Vikram Vedha Movie Review: No anari, only khiladi! Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan shine in this remake

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.

Directors Pushkar-Gayatri’s film Vikram Vedha, starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan, is a remake of their own 2017 release, starring R Madhavan and Vijay Sethupati in the lead roles. The fact that VV’s plot is fairly linear and simple makes it an engaging watch.

Vikram (Saif Ali Khan) is a police officer who has been assigned the task of nabbing a gangster named Vedha (Hrithik Roshan). As simple as it might sound, what makes the film different is its treatment. Vikram Vedha is no ordinary cop-goon chase film. There are multiple layers and peripheral characters that contribute a lot to making the film a terrific watch.

The pivotal twist comes when, instead of running from Vikram, Vedha surrenders himself and walks into a cop station. His decision to do so is mad and devoid of any logic. After his surrender, Vedha starts narrating stories from his past to Vikram. Are these fictional or real? How much can Vikram trust Vedha and will he fall for his tales? The film grapples with the grey areas between the right and the wrong.

Apart from Pushkar and Gayatri, who are the captains of the ship, the other pillars of this tour de force are the dialogue writers, Manoj Muntashir and BA Fida. Their writing is super-sharp and the lines are written, keeping the masses in mind. Everything from the background score to the camera work works in tandem with the two leading men in the film. The beauty of the film is how much the writing is in sync with what’s happening on the big screen.

The film is also a lesson in how to feel secure in a two-hero film where the needle of popularity could swing either way. The magic of Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan lies in how secure these two actors are in their craft.

There is never a need to do more or to underplay anything. As Vedha, Hrithik reminds us why we fell for his charm in the first place. In most of the important scenes, he does a lot of talking with his eyes, his facial expressions, his body language. He almost becomes a vessel for what’s been written for his part.

Complimenting his every move is Saif Ali Khan as Vikram. It’s not just the well-fitting polo tees that stand out in his entry scene but the command he has over every line he delivers. Saif has gone for the kill in Vikram Vedha and he doesn’t hesitate to go all out in the big scenes.

Hrithik and Saif’s confrontation and dialogue scenes are almost hypnotic and mesmerising in the oddest way possible. You can’t take your eyes off them when Vikram and Vedha lock horns on the big screen.

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.

Vikram Vedha is unapologetically massy. It’s also a lot of fun, and with two rock-solid performers like Hrithik and Saif, the film hits the bull’s eye with ease.