At a time when only South Indian content is working at the box office, Bollywood has come up with a story in the form of ‘Vikram Vedha’, which has its roots in a Tamil hit film. The film, which stars two of Bollywood’s best-looking men – Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan – in the title roles, is a remake of the 2017 Tamil film of the same name, starring Tamil cinema’s Makkal Selvan (“National Treasure”) Vijay Sethupathi and R. Madhavan was seen in action.
Director duo (husband-wife) Pushkar-Gayatri, who directed the original, have also carried the Hindi version to Kanpur and Lucknow. Saif plays the role of encounter specialist Vikram, who learns about the gray nature of humans and the epiphany Hrithik’s character is Vedha. This is probably the first time that Hrithik has played a dangerous gangster on screen, and he does it with utmost gusto.
There are hardly any body shots of Hrithik flexing his muscles, yet he lends support to the film with his portrayal. There could have been a little more work on the North Indian accent and accent by the actor, which could have taken the film up a notch.
It’s a joy to watch their friendship on screen, something that can be summed up with the line from Eminem and Rihanna’s track ‘Love the Way You Lie’, “This is what happens when a tornado meets a volcano.”
Radhika Apte reunites with her ‘Sacred Games’ co-star Saif. She plays Vedha’s defense lawyer, who is at a crossroads in her life with her husband, Vikram.
The Awadhi architecture and the intricate streets of the cities have been captured so beautifully by the cinematographer that the mind sighs: “PS (Vinod), we love you.”
The music and choreography, however, are the weakest links of the film. The songs hinder the flow of the narrative and play no role in furthering the plot.
After ‘Dekhne Se Lagata’ ‘Brahmastra’, ‘Vikram Vedha’ could save Bollywood’s reputation at the box office.
