Vikram review: An action-packed love letter to Kamal Haasan's stardom (2025)

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Vikram review: An action-packed love letter to Kamal Haasan's stardom (5)

Vikram review: An action-packed love letter to Kamal Haasan's stardom (6)

ByHaricharan Pudipeddi

Jun 03, 2022 12:36 PM IST

Vikram review: Kamal Haasan’s film marks the beginning of Tamil cinema’s biggest franchise. Fahadh Faasil and Vijay Sethupathi make their presence felt with strong performances.

Lokesh Kanagaraj, with films like Kaithi and Master, is evolving into a filmmaker Tamil cinema needs to take seriously and celebrate. What he’s attempted and achieved with his latest film Vikram, which marks the glorious comeback of Kamal Haasan after a lull, is something that not many filmmakers can even envision, let alone execute. Read more: Kamal Haasan says he is glad audience is awaiting his comeback

Vikram review: An action-packed love letter to Kamal Haasan's stardom (7)

A self-confessed Kamal Haasan fan, Lokesh not only paid a heartfelt tribute to his ‘guru’, with Vikram – a sequel of sorts to Kamal’s 1986 film of the same name – he teased the beginning of a franchise; one that could keep Kamal active for years to come. Vikram allows Kamal to have fun, and he’s helped by Fahadh Faasil and Vijay Sethupathi, who make their presence felt with strong performances

Vikram begins where Lokesh’s Kaithi left off. Months after the biggest drug bust Tamil Nadu police ever pulled, two containers full of drugs went missing in Chennai, and local gangs have to retrieve it at any cost before the crime lord and the leader of the drug mafia Rolex – played by Suriya – makes everybody pay. Meanwhile, a group of masked men are on a killing spree, taking the lives of some high-ranking officers, which includes a young official in the narcotics control bureau, played by Kalidas.

Kamal plays Karnan in the film. When his son becomes a victim of the gang, he sets out on a mission to take revenge. What feels like just another tale of revenge soon turns into a mission orchestrated by Karnan, who is introduced much later as agent Vikram – the original character essayed by Kamal in the 1986 film.

You’ve got to hand it to Lokesh Kanagaraj for bringing back Kamal’s highly-underrated agent Vikram character, three decades later; and using it so effectively in a story that couldn’t have been told better.

However, the film does falter at places and isn’t consistently engaging, but it manages to merge key characters from Lokesh’s earlier film Kaithi and sets the stage for what could be Tamil cinema’s biggest franchise in the making. What Lokesh manages to achieve with Vikram, which feels slightly long with nearly a three-hour running time, is to give a new generation of audiences a glimpse of Kamal Haasan’s versatility. It was rewarding to see the veteran shine after a long time.

If you can look at Vikram beyond some of its rough edges, this is easily the most satisfying love letter to Kamal Haasan from Lokesh Kanagaraj, who is his big fan. It is amazing to see Kamal warm up to a young filmmaker’s sensibilities and be willing to not hog all the limelight in the movie. For most of the first half, Kamal is nowhere to be seen, but he makes a solid impact in the scenes he’s present.

Fahadh Faasil gets the second most meaty part among the ensemble cast; and he’s terrific. Vijay Sethupathi continues to shine in peculiar roles that are best suited for his personality, and it’s refreshing to see Lokesh use him efficiently after Master.

Anirudh Ravichander’s music, especially the background score, plays a pivotal role in amplifying the overall experience of watching Vikram on the big screen, apart from the terrific action sequences. Suriya’s brief but powerful cameo is just the high one needs as you step out of Vikram.

Film: Vikram

Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi, Narain, Suriya and Kalidas Jayaram

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News / Entertainment / Tamil Cinema / Vikram review: Kamal Haasan’s glorious comeback lays the groundwork for Tamil cinema’s most ambitious franchise

Vikram review: An action-packed love letter to Kamal Haasan's stardom (2025)

FAQs

Is Vikram a good movie? ›

The director's penchant for crime thrillers, retro music and biryani continues to hold good for "Vikram" with Anirudh Ravichander's music rendering a soaring sheen to the narrative being built. The callbacks and references to old Kamal classics blend smoothly with the storytelling and are never jarring or contrived.

