About Vikram Vedha Movie Review: Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan & Team Prove Why Bollywood Has Gone Nowhere, You Were Just Diverted By Keyboard Warriors!

Star Cast: Hrithik Roshan (& bazillion ways to charm you), Saif Ali Khan (who tries to play a ‘sacred game’ once again, falls for the trap once again), Radhika Apte, Rohit Saraf, Yogita Bihani, Sharib Hashmi, Satyadeep Misra

Director: Pushkar–Gayathri

What’s Good: It brings back the lost ‘heroism’ in Bollywood! Not only because it brings 2 great actors together but also how they’re shown together to make you feel like Bollywood has gone nowhere & you just were diverted by some keyboard warriors

What’s Bad: It has some flaws that many close-to 3-hour films would have, discussed in detail below!

Is Vikram Vedha a true story?

Inspired by the Indian folktale Baital Pachisi, the film tells the story of Vikram, a police inspector who sets out to track down and kill Vedha, a gangster.

Loo Break: Only if you have a weak bladder because these guys are serving fresh-hot entertainment in every frame

Watch or Not?: It’s one hell of a long film & I did check my watch a couple of times (just out of curiosity about why the time is running fast)

Available On: Theatrical Release

Runtime: 159 Minutes

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Following the template of ‘Baital Pachisi’ which narrates how a smart king (Vikram) is quizzed by a celestial spirit (Vedha), a Bhairava & for every wrong answer he’ll find himself further away from catching the ‘master of chaos’, the film features Vikram (Saif Ali Khan) hunting to eliminate wrong i.e. Vedha (Hrithik Roshan)

Upon meeting Vedha, just like Betaal, even Vikram gets tangled in the web of complex questions asked by him. Vedha would somehow manage to get rid of Vikram but he keeps watering the seeds of doubt in the ‘saint’ cop’s mind. How at the end of his 3rd story things take a 360° turn, is what the rest of the film is all about.

Vikram Vedha Movie Review: Script Analysis

To those who still aren’t aware: This is the Hindi remake of 2017’s Tamil film with the same name & same team (almost). The best thing to ‘retain’ the charm (and harm) from the original project was to retain the same members by the captains Pushkar-Gayathri. They bring back P. S. Vinod for Cinematography, A. Richard Kevin for editing & Sam C. S’ background score is still thumping but better.

P. S. Vinod makes optimal use of Hrithik Roshan & Saif Ali Khan’s swag by putting them into the slo-mo sequences layered with Sam’s otherworldly BGM. The way he pans the camera in some sequences needs to be noted down & serve as a lesson for aspiring Cinematographers. The way he still manages to squeeze in a burning Ravan & a ‘rage-filled’ Vedha in a single frame without one overpowering the other is commendable.

Yep, the editing does lose the grip at times but I won’t be deducting many marks given it’s an almost 160-minute film & few missed were expected. The build-up of Vikram & his colleague Abbas (Simon in the original) just doesn’t land properly to build curiosity for an emotional connection that’s required later. Even Vikram’s wife track doesn’t add much to the organised chaos acting just a filler.

Vikram Vedha Movie Review: Star Performance

Before stepping in, Hrithik Roshan knew he was going to replace Vijay Sethupathi & it was already brave of him just for taking that decision because what he did to Vedha was immortal. But, HR didn’t just sign to repeat the magic but he did it in his way with the result still being the same – you’ll be stunned by the end. The way he balances the extremes of good & bad in him is what differentiates this from the original. It’s like playing the best & worst person on this earth at the same time, nailing both of them.

Saif Ali Khan replaces R Madhavan & it wasn’t really hard to see why he was chosen. He’ll forever boast of Sacred Games on his resume & that along with the original case study must’ve been the benchmarks of how to keep Vikram subtle yet delightful. Radhika Apte didn’t get much of a scope to showcase any acting prowess & it wasn’t something only she can perform.

Rohit Saraf as HR’s younger brother would give you some ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’ vibes as he manages to look as cute as always building just the right amount of emotional connection with the viewers. Yogita Bihani seems to be a bit of a misfit here as she doesn’t really fit in the ‘raw & rustic’ nature of the film. The accent, the looks, the style look made-up. Sharib Hashmi & Satyadeep Misra are fine in the supporting roles.

Vikram Vedha Movie Review: Direction, Music

Pushkar & Gayathri step up with the Hindi version retaining all the mass masala and adding multiple layers of technical bravura over it. The aerial shots of Mirza Mandi’s narrow lanes, the cinematic magical panning in-between fast-paced shots, and the way they make Hrithik Roshan, and Saif Ali Khan move slo-mo to add style just give their filmmaking a fresh upgrade from an already classic attempt last time.

Sam C S’ background score pumps life in every scene. It’s so good that if you add it to your gym playlist, you’ll definitely do some extra sets owing to its superior adrenaline rush. Vishal-Shekhar’s take on the iconic track Karuppu Vellai is as fresh & different as the makers’ attempt of remaking the film. The idea of retaining the original singer, and composer helps VS to give us ‘Bande’ – a track that marries heavy metal-like vibes with commercial music. Alchohia is a complete package with some sick EDM usage, Ganesh Hegde’e magical fluid choreography & P. S. Vinod’s cinematography achieving some unreal camera movement.

Vikram Vedha Movie Review: The Last Word

All said and done, Vikram Vedha solidifies Akshay Kumar’s worry of heroes disagreeing to do multi-starrers, because if anything else this is a perfect example of how you can set the screen on fire by bringing 2 stars together.

Three and a half stars!

Vikram Vedha releases on 30 September, 2022.

Share with us your experience of watching Vikram Vedha

The story of Vikram Betaal is a classic. A king named Vikram who has a ghoul, Betaal, stuck to his back asking him to narrate stories if he wants to seek freedom from his clutches is a childhood favourite of many. The plot lights up every corner of our imagination because the idea of storytelling is universal. Any sentence that begins with the words ‘Once upon a time, long, long ago.’ is destined to capture our attention. That's exactly what directors Pushkar and Gayatri’s film Vikram Vedha is.

On the flip side, the film is overindulgent and lengthy. Especially in the attempt to stylise and do the slow-mo action scenes, the makers seem reluctant to let go of material on the edit table. Rohit Saraf and Yogita Bihani, who are in the supporting cast, needed some better scenes. Radhika Apte, who plays Vikram’s wife, could have had an equally important part to play. At the cost of focusing all the attention on the two central characters, the writers fail to give equal footage to voices who could have offered a different point of view.