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Vikram Vedha (condt …)

And eyes play a vital role in the film - the watching eye (Vedha); the understanding eye (Vikram); and the eyes of revelation (Vikram Vedha).





Even the heroine characters crisply communicate with their eyes. They got a dark glossy eyes makeup.





I admired Shraddha Srinath in U-turn Kannada movie (2016). She was the only element in the film that made me reach the end credits. She is an actress well equipped with taunting features. I am glad that her potentials (both physical and acting) were aptly used by the directors, rather than making her laugh under the influence of nitrous oxide.

The Adaptation

Couple of the above pictures show Vedha directly behind Vikram. That's for a start.

Vedha tells tales to Vikram, as well as, to others too - I liked the Snake Story, funny but a provocative one and the Box story which was hilariously enacted by Vijay Sethupathi. So, there is the fun part in the tales too. Each time Vikram meets Vedha, he is unable to kill him, as Vedha cunningly diverts Vikram from the task of shooting him. He produces a fresh tale like a magician pulling a hare out of his hat, making Vikram wondering about the existence of truth. Many have a problem in understanding this aspect - Why didn't Vikram just shoot down Vedha - End of Story. And here is where they lack the knowledge about the original work "Baital Pachisi". (And that’s the reason I have given details under Preface and Introduction to make it a bit easier for me to talk about the film).

All the major elements right from surrendering to disclosure of details, Vikram Vedha respects Vethalam Vikramathithan. Where the film takes a diversion is while picking up a non-linear narrative rather than a frame narrative. The film is a bundle of flash backs, which are not distinct elements in the story. This aspect makes Vikram Vedha a normal fare compared to the narrative of the folk tale; where the clues are thrown at us at random intervals creating a mid-film twist more than once. Even though projected to be neat, the narration gets clumsier as the movie advances.

Most of the characters in Baital Pachisi have a greater importance to the whole narrative. In Vikram Vedha, the characters look scripted and predictable. Awesome characters like Half-Boil look like a random and walking aimlessly inside the film even though he has got much to do in the story. The other character’s development with the principle ones is not dissected but is thrown with a weak motive like yet another back drop. Thus, the life stories of Vikram and Vedha run like wild rivers without having a bank to control their flow.

A very good attitude shown by the director(s) is taking the full advantage of cinematic liberties. There is this awesome scene (there are several though) where Vedha flies over the building while Vikram's men crawl around the same building looking for him. He jumps inside a ship container yard and then it rains. Similarly, the whole intro of Vedha is full of liberation in visual narration. Scenes change without any location match - suddenly the characters are talking inside a restaurant, and Vedha pulls out a gun. Such jumbled scenes produce a uniqueness to the produced work of art.

There seems to be a greater influence of the movie Seven (David Fincher's 1995 film). Vedha's surrender and the revelation part towards the climax (Seven Deadly Sins) share similarities with the film Seven.

Summary

Dark is not Evil. Sometime darkness reveals the truth buried within. Dark paths must be crossed to bring back Light.

Vikram Vedha is a film that left me wanting more, yet left me extremely satisfied. The film exhibits excellent performance from the group of artists, a spell bounding OST, sharp edits of keen visuals surrounded with reverberating sounds and a fabulous story that does not show two sides of a same coin, but the two faces on the same side, without preaching Goodness or pointing at Evilness. As a charming take on our fabulous folklore, the film extracts the core without tampering it and presents it inside intelligent and interesting visuals.

"Wake up Vikram. When you sleep, nightmare crawls", Vedha warned.

Finally, Vikram opened his eyes. But has his nightmare left him or has it just shifted from his back and standing in front of him showing its true face... (plays the theme music).


(This shot is marvelous and a perfect closure to the film. Notice the shift in their positions.)

Vikram Vedha - Sleeping & Walking

End of Part Three of Three