Vikram
Tamil (Theatres)
Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj
Cast: Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil, Suriya, Naren, Vijay Sethupathi
Rating: 3.5/5
Heroes in our films usually don’t die. So you know something is brewing when Kamal Haasan’s character Karnan, father of a martyred cop (Kalidas Jayaram), is murdered by a gang early on in ‘Vikram’. Predictability is never a problem if a film is not formulaic and Lokesh Kanagaraj knows this mantra better than many in Tamil cinema.
The technically-superior filmmaker, in his most ambitious project yet, has made a compelling, violent, action film, which will satisfy the fans of the genre. Going a step further, he has gifted Tamil cinema his own world — the Loki Cinematic Universe — with his delightful crossovers between his 2019 flick ‘Kaithi’, and the 1986 Kamal-starrer ‘Vikram’.
The film begins with a series of murders and a black ops team, headed by Amar (Fahadh Faasil), is handed the case. Sandhanam (Vijay Sethupathi), a dreaded drug lord, is one of the suspects. When Lokesh unravels his universe, there is less of showboating and more of exploration. Every reference to ‘Kaithi’ and the previous ‘Vikram’ fits brilliantly inside the plot.
You are also reminded of Lokesh’s ‘Master’ (2021), when you see Kamal’s character being an alcohol addict in the beginning.
The first half, which rests on the shoulders of Fahadh, isn’t gripping enough but it’s still a neat build up to the film’s bigger highlights. The film gets the Lokesh touch at the interval block. The audacity with which the director and editor Philomin Raj execute this long yet edge-of-the-seat sequence has to be seen to be believed.
‘Vikram’ then turns into a stellar action entertainer. Anbariv’s choreography is stylish, slick and so fast enough, that one thing leads to another and you are just left enjoying the superb mix of momentum and madness.
The two other contributors to this extravagant experience is Girish Gangadharan, whose camera pulls off extraordinary angles and composer Anirudh, who it looks like, cannot put a foot wrong. His music is marked by incredible swagger and refreshing experiments.
This is Kamal’s best film since ‘Viswaroopam’ (2013). In action scenes, he delivers a physical performance with age (67 years) being no hurdle. He has great fun blowing away vehicles and enemies with guns of all sizes. The veteran is excellent as a vulnerable man and leaves you thrilled as a wicked revenge-seeker. For Kamal fans, nostalgia is wrapped beautifully in dialogues as there are nods to ‘Nayakan’, and many other classics.
Lokesh has found his own voice and his fast yet admirable growth promises exciting things going forward. He shows it's no longer fashionable just to pay homage to Hollywood auteurs like Martin Scorsese. In the era of overflowing content, one need to balance inspiration with distinct ideas, which he does well. The film is also a template for filmmakers on how not to to do a generic fan service while working with their idols. With 'Vikram', Lokesh might have also silenced the talks of women having little to offer in his films.
The screenplay, perhaps, could have been tighter to avoid the film's lengthy runtime. Some voilent scenes come with less aesthetic quality, making them too raw to digest. Vijay Sethupathi looks menacing but his character lacks shades. He redeems his role to an extent with his typical casual, unassuming naturalness, even in a monster-like portrayal. The lip-smackingly good cameo of Suriya is the icing on the cake.
Fahadh is the film’s best performer. The intense actor gets a proper character graph and Fahadh captures our attention with a an all-round show-his eyes, expressions, body language and dialogues affecting us fully. This is a clear-enough proof that he is currently the country’s best.