Writer-director duo Pushkar-Gayatri is back with the Hindi version of the much-celebrated cop-criminal saga 'Vikram Vedha', considered one among the cult films of South India. The teaser of the Hindi 'Vikram Vedha' starring Hrithik Roshan, replacing Vijay Sethupathi as Vedha, and Saif Ali Khan in place of R Madhavan as Vikram, fetched 1.9 crore views within 48 hours of its release, which is 89 lakh more than what the trailer of the original version released in 2017 could garner till date.
Comparing the teasers gives a feeling that Pushkar-Gayatri compromised on the rawness of the original Tamil version and opted for ruggedness while replanting their crime-karma saga in the Bollywood-verse. The casting itself sparked the suspicion that the film would be an action-owned narration, unlike the Tamil original, which was more character and situation driven. The remake teaser only reassures the notion.
The desaturated colour scheme of the Tamil version has been given up for a more upbeat orange and teal colour scheme in the remake. The frames are more lit up, and we tend to miss the cat and mouse play between black and white, light and shadows, which was a crucial element in the Tamil version.
The give and take between the cop and the criminal sitting across a table became iconic the moment the 'Vikram Vedha' Tamil trailer was released on YouTube on Jun 22, 2017. What gave legendary status to the interaction between a handcuffed Vedha and Vikram with a stoic demeanour was not just the politics it dished out but the way the actors rendered it. In the sixth second of the trailer itself, Vijay Sethupathi's Vedha asks Vikram: 'Oru kathai sollata, sar?' (Can I tell you a story, sir?). R Madhavan's Vikram replies with utter disdain: 'Onne maathri alungalkellam ore kathai thaane...' (Guys like you have only one story to say, right?). However, the teaser of the Hindi version opens with Hrithik Roshan's Vedha asking the question to Saif Ali Khan's Vikram, but we never get to hear Vikram's response. Instead, the teaser gives Vedha to qualify the question, which is another factor that casts questions about how much directors Pushkar and Gayatri diluted the film. However, the wait has begun!
