Super Deluxe is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja, and additional screenplay written by Nalan Kumarasamy, Neelan K. Sekar and Mysskin. Produced by Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, Alchemy Vision Works, and East West Dream Work Entertainment, the film stars Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Ramya Krishnan. 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 (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 strike. The film production finally wrapped up in June 2018, followed by a lengthy post-production phase. The film's score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The cinematography was handled by P. S. Vinod and Nirav Shah, after P. C. Sreeram 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. The film received critical acclaim, praising Kumararaja's direction, storytelling, cinematography, and cast performances (particularly Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil and Ashwanth Ashok Kumar). Many critics listed the film as one of the "Best Tamil Films of 2019", and Film Companion 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 in North America, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea, and Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, where it was conferred the "Equality in Cinema Award". The film won four Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, four Zee Cine Awards, four Critics Choice Film Awards, two Edison Awards, and a nomination at the 9th AACTA Awards for Best Asian Film. At the 67th National Film Awards, the film won Best Supporting Actor award for Vijay Sethupathi.
Plot The narrative unfolds through four parallel, interconnected stories taking place over a single day in Chennai.
Shilpa's Story
Jyothi and her young son, Rasukutty, eagerly await the return of Rasukutty's father, Manickam, who abandoned the family seven years prior. To their shock, Manickam returns from Mumbai having transitioned into a transgender woman named Shilpa. While Jyothi struggles with the change, Rasukutty accepts Shilpa unconditionally and insists on introducing her to his schoolmates. On their way, Berlin, a corrupt and bigoted police inspector, detains Shilpa and extorts a sexual favor from her. Shilpa faces further transphobic harassment and humiliation from the faculty and parents at Rasukutty's school.
Distraught, Shilpa secretly purchases a train ticket to return to the hijra community in Mumbai. However, she accidentally loses track of Rasukutty on the way home. Desperate, she rushes to the police station to report him missing, where she is once again confronted by Berlin. When he demands further sexual favors in exchange for his help, Shilpa fiercely rebuffs him, grapples her way out, and places a death curse on him before escaping. Returning home in despair, Shilpa finds Rasukutty safe with Jyothi. Rasukutty confronts her after finding the Mumbai train ticket in her purse. Realizing that both her son and wife genuinely love and accept her as she is, a remorseful Shilpa chooses to stay, and the family reunites.
The TV Story
Five teenagers—Gaaji, Soori, Mohan, Vasanth, and Thuyavan—skip school to watch a pornographic film at Thuyavan's house. They are horrified to discover that the actress in the video is Soori's mother, Leela. In a fit of rage and anguish, Soori smashes the television set and runs away. Terrified of his strict father discovering the broken appliance, Thuyavan enlists Gaaji and Vasanth to help him raise enough money to buy a replacement by the evening.
The boys accept a delivery job from a local gangster but bungle the assignment, losing the merchandise. They then attempt to burglarize the home of a North Indian pawnbroker, only to be confronted by a young girl possessing telekinetic and magical abilities, who reveals herself to be an extraterrestrial being. Fascinated by Gaaji, the alien creates a physical clone of him to keep as a companion, and grants the teenagers the cash required for a new television. After purchasing the replacement, the boys discard the shattered TV by tossing it through the broken roof of an abandoned building and head to a local cinema hall to watch a film.
Leela's Story
An enraged Soori runs home brandishing a screwdriver, intending to kill Leela for her past actions. However, he trips on the staircase and inadvertently stabs himself in the abdomen. Leela rushes her critically injured son to the hospital and informs her husband, Arputham. Arputham is a devout Christian convert and street preacher who survived the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami by clinging to a statue of Jesus Christ—an experience that birthed his intense faith, though he is currently enduring a profound spiritual crisis.
Arputham forcibly removes Soori from the hospital against medical advice, locking Leela out of his chapel to subject the boy to faith healing. Desperate, Leela secures the help of a local social counselor to override Arputham and readmit Soori to the intensive care unit, though she faces exorbitant medical bills.
