Vikram: Return of the Ghost

              

"Once upon a time, there lived a ghost" - With Fahadh Faasil (FaFa) reciting this dialogue after looking at Ulaganayagan Kamal Hassan's face reveal, you know you're up for a treat. The black grease paint around his eyes will remind you of Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne but the fierce breaded look that Karnan or should I say Agent Vikram gives on the live screen is unbeatable. From there onwards the movie kicks in a direction you would not have imagined in your wildest dreams.

After Master, director Lokesh Kanagaraj is back in the game with his new installment Vikram which will be his 2nd movie in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU). Its predecessor i.e. Kaithi had surpassed everyone's expectation and I was eagerly waiting to see how Vikram would turn out.

Lokesh's last 2 ventures, Kaithi and Master had an unexpected generic effect on the audience. So, irrespective of Vikram's outcome, I was going to watch it on Disney+ Hotsar and man-o-man the movie bowled me over completely. It was everything you demand from a commercial massy cinema but in a realistic way by keeping the storyline in mind. Vikram has a proper flow to it which is similar to Kaithi and Master. Once you start it, it becomes difficult to pause it in between. In other words, the screenplay, the direction and the brilliant acting, keeps you hooked. Lokesh Kanagaraj has hit it out of the stadium with this one. He keeps getting better and better after each movie and now I'm patiently waiting for Kaithi 2/ Vikram 2 (whichever title is chosen) after the shocking Rolex Sir i.e. Suriya's cameo in the end.

Lets come to the man of the hour, the legendary Ulaganayagan Kamal Hassan who tears the screen in each and every scene that he is a part of. His presence is mystical. Be it an action scene or an emotional one, this man has given his best. Kamal Hassan's knowledge about cinema and acting can be experienced with the way he delivers his dialogues. Although, this man is 67 years old, his action sequences were smooth. The scene where he goes to save his grandson from Sandhanam's thugs is visually spectacular. With Porkhanda Singham EDM version playing in the background, the entire sequence gets elevated.

The scene where Kamal Hassan does a face reveal is the interval scene. Just imagine, giving a break to the audience when they are so pumped up. This is S.S. Rajamouli's forte; pumping the audience with an epic interval so they're left hanging in desperation for the story to reach a blockbuster climax. Looks like Lokesh Kanagaraj has also mastered this to some extent. Also, the Mocobot Robotic Camera used in this fight sequence before his face reveal is outstanding. This type of motion capturing robotic camera makes the entire scene visually stunning and also engages the audience.

Coming to Fahadh Faasil, the greatest gift from Malayalam Cinema, plays the role of Amar who is the commander of the Black-ops Squad. His journey throughout this film is vaguely represented as the man who is stuck between duty and life. He initially is in pursuit of Karnan after his fictitious, fake death to uncover the mystery behind the recent 3 deaths that've happened. The deaths are all inter connected. We see Kalidas Jayram who is ACP Prabhanjan from the NCB getting killed then his father i.e. Karnan and Stephen Raj. What makes Amar intrigued is the death of Karnan who has no solid background and is not minutely linked with any of this. So why was he killed?

Spoiler Alert : His search leads him to find out the truth about Agent Vikram who is currently incognito as Karnan.

The only character that was humorous yet fierce was Sandhanam, played by The Vijay Sethupathi. Sandhanam is a drug lord and the leader of the Vetti Vagaiyara gang. With the support of Rolex, he wants to form his own government. He has 3 wives in this one and in his previous movie, he almost had 2 wives. Jokes apart, the comic timing of this guys is off the charts. Usually, big stars enter with 6-8 packs, chiseled body and here Sethupathi had his entry with a family pack but after killing a cop with his own rifle. Even after taking so many punches, Sandhanam pops in a blue-colored drug and stands up to finish off every single opponent you put in front of him. That blue drug has the same effect as spinach that Popeye used to have after being knocked down.

With every movie that Anirudh provides music for, I'm genuinely astonished at the talent that this man has. In my previous posts, you all must've read my admiration towards Anirudh's talent for creating such incredible BGMs as well as songs. The title track sung by Anirudh himself has portions that is picked from Vikram (1986) which starred Kamal Hassan. Pathala Pathala sung by Kamal Hassan can be considered as the best opening song for a character that is supposed to be treated as a drunkard, drug addict and a womaniser. Although, that image gets shattered as soon as the mystery unravels but for illusion purposes, it makes sense for Kamal Hassan to sing and dance intoxicated in a humorous way. Apart from all this, Porkhanda Singham is the best. The emotional quotient of that song is incomprehensible and inexplicable. The way Kamal Hassan holds his grandson Vikram Jr so that he can sleep peacefully, gives us a glimpse of what kind of a person Vikram is in reality.

Suriya's gruesome and grotesques entry into LCU as the famous Rolex....I mean Sir makes me even more pumped for LCU's next installment. The climax scene with Vikram infiltrating Rolex's meeting with his gang where Anbu and Adaikalam give him briefing about a Kaithi named Dilli. Also, Vikram and Amar's whereabouts and involvements are shared and a bounty is placed on them. And that has left me and everyone out there intrigued with what will happen in the next installment.

But for now if you've not watched Kaithi and Vikram, then do yourselves a favor and watch them on Disney+ Hotstar.

Because.....The eagle is coming