It’s an already publicized fact that it’s a ‘two guys and one girl’ movie. So when Guy no: 1 leaves the town because his ego took a slap, and Girl who’s in love with him sits waiting for him, Guy no: 2, who’s been a good friend to her, tells her that he’d like to spend his life with her. Guy no: 1 makes his return.
And right there, the movie seems to be relapsing into time-tested and movie-tested scenarios. Still, let’s do the options—
Option a. Girl goes ahead with Guy No.2
Option b. Girl and Boy No.1 get together (mostly with the blessings of Guy No.2)
Option c. One of them dies?
There could be options aplenty, but you’d be able to tell when you’re not in for a surprise. But that doesn’t really matter; even though Lal Jose’s latest flick, ‘Vikramadithyan’ tells a predictable story, the narrative has been made interesting, the plot does enough twisting and turning, and the characters make you sit up and take notice of them.
The story is told in beautiful tones ranging from mellow-yellow to happy vibrant, thanks to fantastic cinematography by Jomon T John. A well-themed quirky background score (Bijibal), and a script (Iqbal Kuttippuram) that doesn’t wander and is hooked to the story, are among the top high-scoring factors.
The back-story is laid out well; Lakshmi (Lena), a police constable from the Nair clan, likes Vasudev Shenoy, a Konkani Brahmin (Anoop Menon). But they end up marrying different people. Two boys, one each to the two households are born on the same day—Vikraman (Unni Mukundan) to Shenoy, and Adithyan (Dulquer Salmaan) to Lakshmi.
Vikraman is the driven, always enthusiastic, well-behaved good boy (quite a surprise that, considering he looked like a brat as a child). Aadithyan on the other hand was a passive, introverted child, who turns cheeky at a later stage. He is the boy that does odd jobs at all points in his life, non-academic, non-job-oriented.
What’s good in the plot is how the male-bonding is underplayed. Unlike the 'Sholay' couple Jai and Veeru (Bachchan and Dharmendra) or like most of the celebrated ‘bromance’ that movie industries have seen, Vikraman and Aadithyan share a love-hate relationship. They’re less than enemies but more than friends; they don’t talk to each other, are seen in different herds, but ever present in each other’s worlds.
Deepika (Namitha Promod), daughter of Ramanathan Pai (Joy Mathew) is the friend Vikraman cherishes, and the love Aadithyan aspires. She likes both of them in completely different ways and sticks up for them both whenever necessary.
Characters aren’t out of sync, although certain instances of mild dichotomy prove interesting—Aadithyan’s father, a soft-hearted thief against Vikraman’s father who’s a police officer, yet fraudulent and cunning. Vikraman, who likes to win every contest against Aadithyan, but who wouldn't stand against him—the characters are layered, and that brings about a much needed intensity to them.
The childhood of Vikraman and Aadithyan doesn’t change frames to man muscles and cheekiness all of a sudden. It takes time to evolve (maybe a tad too much time) and that straying away and ahead of the formulaic routine is something good to see. All of this is backed by credible performances. Lena comes to mind first, Anoop Menon follows.
A hasty climax that one could have predicted even while sleep-walking, and a few misplaced dialogues apart, ‘Vikramadithyan’ definitely adds up to a lazy Sunday flick. It’s a pleasure to see Malayalam cinema banking on great frames, beautiful shots, fitness prone men and good stable scripts. And just like the proverbial 'back-ride' of Vikramaditya, the movie too rides on the back of a decent script.
Rating: 3.25/5