Vikram (2022) is a Tamil-language movie which is directed by “Kaithi” fame Lokesh Kanagaraj who combines Kamal Haasan’s espionage-filled 1986 released film Vikram with Kaithi’s action-filled world of drug lords and cops and creates his own cinematic universe which has been named “Loki Cinematic Universe”. In addition to sharing a Cinematic Universe with Kaithi (2019), it is a spin-off of the 1986 film with the same title. This is the second film in Lokesh's Cinematic Universe.
Major Starcast: Kamal Hassan, Fahad Faazil, Vijay Sethupathi, Narain, Gayathrie, Chemban Vinod Jose etc.
Cameo Appearances: Suriya, Kalidas Jayaram, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, Hareesh Peradi, Dheena, Karthi (Voiceover)
Overview: The first half is an investigative mystery thriller which revolves around a group of men who are masked and are on a killing spree. A black ops team head, Amar which is portrayed by Fahad Faazil goes after this group to find out their modus operandi and also to find out the reason why Karnan who is portrayed by Kamal Hassan was killed though he was a common man. The interval shows Amar unraveling the truth about Karnan and referring to him as “The Ghost”
The second half becomes a revenge drama, action thriller which revolves around how Agent Vikram's black-ops squad, which targets Sandhanam who is played by Vijay Sethupathi who is the leader of a drug syndicate called Vetti Vagaiyara, who is attempting to get drugs from Rolex, who is his boss by which he will be able to form his own government.
Details: It's a predictable action movie, but Vikram's goal is more to expand its universe than to actually immerse us in it. You must watch Kanagaraj's prequel Kaithi to find out how this ghost was portrayed. A parable depicting the mood in Vikram was used by director Lokesh Kanagaraj in an interview before the film was released. In a lion’s absence, the other animals of the forest have taken over. After spending his prime years in the circus, his captors release the lion back into the wild. The lion is now subdued, more hungry for applause than to hunt. The other animals attempt to attack the lion during this time. In spite of this, the lion shows that he stayed away by choice, not by necessity. He is the king of the jungle, and he always will be.
In Kaithi, Bejoy (Narain) leads a police team which busts and secures drugs worth Rs 840 crore belonging to drug peddlers Adaikalam (Harish Uthaman) and Anbu (Arjun Das) with the help of a Dilli (Karthi), an ex-convict. Continuing the story where Kaithi ends, Vikram begins its story. The film has all the mysteries of a spy film, as well as some of the thrills of an action film, but it does not leave us with the adrenaline rush that such high ambitions promise and does not feel wholly satisfying.
There are several callbacks to Kaithi in the film's writing. The film is not based on Kaithi's plot, but rather on its treatment. The film begins with an intrigue as Karnan, the father of a martyred cop Prabhanjan, is murdered. According to the police chief Jose, there have been a series of these killings that are attributed to masked men who declare themselves a war against the system. Amar leads a black ops team that investigates Karnan's life.
Amar is puzzled by the different versions of Karnan. In the meantime, Sandhanam, a fearsome drug lord with a large family, is looking for raw materials that could help him become a drug lord. Amar doubts whether Karnan was a womanizer, an alcoholic father grieving over the loss of his son or so much more?
The first half of Vikram is when Amar and his team search for the killers and try to understand the murders. We keep noticing Kamal Haasan's presence, both as a character and as an actor, even though we don't see much of him. From Nayakan to Anbe Sivam, there are a few references to Kamal's works, and spotting them gives you a slight thrill. As he leaves Master, Vijay Sethupathi seems to be taking off from where he left off, playing a ruthless villain, which leads to an interval in which the actor gets a whistle-worthy moment. Bhavani (Sethupathi’s character from Master) seems like a brother to Sandhanam. After a clearer picture of the Karnan mystery is revealed, the narrative becomes rather straight-forward. An army of gangsters should hold out against a small group of cops. It's similar to Kaithi, but here, the strategy is less effective.
As a result of a subplot involving Karnan and Prabhanjan’s son, Lokesh tries to provide an emotional undercurrent, but it doesn't seem to have a lot of impact. Additionally, the arcs involving Amar and Sandhanam, too, become predictable. Fahadh’s Amar is mostly written off, while Vijay Sethupathi comes across as too much of a push. In addition, Narain plays Bejoy, an honest cop from Kaithi.
It's exciting when Suriya makes a cameo, which serves as a set-up for the next installment of the Lokesh Kanagaraj Universe. This hints at one of Tamil cinema's most exciting actor face-offs, if there is a sequel. If the film takes place, Lokesh would make another casting coup. Despite being solidly choreographed, the action scenes never leave us feeling energized. The biggest mass moment in a movie with so many action heroes occurs in a stunt scene involving a female character (a maid/spy, played by Vasanthi). The charm of Vikram lies in such small and major innovations. Tamil cinema has had mixed success with franchises, but I hope we can see Agent Vikram again soon.
Music: The Music is outstanding. This is a great piece of work from Anirudh Ravichander. He carves out a seperate background music for each character and situations and Vikram's Title Track is too good which he recreated from Vikram's (1986) Title Track but with a different music and sound effect.
Ratings: I would like to rate Vikram 4 out of 5 stars for its brilliant action choreography, camera works, acting, story, character arcs and high-octane moments. Definitely, it is the best cinematic experience among all the movies I watched in theatres this year.