It is revealed that Arputham’s crisis of faith was triggered by an earlier encounter with a frantic Shilpa, who was searching for Rasukutty. Consumed by guilt, Shilpa had confessed to Arputham that she once unknowingly trafficked two runaway children to a criminal syndicate that subsequently mutilated them for forced begging; she feared her son's disappearance was karmic retribution. Arputham harshly condemned her, stating she deserved death. Before leaving, Shilpa revealed that she too had survived the 2004 tsunami by holding onto a random rock, noting that she never attributed divinity to the object. Driven to desperation by his son's worsening condition and Shilpa's words, Arputham shatters his prized Jesus statue in frustration, only to discover a hoard of long-forgotten, smuggled diamonds hidden inside its hollow core. He uses the fortune to fund Soori's life-saving surgery. As Soori recovers and reconciles with Leela, she poses a philosophical question to Arputham: would he still worship a teddy bear if that had been the object that saved his life in the ocean? Arputham is left in silent contemplation.
Vaembu and Mugil's Story
Vaembu, trapped in an unhappy arranged marriage, invites her ex-boyfriend to her apartment while her husband, Mugil, an aspiring actor, is away. During the extramarital encounter, the ex-boyfriend suddenly suffers a fatal heart attack. Mugil returns home to discover the corpse. Driven by the paralyzing fear of societal stigma and the public ruin of his career over having an unfaithful wife, Mugil agrees to help Vaembu dispose of the body.
The couple encapsulates the corpse in a large canvas bag and drives out of the city, attempting to stage the death as a vehicular accident by placing the body in a car parked on an active railway track. They are caught red-handed by Inspector Berlin, who quickly deduces the crime and blackmails them. Berlin forces them back to their apartment and demands sex from Vaembu in exchange for his silence. As a terrified Vaembu undergoes the assault, the shattered television set thrown into the abandoned building by the teenagers crashes through the ceiling, striking Berlin squarely on the head and killing him instantly, fulfilling Shilpa's curse. Vaembu and Mugil successfully dispose of both bodies, their shared trauma ultimately repairing their fractured marital bond.
Epilogue
A philosophical voice-over bridges the conclusions of all four storylines, meditating on the interconnectedness, cosmic ironies, and inherent chaos of the universe. In the cinema hall, the teenagers watch the opening monologue of an adult film titled Vaazhvin Ragasiyam ("The Secret of Life"), in which an actor dressed as a doctor breaks the fourth wall, winking at the camera as he promises to reveal the ultimate mysteries of human existence.
Cast
Vijay Sethupathi as Shilpa a.k.a. Manickam, a transgender woman, Jyothi's spouse, and a parent to Rasukutty who returns home after transitioning. Fahadh Faasil 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 as Vaembu, Mugil's wife who cheats on him with her ex-boyfriend, who suddenly dies while having sex. Ramya Krishnan as Leela, a former actress, Soori's mother, and Arputham's wife, whose porn film "Mallu Uncut" is accidentally seen by her son. Gayathrie as Jyothi, Shilpa's wife and Rasukutty's mother, who is devastated to find out that her wife is transgender. Mysskin as Arputham a.k.a. Dhanasekaran, Leela's husband and Soori's father who is a preacher and who relies on faith healing to save his injured son. Bagavathi Perumal as Sub-inspector Berlin, a corrupt police officer, and the film's main antagonist who abruptly molests Shilpa and who attempts to rape Vaembu. Ashwanth Ashokkumar as Rasukutty, Shilpa and Jyothi's son. Daffe Naveen as Soori, Leela and Arputham's son who accidentally saw his mother's porn film. Vijay Ram as Balaji a.k.a. "Gaaji," one of Soori's 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 on whose sister Gaaji has a crush. Ramana as Ramasamy, Arputham's partner in his religious preaching. Rengarajan Rajagopalan as Kanna, Vaembu's ex-boyfriend who dies while intimate with her. Kavin Jay Babu as Idi Amin, a local gangster. Maheshwari as Mrinalini a.k.a. "Meenal," Leela's neighbour and friend. Manushyaputhiran as The Sexologist in "Vaazhvin Ragasiyam" porn film. Dhwani Shree as The Nurse in "Vaazhvin Ragasiyam". Porali Ramki as Kavuchi. Balaji Tharaneetharan as Mani, Vaembu, and Mugil's landlord. 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 store owner.
Production
Development