Why VikramVedha was THE movie of 2017

I cannot post a review of VikramVedha without giving the plot away. I will try to attempt why I feel it was THE movie of 2017 and it broke new ground in Indian cinema not just Tamil cinema.

(Images maybe subject to copyright) 

Let me start with a bit of historical background on cops vs crime movies.  Bollywood had forgotten how to handle crime thrillers after Ramgopal Verma lost form. The last was Ab Tak Chhapan (2004). Khakee (2004) by Rajkumar Santoshi and Sehar (2006) kept the genre alive.. I am keeping the Dabangg series out since its not a thriller.

However Kollywood -Tamil Cinema kept the genre alive with class acts by Gautham Menon in his cops triseries - Kaaka Kaaka with Suriya in 2003 ( hopelessly remade with John Abraham as Force) , Vettaiyadhu Veliaiyadu with  Kamal Haasan in 2006 .

There were also police potboiler classics that were copied en masse by Bollywood - starting with Pokiri (2006) by Puri Jagannadh in Telugu , remade in Tamil and then became Wanted in Hindi completely transforming Salman Khans career graph.  Then Singham 1 and 2 were copied by Rohit Shetty from Tamil .  He is remaking Temper (2015) in Telugu with NTR jr with Ranveer Singh as Simbaa. ( Incidentally Temper was directed by Puri Jaganandh showing his prowess in the genre).

Now back to Vikram Vedha 

1. Vikram Vedha is ground breaking in the encounter cop vs goondas genre - it creates a new genre - crime noir masala 

Vikam Vedha shows the journey of an encounter cop ( Vikram played by Madhavan) who is extremely trigger happy and proud that he is on the side of the good  However by using smart screenplay to really question his moral stance ,  its noir enough. Its also noir enough in the moral stance of the antagonist and the non linear screenplay. However its not dark like Sriram Raghavans noir of Johny Gadaar or Badlapur , and it has enough masala elements even having a 'tapori' song equivalent of Kallu Maama style of Satya. Watch it above.

2. Amazing craftsmanship in the direction, screenplay and story telling  by Pushkar and Gayatri  director duo

By using the Vikram Vetaal folk lore thats uniquely Indian and blending it with a Christopher Nolanesque non linearity, the movies' screenplay is king. The Vikram Vetaal analogy is shown graphically in the title sequence and hooks you in. Should Vikram always chase Vetaal even though he escapes or is he fascinated by the chase to improve himself? This story construct that blends so well with the screenplay ,  where Vedha ( the gangster played by Vijay SethuPathi ) leads Vikram into the chase by  narrating stories about his own background and then with every story we have action sequences that help us unravel the truth. In fact in 1 scene Vedha grabs Vikrams neck looking like the proverbial Vetaal - see below image.

And each time Vedha asks a question - he speaks to both Vikram and the audience - so we get more engrossed in the movie. This is the inventive and intriguing screenplay that hooks us in  and we are happy to do repeated viewings. My recommendation is watch it 3 times in a span of 45 days- first to watch, second to unravel lost links and third to savour the craftsmanship.

3. It has classy symbolism in its treatment but also massy irreverence 

When Vikram meets Vedha for the first time , he is in a white shirt and Vedha is in black. Vedha draws a line to show the divide. But slowly the lines get blurred and turn into grey both story wise, character wise and T-shirt wise.   Thats symbolism.

But it also has a massy side.. Vedha becomes a criminal and sports sunglasses - he explains to his crew why its important - the other person cannot see our moves. Such scenes add verve.

4. Realistic but standout visuals 

Crime movies also need the settings to come alive - the camerawork here is pitch perfect. There are scenes that stand out and speak to you - the nook and cranny of North Madras where the crime trade starts, the docks areas where Vedha grows his trade, the chases in the rain where Vikram is waiting with a gun with raindrops dripping , the Nair shop where Mutton curry and paratha is served. There are scenes like a fight with container blocks in the rain, a rush of criminals with daggers in hand making a kill. The background music is first rate adding to the craftsmanship on display.

5. Vedha is a character that every hero would want to sink his teeth but Vikram is the moral glue 

What Vijay Sethupathi pulled out in Vedha is an actors delight. He commands the screenplay to move the way he drives it, it has that mania that makes people come back to movies. Its not easy to play Vikram and Madhavans intelligent performance makes the search for the truth genuine . He is proud, angry yet shows vulnerability..

6. Although the conflict is between Vikram and Vedha, the story is not a whodunit 

Every other character gets their due. Whether its Vikrams lawyer wife questioning his methods, or his sentimental attachment to his fathers bike . Similarly Vedhas sister and brother also get their due so does every gangster especially the Malayali Cheta ( Brother)  and the rest of the police department that investigates with Vikram.

I started with 5 reasons but ended with 6. Pretty much everything about the movie is 6/5. Definitely worth attempting a remake in Hindi.