Vikram Vedha

The duo of Pushkar and Gayathri have enthralled audiences in the South, first with their original smash hit Tamil film "Vikram Vedhan (2017)" and now most recently with the hit Amazon prime series "Suzhal (2022)". But to make a smooth transition into the tumultuous world of Bollywood is a mean ask but the two capable filmmakers pass the test with flying colours, delivering a faithful remake of the cult classic, enhanced by the unmistakeable swag of superstar Hrithik Roshan.

Roshan stars as the titular "Vedha" a ferocious gangster terrorizing the streets of Lucknow. Saif Ali Khan plays "Vikram", the trigger-happy encounter specialist cop leading the task force assigned with curbing the gangsters of the city. Although both actors don't the same range as the ace performers in the original film, namely National Award winner Vijay Sethupathi and R Madhavan, the directors smartly pivot the character to play to these actors' strengths. The confrontation sequences between the gangster and the cop are laced with mass and gravitas, with Hrithik especially excelling in the stunt sequences with his agility and panache.

The gritty, serpentine streets of Lucknow are depicted in painstaking detail as the makers transpose the impact that Chennai had in the original movie, to a North Indian context. The storyline sticks to the original but with Hrithik's version of Vedha coming across as wackier, more gung-ho and fanatical than the smoother, more reserved depiction by Vijay Sethupathi.

Bollywood remakes of South blockbusters seldom rise to meet the standards of their original versions. Ajay Devgn's "Drishyam (2015)" and Shahid Kapoor's "Kabir Singh (2019)" stand at one end of the spectrum, having delivered while most remakes end up in the trash pile, case in point being dismal efforts like "Force (2011)", "Rowdy Rathore (2012)" and "Bhaagi 2 (2018)". Thankfully, due to the deft direction of Pushkar-Gayathri and earnest performances from the two lead actors, "Vikram Vedha" ends up in the former category, as a faithful remake that also stands apart with its contextualized take on the Vikramaditya-Betaal folktale. A recommended watch in theatres!