VIKRAM - movie review

 

In the year 1986, Kamal Hassan acted in “Vikram” Tamil movie which was a failure. The plot of the film was adapted from a novel written by Sujatha with same name. The screenplay was written by Kamal Haasan and Sujatha. The film collapsed in the box office as its unrealistic climax was not accepted by the audience then, though it was the 100^th film celebration of the popular star Kamal Hassan.

 

In the year 1986, Lokesh Kanagaraj was born, and turned to become a movie director from being a bank officer. His short films and proven track record in his 3 movies from the year 2017 was a great success. 

Logesh Kanagaraj being an adrent fan of Kamal Hassan's violent stunts and crying in dark.. inspired to use the title and make a movie in the year 2022,. 

“Vikram” (2022) released with massive promotions right across the globe and all over India as it was released in multiple languages...in Tamil it became a great success! (Second chance given for the movie to make money....though old...Kamal Hassan got a second chance to count his money and to buy house in Boat club instead of going to settle in USA. 

Vikram (2022) is a star studded movie was a dark thriller about drugs smuggling, cops, bad guys..guns and lots of killing, do not get me wrong. Everything about Vikram is good — except for Kamal Haasan. Why do you even need the man for this film? Why make a film with Kamal when you don’t even get to register and feel his presence? Why Vikram (1986) ? It could have been any other film. Of course, we get the logical reasoning behind using the brand Vikram. But does Kamal’s original film have any relevance to the new one? Absolutely not. You could have shown Kamal as an Agent and the film still would have worked big time. The new Vikram could have still been a standalone film where Amar (Fahadh Faasil who is absolutely terrific) carries on the legacy of Vikram, like in the James Bond movies. The open-ended climax hints at that possibility.

As fans of the original film and Kamal Haasan, you feel let down. The disappointment comes from the fact that Lokesh has failed to realise the true potential of his idol — both as an actor and action star.  Nevertheless, there is a lot to chew on.

“Vikram” has an unusual opening. Definitely unusual for a Kamal Haasan film. Commerically too… It begins right with ‘Pathala Pathala’ song, which feels like an afterthought that was inserted just for the sake of it. Except for this oddly-placed song, the film gets going and there is not a single wasted moment in the long-drawn first half. 

Lokesh must be as much a fan of Christopher Nolan as he is of Scorsese. A lot of scenes remind you of Nolan’s film. We, in fact, get a Tenet-like sequence and a Bane-like voiceover in this one. There are lots of references to masks and unmasking of identities. The man in-charge of this unmasking is Amar, who heads an uncounted team of Black Squads. They are assigned by the Police Department to investigate a series of high-profile murders in the department that leads to one man Santhanam (Vijay Sethupathi, who is, of course, terrific). Santhanam runs a drug empire. He faces the heat from a recent drug bust, which is a hark back to Kaithi. Anything more would spoil the fun.

There’s a certain taste, visual flavor and a certain style to the way he writes and directs. He accomplished this cinema experience with ease in the terrific Kaithi, that had the flavour of a wholesome Hollywood thriller. Like Speed on drugs. 

Vijay Sethupathi, on the other hand, is remarkable as Santhanam, helps the online sellers to sell all the old fashioned strips shirts….the real fun is when he takes the pills in between his teeth’s he gains the same power like Chota Bheem after eating laddoos…but at last he is also taking many peoples along with him to face the canon..

The usage of guns, canon can’t be compared to that of legendary efforts of KGF, which is far more superior and amazed us to the core…in this movie, the guns and canon are not as effective…the thrill factor of carrying the big machine is not like Kaithi or KGF..,missing the X factor!!! …nobody is finished with the massive bullets and canons as it been used many times, the child that was carefully carried by scarifying life’s to take away from the war field was bought again to the same place by Fahad Fazil??!!! Wondering why so? What’s the logic?!!! Wastage of bullets!!!

Funny is the entry of villain in the climax like school assembly… following the cliché by killing the person carries the bad news…come on boy. Its age old practices done already by Nambiyar in 70s…and even by Raghuvaran in 90s way too many times….when the crowd disperse…who is going to clean the corpse??!!

Let’s wait for the sequel….