Vikram

This movie is one of my all time favorites in Tamil Films ! ! Saw this movie way back in '86 during my schooldays and since then, have seen it nearly 15- 16 times till now.. Even a month before (on Jun 1, 2006), me and my friend went to this film when it was screened in a theatre (Manis) near Hope College, Coimbatore..

The beauty with this film is it's quality. U can't imagine to have this factor in tamil films taken during the '80s (Except, of course in Kamal movies at that time). This movie has excellently been filmed . Add to that four beautiful song numbers and fantastic fight sequences. U'll get Vikram ! ! !

Kamal has written this movie along with Sujatha. Sujatha's stories always have that fantasy factor hided within . They both combine together to give this superb exhibition of adventure.

Also, the songs are just great to hear (and watch ). The title song "Vikram" reminds one about the title sequences in Bond movies. This song provides a nice intro to what lies in store in the movie . . Also, 'vanithamani', 'En jodi manjackuruvi' and 'Meendum vaa' are beautifully taken..

One has to appreciate Late. Mr.Rajasekar for directing such a movie. He is the apt director for such a film. Has some great films behind his name (Padikkadhavan, Maaveeran etc..). He has successfully handled movie greats like kamal, Amjad khan and Dimple..

Also, I can't forget the villain 'SugirdhaRaja' played by the Comic Sathyaraj. He always has provided superb support to kamal as villain in most of his films at that period (like Sattam en kaiyil, Jappanil kalyanaraman, Kaaki sattai etc.. to name a few).. Here too , he has handled the character effectively, and at times, has scored more than Kamal himself..

Totally, this is a great treat to watch and remains as a blockbuster and a trend setter ! ! ! (My only regret with this film is that a sequel has not been taken till date) ! ! !

Vikram was one of the ambitious film projects of kamal, who collaborated with writer Sujatha. This was the last film in which Satyaraj acted as villain.

He had started acting as hero then & was reluctant. But kamal insisted that he act as the villain with the assurance that he would later produce a film with him as hero. That film was "Kadamai Kanniyam kattupadu".

Vikram had a good cast, lovely locales, melodious songs, gorgeous heroines & a smart & handsome kamal as a cop, yet it failed at the box office.

The reason was that that the usual masala elements were missing. Also, after a riveting first half, the film went haywire in the 2nd half when the story moved to Salamia (imaginary country). Janakaraj's antics were annoying & also the pace of the film slackened a bit.

The trailer was in the theatres for a few months before its release raising great expectations, specially amongst kamal fans.

Over the years, it has gone on to become a classic & shown repeatedly on TV.

I agree with you. Vikram is a really enjoyable movie. A big budget extravaganza which borrows heavily from many Bond movies. Kamal Hassan plays an undercover cop, assigned to track down an international smuggler who hijacked a nuclear missile. After his wife gets shot by a sniper, he swears revenge on her killers and this leads him to an imaginary country, Salamia. Salamia is shown as a kingdom ruled by Amjad Khan. He is a typical emperor wearing robes and jewels and has an army of his own. His beautiful daughter, played by the gorgeous Dimple Kapadia, falls in love with Kamal. The song pictured on Kamal and Dimple, 'Meendum Meendum Va', is one of the most melodious of Ilayaraja. Throughout the movie, the locales are exotic and well pictured.

Upon release, Vikram was panned by critics. It was termed one of Kamal's bad movies. But financially, Vikram was a success and had a good run throughout. The songs became classics and even the baddie Sathyaraj became a sought-after hero, after Vikram. The stunt director Dharma was affixed the title 'Vikram' and came to be known as 'Vikram' Dharma.

Today in Indian cinema, where several filmmakers struggle to make a decent spy thriller, kamal hassan made a very good spy thriller back in 1986(pre Timothy Dalton era) like james bond.

Vikram is a fun and entertaining spy adventure movie without any dull moments. Ilaiyaraja's music was perfect. It very well captures the essence of james bond films. Technically or writing wise, it has not aged well but if you see it without the eyes of a modern audience and back as an 80s film, you will enjoy it.

Yes we should say this is a Sci-Fi movie of that time (80's).

ICBM is a dream for India on that time, the Computers with Tamil text was nearly impossible. Science fiction does speaks the "not so far future" too.

The way the movie goes, the opening RPG shot, Sathyaraj's intro, Sujatha's dialogs, the comedy scene's at Salamia are well taken. The innocent politician.

We well know that the scene's are from different H/W movies, but the way Kamal presented the movie for Tamil audience is nice. Every one in the movie did there role perfectly.

This is the Second Sci-fi after M.G.R's Kalaiarasi.

9/10- because for non originality.