Vikram Movie REVIEW: Fahadh Fasil Steals The Show In This Fearless Piece Of Cinema
Written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj Vikram (dubbed Hindi) stars Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil
Vikram starts with one of the protagonists staging his own death. This could have been a case of shooting itself the foot. But it isn’t. The increasingly audacious plot penetrates the world of crime and drugs with no scare in the world. More than anything else, Vikram is a fearless piece of cinema. The colours of revenge and bloodshed peek at us from every frame, often indicating a universe gone awfully awry in its quest for self-fulfilment.
Kamal Haasan plays the title role. He is initially shown to be a drunkard and a womanizer. But that’s an illusion created to knock the socks off our judgement value and to plunge us into a province of impenetrable odds in a world gone completely askew. Kamal Haasan has a couple of sequences where he chews up the screen with a ‘meat’-cute relish. But Fahadh Faasil dominates the show without a moment of flashy acting. He looks like a man on a mission committed to getting it right. But the other performing maestro Vijay Sethupathi plays the cartoonish villain with a surprising lack of enthusiasm. He is shown to bite into a blue tablet to reinvigorate himself. But his character remains listless. With his gold teeth and twisted walk, Sethupathi’s performance oscillates between the giggly and the grotesque.
So, is Vikram worth watching for the three super-performers? Partly, yes. Fahadh Faasil nails his character and some of the supporting actors like Chamban Vivod Jose(playing a brazenly corrupt senior cop), Narain as a part of the extra-constitutional law enforcement agency and Vasanthi as a special agent working as a house help, fortify the frenetic show.
Anyone who tells you they follow the entire course of the zigzagging plot would be lying. However making concessions for the Kamal Haasan brand of intellectualized espionage, Vikram grips you even when the narrative gets too dense to follow. It is shot in striking colours that indicate urgency and intrigue.
Rating: *** ½ (3 ½ /5)
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