“Vikram Vedha” is a 2022 Indian action-thriller showcasing the face-off between a tough cop Vikram and a dreaded gangster Vedha. It is inspired by the Indian folktale “Baital Pachisi,” a collection of tales and legends within a frame story from India. It is also known as internationally Vikram-Betaal.

In the film, Vikra (Saif Ali Khan)  is the Superintendent of police, an honest person who has a sense of good and evil. He follows a team of cops to a dreaded gangster Vedha (Hrithik Roshan) who is guilty of committing around 16 murders.

In the first encounter, the squad kills some of Vedha’s henchmen, framing an unarmed criminal killed by Vikram to avoid further inquiry. While preparing for their next hit, Vedha enters the police station and willingly surrenders. He forces Vikram to sit down with him and listen to a story about punishing the person who gives a kill order or the person who executes said kill order. And although the tale seems unrelated, judging by Vedha’s actions, Vikram realizes that he’s tethered to Vedha now.

From the animated opening sequence itself, the story makes a concerted effort to try and outdo the original in every perceivable way. This film is successful in its aim.

Due to the success of the original “Vikram Vedha” fans were not likely to be surprised by the plot. But every single department shapes its directorial decisions around the cinematic prowess of lead actors Roshan” and Khan the lead actors. And that’s exactly what they’ve done.

Speaking of the action, the sequences in “Vikram Vedha,”  are not just a major upgrade in comparison to the original but also top-notch stuff in the realm of Bollywood itself. The cinematography, the art direction, the costume design, and the makeup design are the silent killers of this film.

Please watch “Vikram Vedha” if you are looking for an action-thriller. It’s fantastic on its own with talented directing with a higher budget and full of actions. Once you are done soaking all that in, please feel free to contemplate the definitions of good and evil.