With the release of Vikram Vedha-after a long time, a big Hindi action film has hit the screens. Though an official remake of the great Tamil film (which I guess most of us have already enjoyed on OTT as well) of the same title, yet there was anticipation for its release. Like the Tamil version, the Hindi remake has also been directed by the husband-wife pair of Pushkar-Gayathri. The characters of Madhavan and Vijay are replayed by Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan. The film takes its inspiration from the stories that the ghost Vetaal(Betaal Pachisi based) tells King Vikram(Vikramaditya) when Vikram tries to catch and carry Vetaal to his place. The Tamil flick was set in Chenna and the Hindi one is nicely set up in Lucknow. While the plot and almost scene by scene remain the same the novelty is the setting in the heartland of U. P. and the star cast of Saif and Hrithik. It's a tough job to remake a cult crime noir thriller, especially when the cast is perfect, yet I feel the makers along with the cast have done justice to the remake. Saif Ali Khan plays Vikram quite well, though in the initial parts he looks trying hard in the second half gets into the skin and carries the character well on his broad shoulders. Hrithik plays the stylised baddie Vedha(Vetaal) with panache and is a treat to watch. He makes the character very different from the stylised anti-hero he played in Dhoom 2. I agree that those who have watched Madhavan and Vijay in the Tamil flick will take time to see the Bollywood actors playing their parts, but trust me they have done a good job. The setting of Lucknow aided by dialogues is done rather perfectly. Instead of forcing things, the conversation, the locales and even the references are straight out of Lucknow of 2022! A lot of references are thrown for Lucknow food and so the Mutton Chops of Chenna become The Nihari Kulcha of Lucknow in the Hindi version. The film maintains its grip and the film is good technically too. The supporting star cast including Sharib Hashmi and others have done a fine form. So all in all I will say while the original is original yet, the Hindi remake is well made!!
Review of Vikram Vedha
