds misunderstanding and future guilt. | Anurag thinks Maharaja betrayed him. | Scene cuts to Jothi’s rape after camp return. | Sudden transition, cold color grading, harsh soundscape. | Emotional shock; viewer feels the trauma. | Shows deeper pain connected to chain and past events. |
Part E : Analytical Task “In Maharaja, editing is not just a technical craft but a storytelling strategy.”Discuss with reference to the film’s temporal structure, use of reveals, and viewer engagement. In Maharaja, editing functions not merely as a tool to assemble footage, but as a storytelling strategy that drives suspense, emotion, and character development. The film employs a non-linear temporal structure, deliberately reshuffling the chronological order of events. Flashbacks are interspersed with present scenes, withholding key information and revealing it gradually. This structure mirrors the protagonist's psychological state and invits the audience to actively piece together the truth. For example, early in the film, we see Maharaja carrying a dustbin named “Lakshmi” and filing an FIR, making the audience assume that his daughter has been murdered. Only later—through flashbacks and editing cues like match cuts, sound bridges, and object-focused close-ups—do we discover that “Lakshmi” is the dustbin his daughter hid inside to escape rape, and that she is actually alive. The final rooftop confrontation uses editing to combine slow motion, flashbacks, and visual triggers (the chain/locket) to reveal to Anurag—and the viewer—that Jothi is his daughter, not Maharaja’s. These reveals are emotionally timed, not just chronologically correct. They manipulate the viewer’s assumptions and empathy. Editing thus becomes the core mechanism that controls what the audience knows, how they feel, and when they are surprised. In short, Maharaja transforms editing into a narrative engine—blending past and present, truth and misunderstanding—to create a layered, deeply engaging cinematic experience. A linear telling would have weakened the suspense, but the chosen structure ensures that each emotional beat lands with maximum impact. References : Analysing Editing & Non‑Linear Narrative in Maharaja.” ResearchGate, uploaded by user (if specified), ResearchGate, 2024, www.researchgate.net/publication/393653801_ANALYSING_EDITING_NON-LINEAR_NARRATIVE_IN_MAHARAJA Saminathan, Nithilan, director. Maharaja. The Route Think Studios, Passion Studios,, 14 June 2024. Thank You....
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