Tamil, 2022, 9.1/10 IMDB, Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj
An astounding ‘male-dominated’ multi-story world, convincingly spun, in an intriguing premise. The ‘multi-starrer’ demands an undivided attention to every ‘star’ onboard, with its holistic approach of inclusion and belonging. The unerring screenplay, propels the daring journey, making it a memorable vigilante thriller of Kamal Haasan’s.
For any given creator, the requisite to spin a celluloid world, is just a miniscule of an idea. One such thought made Director Thiagaraja Kumaraja’s ‘Aranya kandam’ story, cross paths superficially in his ‘Super Deluxe’, hinting the viewers of the Kumaraja’s creative world. Vikram goes a notch further, to tease the viewers educatively, of its ‘multi-story worlds’. A classic ‘westernism’ of creating a world of characters and integrating another creative world’s plot to it, by converging multiple sotrylines of both the Director’s and the lead actor Kamal Hassan’s, makes it a joyful ride for both the makers and the new generation movie goers.
‘Lokeshisms’ are aplenty in ‘Vikram 2022’- the nocturnal boy’s world, multiple macho antagonists, well rounded characters, infallible screenplay, an eager desire for action elements, an artistry to explore the wide range of guns and swords. In Vikram, the director captivatingly exhibits the usage of cowboy lever and hellboy air rifles, webley revolvers and double barrel guns, as one is informed that weaponry is an interest of the veteran actor too.
The choice of actors is the strength of ‘Vikram’. Fahad’s character ‘Amar’, assists the viewers to decode the ‘Pablo Escobar World’ of Vijay Sethupathi’s. Again, it is through Amar, that we perceive the primary characters, once the plot starts to unravel, making Fahad’s role undeniably pivotal. The actor’s ‘eyes’ are the window to the character’s thoughts that he dons. Fahad further hones the traits of his character ‘Amar’, with swift bodily movements, infused sarcasm and a deep-focusing mind. His persistent angst in the later part of the film, reverberates serious effects in the screenplay, making him the ‘hook’ to the entire plot.
When a young male director, directs a movie of a veteran actor, of whom he is a die-hard fan of, his agenda would be to choose a script that would showcase his actor in a never seen role. But Director Lokesh, pitches a character that is from a 36-year-old movie of Kamal Hassan and intersects with a world of his own, from his previous outing. This is relatively new to the Tamil industry and the engrossing screenplay ends up exciting the audience to fit the jigsaw pieces. The true success is when both the young and the old, experiences a sense of accomplishment, when they are made to revisit their movie experiences. The 1986 ‘Vikram’ for the old and 2019 ‘Kaithi’ for the young, and they virtually stich the new screenplay themselves as the story unfolds onscreen.
The two-part Vishwaroopam and a couple of slow burners, evaded an entire decade in the adept actor Kamal Hassan’s filmography. With a whopping 230 odd films to his kitty and to give the audience what he hasn’t so far, is seriously an insane task. But the actor never fails to deliver some ‘never seen expressions’. The facial muscle movements accompanied by the savage eye-rolls in the extreme close-up shots during both the prison fight and the cannon blast, leaves you with a reverential respect for the actor’s passion. The umpteen intriguing avatars of a warm grand dad, a combatant facet enduring sacrifices, a swaggering squaddie, a warrior hero, a heavily armed man-at-arms, the camaraderie, the vigilante mode, all of it never ceases to impress.
Back-to-back antagonist roles in Lokesh’s ventures, did dampen the excitement for actor Vijay Sethupathi’s character in ‘Vikram’. But the introduction shot proves otherwise and the actor’s confidence in climbing out of the toppled vehicle and walking away with no shirt on, speaks for his versatility. Lokesh builds his character’s traits, through a narrative glimpse of each of their worlds. The Vijay Sethupathi’s world is beautifully conveyed through the actor’s stripped shirts, the golden tooth, the ray bans, the hulky physique, ‘a focus stimulant’ style substance abuse and his forethoughts for his large family. The character is etched to be ‘a befitting antagonist’ to Kamal, but gets diluted towards the ‘home run’. There are other faces that claim a shared antagonist credit, such as, Chemban Vinod, playing the corrupt cop, Arjun Das and Harish Uthaman from ‘Kaidhi’ backdrop and the Cameo actor Surya playing the ultimate Drug Baron. Vijay Sethupathi’s character ‘Santhanam’, sadly fades, as the ‘sequel links’ pops on the large screen.
Vigilantism is backed by a bonanza of arms and weapons. Director Lokesh’s signature of never leaving any loose end untied, he goes to ‘suspend our disbelief’ by a genuine substantiation- the ammunitions are the disbanded RAW team’s. This manages to reason the liberty of the makers in using a Cannon and a soviet heavy machine gun, the DShK in its full glory in the blazing climax. Anirudh’s western inspired background score renders a distinct tonality to the film. The National award-winning Cinematographer Girish Gangadhran’s experimental shots and his night light composition are commendable. As the rebel young Director, is not keen on any conventional ‘Over the Shoulder shots’, the team fascinates with the ‘Robotic Arm’ and High Speed ‘Phantom’ shots, making Vikram, a grand watch.