'Vikram Vedha' review: Hrithik-Saif dazzle but film offers nothing new
What's the story
Hrithik Roshan-Saif Ali Khan starrer Vikram Vedha was released in theaters on Friday.
Based on its namesake 2017 Tamil film by Pushkar-Gayatri, this one, too, has been directed by the same director duo.
Both the lead actors shine effortlessly in equally meaty, tailor-made parts, and while the screenplay is gritty and intense, the film eventually ends up being the original's mere duplication.
We review.
Plot
'Vikram Vedha' explores deadly morality battle, ethical quandary
The story pits a no-nonsense cop Vikram (Khan) and a menacing, ruthless gangster Vedha (Hrithik Roshan) against each other, where the latter plunges the former into a cat-and-mouse chase.
Vedha throws uncomfortable riddles and questions at his nemesis, which repeatedly signifies how moral absolutism and ethics are a slippery slope and how the lines that demarcate good and bad are often feeble, blurred thin.
What works?
Plot wastes no time, charges right into action
The film begins in medias res with ceaseless gunshots being fired in all directions, which also announces the seemingly good guy Vikram's (Khan) arrival.
Not just his introduction, but the film brims with numerous high-octane action sequences.
To weave the Vikram-Betaal folklore into the story is another intelligent move and makes the narrative multilayered, with the flashback sequences lending a humane layer to Vedha.
Personal
Sam CS's background score uplifts the film
To talk about VV and not mention Sam CS's pulsating, rousing background score would be unfair. Not only does it fuel life and vitality into the story and rescues it from falling apart, but it also stretches over the film like its guiding light.
Letdown
Story becomes convoluted sometimes; not all twists can be stomached
Despite the action sequences being the movie's strength, they sometimes drag on forever, with no end in sight.
Want guns, blood, gore, and broken bones? There's all of it and much more.
How much testosterone is too much testosterone, eh?
The flashback narrative also becomes too convoluted at times, and some twists, especially the one at the end, come across as forced and preposterous.
Drawback
Forced Bollywood touch and spoonfeeding techniques
Roshan and his cronies break into a dance sequence after an instrumental scene, and though I didn't mind watching him dance like a dream, the song seemed incongruous to the larger story.
Forced Bollywood touch?
Moreover, subtlety isn't VV's strength, like Roshan's full name (Vedha Betaal) is an example of its on-the-nose, almost instructive design.
This spoon feeding is insulting to the audience.
Performances
Roshan sheds his urban avatar and how!
Vikram Vedha will go down in Roshan's oeuvre as one of his career-best performances, and he has sunk his teeth into this author-backed role.
Moreover, although the script had the potential to gravitate toward Roshan, Saif Ali Khan channels an equally surefooted performance here, reminiscent of his role in Sacred Games.
Despite the film being devoted to these two, Sharib Hashmi also shines.
Personal
Apte's character takes off well, but gets lost in crowd
I was initially pleased to see that Priya (Radhika Apte) appeared to be more than a cardboard character, but that feeling evaporated soon after. Seemingly crucial to the narrative, she isn't a damsel in distress, she isn't a femme fatale; she is just...there.
Verdict
'Vikram Vedha' remake offers nothing too different from the original
Remakes are a risky wager, particularly when the successor is its predecessor's frame-to-frame replica, and Vikram Vedha falls right into this trap.
For all its intelligent storytelling and experimental folklore-meets-modern India narrative, it can't beat the age-old curse of "the original is always better."
However, if you haven't seen the 2017 film, this one will be a wild ride filled with curveballs.
2.5/5 stars.