Vikram Vedha movie review: Hrithik Roshan's villainous swag, Saif Ali Khan's tough cop act will leave you enthralled

Vikram Vedha cast: Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte, Sharib Hashmi, Satyadeep Mishra, Rohit Saraf, Yogita Bihani

Directors: Pushkar-Gayatri

Where to watch: Theatres

Rating: 3.5 stars

Vikram Vedha movie review

Director duo Pushkar and Gayatri's Vikram Vedha is based on the template of the 'Baital Pachisi' folklore that narrates how a king (Vikram) -- who has a ghoul, Betaal, inseparably stuck to his back, is quizzed by this spirit (Vedha). Vedha always narrates stories that end in riddles. For every incorrect answer, the king would find himself further away from freeing himself from the clutches of the Bhairava, for every correct answer, if the king maintains silence. Consequently, the king finds himself stuck in the web of complex questions asked by Vedha.

Vikram Vedha has used the Baital Pachisi storytelling technique to its full advantage creating situations where Saif Ali Khan's character finds himself trying to find answers to riddles given to him by Hrithik Roshan's Vedha.

Pushkar-Gayatri's Hindi film Vikram Vedha, starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan, is a remake of their own 2017 Tamil movie with the same title, starring R Madhavan and Vijay Sethupati in the lead roles.

In the film, Saif's Vikram is out hunting to eliminate the wrong i.e Hrithik's Vedha. But little does he know what is about to come his way will him question his own beliefs in right and wrong. What starts off as a cop-versus-gangster plot, quickly turns into a debate about moral relativism, where Vikram is made to rethink his every move and question the very actions that he believed differentiated him from the criminals and gave him a "sukoon ki neend".

The Hindi remake remains true to the original film's screenplay. Its simple and relatively linear plot makes the film a riveting watch.

As is clear by now that Vikram (Saif Ali Khan) is a cop assigned the task of eliminating a dreaded gangster named Vedha (Hrithik Roshan). While the film may come across as a normal chor-police saga in the beginning, there's more to what meets the eye in the first half.

An extraordinary story of a cop chasing a gangster, Vikram Vedha has multiple layers tangled with riddles that unfold one story after another that is narrated by Hrithik in a flashback-laden structure and solved by Saif's Vikram.  However, towards the end, the narrative takes an unexpected direction and that is what makes the film a terrific watch. The supporting characters are the backbone of the film as Hrithik's swag combined with his onscreen magnetism and Saif's tough cop act keeps the audience hooked to the celluloid.

Within the first few minutes of the film, there comes a plot twist when instead of escaping the clutches of encounter specialist Vikram and his unit, Vedha walks into the police station and surrenders himself. Why did he decide to do so? What is his motive? And how does the film further when the cop has already caught the goon? You will find the answers to these when you watch the film.

Meanwhile, what I can tell you is that after his surrender, Vedha begins his game with Vikram and starts narrating stories, asking the latter to find answers to the end of every tale. Are the stories narrated by Vedha even real?  Why and how much should Vikram trust Vedha? Will Vikram find answers to Vedha's riddles? Where will the answers lead to? By now, the makers have already sowed the seed of doubt in the mind of Vikram who grapples with the grey areas between the right and the wrong. How at the end of Vedha's third and final story the plot takes a compelling turn that will blow your mind, is what the rest of Vikram Vedha is about.

What makes Hrithik and Saif's film a gripping watch are its dialogues, courtesy of writers Manoj Muntashir and BA Fida. The film's writing is crisp and totally meant for the masses. Everything else from the background score to the cinematography by PS Vinod, combined with smartly weaved emotional high points where both the actors are not just exchanging curt dialogues but also getting a measure of each other, works in tandem with the makers' vision to bring to the audience a mass film that entertains.

What works for the Hindi remake is how neither Hrithik nor Saif tries to take any cues from Vijay Sethupathi and R Madhavan's act in the original film. The two mainstream Bollywood actors exude a level of comfort that only two very secure actors could portray onscreen. The confidence in their respective crafts and the need to do just enough onscreen, not more or less, in each other's presence, is what makes Saif and Hrithik's two-hero film an enthralling watch. Also, the Hindi version is more Bollywood-ised in the sense that the onscreen looks of both the men are given more attention than in the original starring Vijay Sethupathi and R Madhavan.

Saif's character has a more beefed-up look than R Madhavan's, and Hrithik's hair is artfully styled as compared to Vijay Sethupathi's salt and pepper look. Additionally, the original's grunginess is replaced with clean frames where Hrithik and Saif are seen carrying out choreographed action sequences mixed with slo-mo scenes to create high points, typical of a mainstream Bollywood action film.

Both Hrithik and Saif use their onscreen charm to create magic that leaves viewers spellbound. While on one hand, Saif in his polo tees delivers each dialogue with conviction and commands every scene, on the other, Hrithik's facial expressions, expressive eyes and body language do much of the talking for him.  The two give ample space to each other and never does one feel that the other is trying to outdo or compete in any sense. Even in the confrontation scenes, Hrithik and Saif showcase how comfortable they are in each other's presence while allowing each other to excel and at the same time managing to draw attention to their individual performances.

What does not work for the film is its run-time. In the second half, the film feels a little stretched. Also, Radhika Apte, who essays the role of Saif's lawyer wife Priya, has little to do in the film and is used only as a means of "courier service" between the two leading actors. Meanwhile, Rohit Saraf and Yogita Bihani are good in their parts while Sharib Hashmi as Vedha's right-hand man leaves a lasting impression with his act.

In a long time comes a film that will keep you engaged and entertained, transporting you to a whole new universe where all you can think of are the characters, the plot and the answer to the riddles (in this case). Vikram Vedha successfully managed to transport me to its world where the actors impressed and the writing and direction blew me away.

And although I have watched the original, never did I feel that it was a mistake watching the Hindi remake as Pushkar and Gayatri's treatment of the Hrithik and Saif starrer is completely different. The film is captivating, fun, and has all the elements of a mass entertainer that the audience has missed watching in the theatres.