Vikram starring Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil in the lead roles has hit the silver screens today. Let’s check how it goes.
Story: After a cocaine container missing scenes, serial murders happen in and around Tamil Nadu. To crack the case, the police department appoints Amar( Fahadh Faasil) an undercover cop to investigate the case. In the investigation process, Amar comes to know about the illegal activities of a person named Santhanam(Vijay Sethupathi). Who is Santhanam what are his activities? How are Santhanam and a retired military man Vikram ( Kamal Haasan) connected with the cocaine container missing case, forms the main crux of the film.
Performances: Kamal Haasan’s getup as an aged person is good and his screen presence brings depth to the proceedings in the second half. Performance-wise, Kamal gave his best in the multilayer character.
Fahadh Faasil with his emotional acting in the movie. The talented actor is apt in the investigation officer role and his performance during the pre-climax portions add life to the narrative. On the other hand, Vijay Sethupathi is just outstanding with his rustic avatar and brings depth to a few key action blocks in the second half with his performance.
All the artists who played key roles are apt in their key roles. Suriya’s cameo during the ending portions of the film is good and he is showcased in a massy role.
Technicalities: The cinematography work by Girish Gangadharan elevates the mood of the film in a solid manner. The talented technician tried to capture the night mode shots in an effective manner by using his framing and lighting setup.
Music by Anirudh is top-notch as it is a major plus for this action thriller. While all the situational songs are passable on screen, the background score elevates a few key blocks in both halves in an effective way. Editing by Philomin Raj is not up to the mark as he would have chopped off a few unwanted scenes in both the halves and would have come up with a crisp runtime.
Production design work is good and the production values for this Kamal Haasan’s own production venture are nice.
Analysis: Lokesh Kanagaraj directs Vikram. While the core concept of showcasing the illegal activities related to the drug-dealing mafia on a large scale by the director is a decent idea, he executed the film on a passable note by inserting effective action blocks at regular intervals. Especially, his narrative during the pre-climax and climax portions will keep the audience hooked to the proceedings.
But on the flip side, the director took his own sweet time to enter into the main plotline as nothing much happens in the first half except for the twist during the interval point. Adding to it, the director would have avoided the love track between Fahadh Faasil and his girlfriend and added something even more gripping elements to make things more interesting.
To summerize, Vikram is an action drama that revolves around drug mafia dealers. While the lead actors’ performance comes as a plus point, director Lokesh Kanagaraj succeeded to an extent in executing this action drama. To the box office prospects, Vikram may find takers in mass regions during the weekend.
Verdict: Watchable action drama!
Rating: 3/5
