Vikram Vedha Movie Review

Cast: Madhavan, Vijay Sethupathi, Shraddha Srinath, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Kathir, Hareesh Peradi & others

Cinematography: PS Vinod

Music: Sam CS

Editing: Richard Kevin

Stunts: Dhilip Subbarayan

Art Direction: Vinoth Rajkumar

Written & Directed by: Pushkar – Gayathri

Produced by: Y Not Studios

Distribution: Trident Arts

Release Date: 21-07-2017

Run Time: 02:27:00

Coming with films such as Oram Po and Va: Quarter Cutting to their name, not much is expected from the director duo Pushkar-Gayatri. Even with an impressive trailer that really instilled a lot of hope, I kept my expectations on the bar as I walked into the cinema. Lo and behold, what came next was a stunning gangster drama that took me by surprise at every turn. Yes, I am talking Vikram Vedha.

Everything in Vikram Vedha flowers up to glory. It is an exciting film right from the writing stage, and is bestowed with a rare sense of style, some solid staging and two influential central characters, played to perfection by Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathy. There aren’t many unnecessary scenes to please the joy-seekers, but what Pushkar-Gayatri succeed in doing is to get you into the grip of the proceedings and not let you lose your attention. Quite a long while since any film like this must have done this to you, so give it respect and pay heed.

And when you come up with questions as to what actually makes you invest your attention, the answers are Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathy. Just like how Madhavan finds an answer whenever Vijay Sethupathy comes up with a question, you will find it equally brainstorming to get into the minds and hearts of the characters and untie the knots. Trust me on this, some of your predictions might actually go wrong too. Maddy and VJS play their parts to perfection, while the former is concrete in essaying his role as the brilliant cop, the latter has enough and more scenes to score and does so effortlessly. It’s a welcome return for both the hugely talented actors, who are so relish-worthy that you do not want their chapters to end.

PS Vinod’s camera sucks you into the tone and colour of the film, with some takes spectacularly set even though they have been shot in done-to-death locations. Musically, Sam CS makes full use of the opportunity and does his job like a pro, making it a soundtrack that will be easy to revisit over the coming days.

It’s obviously not easy to come up with a film like this at this point of time in industry, mainly because of the next-gen directors trying to tap every other genre in the book each day. In the gangster backdrop which has been aced by the Selvaraghavans and the Mani Ratnams, Pushkar-Gayatri’s storytelling pattern and conviction are surely something to cheer for. Vikram Vedha is a statement of confidence in Tamil cinema’s near-perfect film making wagon, making you raise the question on the director-duo’s next. In these dry times, this is a film worth spending it all for. Who’s ready to bet with me?

Vikram Vedha Movie Review Rating: 4/5

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