A HINDI remake of an epic Tamil movie by the same title, Vikram Vedha tells the story of a righteous policeman, VIkram (played by Saif Ali Khan) and a notorious gangster leader, Vedha (Hrithik Roshan).
The movie opens with Vikram heading a police team to raid and shoot gangsters hiding out in an old building, after receiving a tip from a reliable source.
After killing them, Vikram realises one gangster did not have any weapons. In order to avoid any complications with police law and with his superior, Vikram stages the incident by placing a gun in the hand of the victim to make it appear as if the criminals attacked the police first, and the police retaliated in self-defence.
After this revelation about Vikram’s character, we find out that he is a part special task force to hunt down dangerous gangster Vedha Betal, who has gone ‘underground’ after killing 16 people. The gangsters who were killed were part of Vedha’s gang.
While police are in the midst of preparing to head to a location to capture Vedha, he coolly walks past police squad and enters the police station alone, and shockingly surrenders.
During the interrogation, Vedha intrigues Vikram with compelling real-life ‘stories’ about himself, and an incident where his younger brother, who had exposed cases of drug trafficking among schoolgoing children, ended up being stabbed in the hand upon the orders of another gangster.
At the end of the conversation, Vedha asks Vikram a question: whom should he have killed; the doer (the man who injured) or the instigator, who ordered him to punish his brother?
The conversation gets interrupted as Vedha’s lawyers walks in and gets him released out on bail. One of Vedha’s lawyer is Vikram’s wife, Priya (Radhika Apte).
Vikram later discovers that the ‘gangster’ without a weapon during the raid was Vedha’s innocent brother.
Meanwhile, Vikram’s boss Abbas is killed. Suspecting Vedha is the real killer, Vikram arrests him but again, Vedha tells another story.
As Vikram probes the truth hidden behind the matter, he uncovers deceit and corruption.
In the movie, Vedha tells stories about his childhood and about his rise to power, all of which shown in flashbacks, drawing a curious Vikram closer to find the truth. Indirectly, Vedha challenges Vikram to investigate deeper into the case by leaving clues and hints.
Through Vikram, viewers are drawn into the world of Vedha, as well. The conversation between Vikram and Vedha causes viewers to ponder, who is actually good and who is evil? The villain or policeman?
The otherwise good-looking Hrithik completely transforms himself into the scruffy and cold-blooded gangster Vedha. Hrithik’s portrayal is very convincing. His first line is a question to Vikram – “Do you want to hear a story?” – and he immediately hooks his archnemesis (and the audience) with his charming smile.
On the other hand, Saif plays a smart, tough and fearless cop, who will not hesitate to kill criminals during police encounters. Saif, well- versed in playing a variety of roles, carries the role effortlessly. The supporting cast also play their characters well.
Written and directed by husband and wife team, Pushkar and Gayathri, who also directed the original Tamil movie, the storyline is full of interesting twists, turns and surprises that engage the audience’s attention from the first scene.
When the two leads come together in the same frame, their interactions are exciting to watch.
Overall, the movie is interesting, especially if you have never watched the original version in Tamil.
If you did, take note that the film is a frame-by-frame remake. Its a good one, though.
-> Director: Pushkar–Gayathri
-> Cast: Hirthik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte
E-VALUE: 8
ACTING: 7
PLOT: 7