Is Vikram Part 2 coming? ›

Vikram 2 is an upcoming Tamil action thriller film. It is a sequel to Vikram and the possible final installment of Lokesh Cinematic Universe.

What is the story line of Vikram? ›

What is the story of the old Vikram movie? ›

Storyline. Vikram, a cop who is mourning the death of his wife, is assigned to retrieve a missile. He is aided by a highly educated engineer Preethi, who holds the knowledge to disarm the nuke, in his mission.

Is Vikram movie a hit or flop? ›

The film became the fourth highest-grossing Indian film of 2022 and second highest-grossing Tamil film of 2022.

Is Vikram movie better than KGF? ›

both are the best movies , compared to vikram ,kgf2 is most voilence movie . The scenes were make the people very curious . I think KGF is a much “bigger” movie in terms of fan connect and emotional attachment primarily because its a 2 part movie.

Who is Rolex in Vikram 2? ›

Vikram (2022) - Suriya as Rolex - IMDb.

Who will be the villain in Vikram 3? ›

Vikram 3 will have Suriya reprising his character Rolex. He'll play the main antagonist be pitted against Kamal Haasan's title role, and Fahadh Faasil's Amar. Suriya's cameo as Rolex in Kamal Haasan starrer Vikram is grabbing eyeballs.

Is Vikram connected to any movie? ›

It has two versions. The original version was featured in Vikram (2022), while the second version was featured in Leo (2023). The second version titled "Lokiverse 2.0" connected the elements of the franchise between the first three installments: Kaithi (2019), Vikram (2022) and Leo (2023).

Who is Vikram married to? ›

Who is Vikram's son? ›

Dhruv was born on 23 September 1995 in Chennai as the son of actor Vikram and his wife Shailaja. His elder sister Akshita is married to Manuranjith, who is the great-grandson of politician M. Karunanidhi. His paternal grandfather Vinod Raj was also an actor who acted in a few Tamil films.

What is the drug in Vikram? ›

Sandhanam is influential himself, rich, powerful, and feared, second only to the organization's reclusive leader Rolex. He's skilled in making valuable cocaine products and wishes to use the profits to get rich and start a private government he can personally control. He's also the nemesis to titular character Vikram.

Does Vikram have a daughter? ›

Karunanidhi blessed the couple. Actor Vikram's daughter Akshita tied the knot with Manu Ranjith, son of C.K. Ranganathan, founder of FMCG firm Cavinkare and the man who pioneered the sachet revolution in India.

Who is the king of Tamil actor? ›

Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam.

How is Leo connected to Vikram? ›

Leo is Antony Das's son, so it's possible that Adaikalam and Anbu are his uncle Harold's sons. At the end of the film, Parthiban/Leo receives a call from Vikram of Vikram, inviting him to join their squad against the drug mafia. The LCU connections in Leo aren't as organic as the links between Kaithi and Vikram.

Why was Vikram movie a success? ›

Vikram is a multi starer movie because of vijay Sethupathi who is a star actor in tamil cinema, he was there in the movie as one of the lead actor in negative character. No star or actor can claim come back or achieving super Stardom or stardom with a multi starer movie success.

Do I need to watch anything before Vikram? ›

Before 'Vikram' released, Lokesh Kanagaraj urged fans to watch 'Kaithi'. While no such announcement has come from the filmmaker yet, here is a recap of characters and plot lines that might feature in 'Leo' if it is a part of the 'Lokesh Cinematic Universe'.

Can I watch Vikram with family? ›

Parents need to know that Vikram is an extremely violent Indian action thriller with drugs and some strong language.

Is the Vikram movie overrated on Quora? ›

In theatres, due to the runtime and confusing screenplay, I felt the movie wasn't that engaging. On rewatch, I knew what to expect. So I followed the storyline and execution properly. Towards the end, I felt like Vikram was a perfect class-mass entertainer.

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