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Decoding Vikram Vedha – Comparing Hrithik Roshan & Saif Ali Khan with Vijay Sethupathi & R Madhavan
What makes Vikram Vedha (Hindi) with Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan a faithful adaptation of the Tamil Original? Here’s the analysis
Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan step into the shoes of Vijay Sethupathi and R Madhavan in the Hindi adaptation of Vikram Vedha. As mentioned by Pinkvilla in the review, it’s tough to recreate the magic of any loved film, but director duo, Pushkar and Gayatri do well to justify the stardom of Hrithik Roshan and the screen presence of Saif Ali Khan without diluting the essence of their original film. The duo also managed to amp up the scale and visuals of the film, to make the film palatable for a wider spectrum of audiences.
Stepping into the shoes of a highly appreciated performance is always a task, but Hrithik has been someone who has taken up such challenges in the past. Back in 2012, he brought in a different character arc to the iconic Vijay Dinanath Chauhan played by Amitabh Bachchan in Agneepath. While there was initial skepticism about his being the new age angry young man, HR surprised one and all by keeping the fire of revenge restrained and bringing in shades of emotion to the heroic role. He painted the character with a fresh brush.
The same logic can be applied here as well, as Hrithik brings in his own approach to Vedha. The character has an irresistible charm to it, which blends with the larger-than-life aura of Hrithik. While Vijay Sethupathi kept his approach a little subtle, Hrithik instills an element of madness to the heroics of Vedha. He hides his rage beneath the calm, walks as if he is a hero in the eyes of people, and mouths those one-liners with conviction. While he is Vedha from the original, it’s unlike anything that has been seen in the original film. The fresher approach does wonders, keeping us all away from the comparison points.
Saif Ali Khan’s Vikram too belongs to unchartered territory. From the limited that we remember, Madhavan had a little aggressive approach to Vikram, but with Saif, the director duo adjust the character tonality by going a little subdued and also infusing some humor. He displays his bravado at the right moment but also doesn’t leave a chance to get into the quirky space. Much like Hrithik and Vedha, Saif and Vikram too are in the same world of original, but with a rather new take. It’s probably the change of set up to Lucknow, that has resulted in this outcome.
The performances and approach to characters aside, Pushkar and Gayatri revisit Vikram Vedha in Hindi with a new milieu. While the original is dark and gritty, the Hindi adaptation is slightly wider in its appeal due to scale, action blocks, and some additional humor points. While the romantic track is still missing, it’s a faithful remake of an iconic film from Tamil Film Industry, with rights tweaks in the narrative to appeal to a wide audience base. While we have seen multiple feature films lag behind the originals on the impact front, Vikram Vedha is one of those films which does justice to the world of the original. And full marks to the entire team for that, rather than getting swayed away by various distractions.
Full credit to all the four actors - Vijay Sethupathi, R Madhavan, Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan - to interpret their respective characters with their own points of view. It can probably be a case study for many who aspire to practically know about action and reaction, and how two heroes can influence each other's performance in the same story setup. It's as if, the energies are rubbing off each other to create something magical. Do let us know, what you think of Vikram Vedha in Hindi.
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