Movie Name: Vikram Vedha
Directed by: Pushkar – Gayathri
Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte, Rohit Saraf, Yogita Bihani, Sharib Hashmi
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Release Date: 30 September, 2022
Rating:
Budget: Rs. 175 Crore
Vikram Vedha is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Pushkar–Gayathri, as a remake of their own 2017 Tamil film of the same name. Jointly produced by YNOT Studios, Friday Filmworks, T-Series Films and Reliance Entertainment, the film stars Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte.
Production began in October 2021 and wrapped in June 2022. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released worldwide on 30 September 2022.
In March 2018, Pushkar–Gayathri were confirmed to be directing a Hindi remake of their Tamil film Vikram Vedha (2017), to be produced again by YNOT Studios. The project is co-produced by Friday Filmworks, T-Series Films and Reliance Entertainment, and Neeraj Pandey serves creative producer. Pushkar–Gayathri intended for the remake to maintain the “gritty” tone that the original film had. Although Pandey had previously avoided working on remakes because of his preference to write original material, he was interested in working on this project because of its parallels to Vikramaditya and Betal from the folktale collection Baital Pachisi, which he felt was not yet done in Hindi cinema.
Principal photography was planned to begin in February 2021, when Aamir Khan was in the cast. After Roshan replaced him, it was to have begun in June 2021, but ultimately began on 15 October that year with the first schedule taking place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Before the schedule began, part of the sets originally built for Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) were reworked by Vikram Vedha’s crew to resemble Lucknow and Kanpur. In response to reports that Roshan refused to shoot in Lucknow and asked the crew to create the Lucknow sets in Abu Dhabi, causing the budget to escalate, Reliance explained that UAE was “the only location providing the infrastructure for a bio-bubble that accommodated crew of such scale, also allowing building of sets in a studio during the preceding months of the shoot”, and the film was shot there due to “health and protocol concerns”. They added that their films’ shooting locations and budgetary decisions are not controlled by actors. After the Abu Dhabi schedule ended within 27 working days, the second schedule began in Lucknow in early December. Saif Ali Khan finished his portions of the schedule by the end of the month. Apte, whose schedule was only 10 days, finished filming most of her portions by 26 April 2022. Filming wrapped by 10 June 2022.
The songs featured in the film are composed by Vishal–Shekhar, with lyrics written by Manoj Muntashir. The score is composed by Sam C. S, who composed music for the original.
Release: Vikram Vedha is scheduled for theatrical release on 30 September 2022.
Vikram Vedha: Movie Trailer
Vikram Vedha: Movie Review
Stellar performances by Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan make Vikram Vedha worth its while
Sometimes things are not as simple as they look; there is more to the story then just black and white characters. Vikram Vedha’s tale has exploited this grey zone and how! The director-writer duo Pushkar-Gayathri gets full marks for giving mythological stories of Vikram-Betaal from Baital-Pachisi a modern Uttar-Pradesh crime thriller touch.
As for our stars, Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan, they clearly did their homework well to pass off as modern-day Vikram and Betaal.
Saif, as Vikram the cop, knows only right and wrong side of law. But meeting Vedha and listening to his stories sets Vikram on to a different path, where for once they find themselves not standing against each other but working together as one unit.
It’s all about good moments and the film has many, thanks to Vedha aka Hrithik. The directors kept the characters’ back stories a mystery, leaving a ray of hope for the franchise. Just like the original tales of Vikram-Betaal, this Betaal will definitely lure you into the narrative. Not to forget every detail in the story leaves a cue and while you feel smart if you catch it, not knowing some also double the viewing experience. In other words, this two-edged sword Vikram-Vedha, although a remake, will have a reputation of its own. And, the credit goes to flawless Bhojpuri of Hrithik and to Saif for acing the cop’s role. Vijay Raaj’s voiceover for the animated introduction of Vikram-Betaal story was another plus. As for Radhika Apte, she is connecting the dots between the two heroes and has played her role pretty well.
The movie has two songs, while Alcoholia puts Hrithik’s dancing talent to use, the other one, Bande, is the theme song.
Movie Songs:
Song Title: Alcoholia
Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir
Music Composer: Vishal–Shekhar
Singer(s): Vishal–Shekhar, Snigdhajit Bhowmik, Ananya Chakraborty