Vikram Vedha - Exploring Morality
Director: Gayatri, Pushkar
Cast: R. Madhavan, Vijay Sethupathi, Shraddha Srinath
Duration: 2hr 27min
Streaming on: Hotstar Disney+
Vikram Vedha starts out strong, and ends even stronger I believe.
Our protagonist is a Cop 'Vikram' (played by R. Mahavan) and we immediately are introduced to his ideologies. To make a character three-dimensional, giving them beliefs and ideologies can help you do so.
Vikram believes that there's clear good and evil. According to him, cops are the "good guys" and the criminals are "bad guys." He mercilessly shoots goons without giving it a second thought and initially the film treats him like the "hero figure."
But he frames a goon he shot, and the movie plays triumphant music to glorify Vikram's actions. But the film is aware of this and it builds on this.
We don't see the so called "antagonist" of the film Vedha for quite some time into the film. We only hear things about him from what the cops know and that makes us curious to see him even more. From what the cops say about him, he's set up as this totally evil figure.
Vijay Sethupathi easily gives the best performance here. His approach to handling tragedy is unique, but it makes sense. Vedha has lost so many people in his life and has no one, but instead of constantly grieving about it, he finds comedy within the tragedy, and laughs carelessly when his life is in danger because it doesn't really matter to him.
Vedha surrenders himself to the cops to get closer to Vikram. They needed to confront each other because Vikram 'needed' to learn. Vikram has this "black and white" and "right and wrong" philosophy that he makes clear throughout the film. He needed Vedha to question his morality.
Vedha 'encounters' Vikram and asks him certain questions and tells him these stories regarding his rise to power and the allies and enemies he made throughout the way. He constantly asks what Vikram would have done if he was in the situations presented, and Vikram answers without doubt. But, this leads into him trying to see things from Vedha's perspective.
It's all about perspective. I really appreciated the wordplay with the names of characters and the title of the film. There's a classic Indian tale of Vikram and Vetaal where Vetaal is always on his back telling him stories. And there's a shot in a car where Vedha sits right behind Vikram which paralleled the Indian tale.
The cinematography of the film is nothing groundbreaking, but it suits the tone of the film. This film is Brown in color and it assists the gritty tone of the film.
There was also this visible line between Vikram and Vedha keeping them apart and showing how they're on the opposite sides of the spectrum. But slowly that line breaks signifying how sometimes right and wrong seem to be nothing but a blur.
What I wasn't a fan of, was the editing.
Most of the editing especially in the beginning was distracting by unmotivated cuts that break the flow of the scene which hinders the experience.
Even the scenes where Vikram recalls moments that eventually help solve the case further was a little too dramatic. A simple cut, with probably a different visual tone, could've done the trick.
But in the climax, the editing becomes slightly smarter incorporating past and present in sequence to accentuate the storytelling. The dynamic camera movements and uncomfortable close ups add to the intensity of the revelations.
In the climax of the film, Vikram realizes that the root of all conflict stemmed from his own Cop Unit.
This causes Vikram and Vedha to team up, which is expected from a "two-hero" film. But it works extremely well here because they join due to the ideologies held by each character.
Vikram has a character arc of realizing and acknowledging the moral gray area that is neither right nor wrong. He grows as a character and Vedha is a well written antagonist as he's the one who changes the protagonist's worldview.
There were a few problems with some inconsistent character writing and unnecessary scenes that don't add much to the overall story.
R. Madhavan did good in the film as Vikram, but Sethupathi stole the show.
This film works for me as it takes the tropes of a masala entertainer and uses it to question morality.
Thank You for Reading.
I hope you liked this blog review, please make sure to comment about your thoughts on the film, or on how I could possibly improve. Also follow my YouTube Channel "Detox with P-Talks Official" where I analyse movies and do other movie related content along with short films, etc.
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