Slick, splashy and A double dose of Vikram

Indian films shot across trans-global locations, with an action thriller storyline have always been anticipated with great interest by viewers, irrespective of the language in which they are shot. The Tamil dubbing film ‘Inkokkadu’, starring Vikram, Nayantara and Nitya Menen, too had its share of expectations all through the phase when its teasers and trailers have made a splash on social media.

Maintaining the core story in a familiar cop-n-criminal setting, intermixing espionage action with the busting of a chemical smuggling ring, young director Anand Shankar lays out his approach rather clearly right from the beginning. His film, all of 155 minutes is a blend of multiple tracks – scientific criminals, hi-tech gadgetry and a Bond-like hero who is built on a Hollywood kind of a character – and a renegade who comes to the aid of the country, when it needs him the most.

Pushing 50, Vikram, who has been known for straining both body and soul for the characters he essays does not disappoint here too. Playing an effeminate, yet scheming villain curiously named ‘Love’, he maintains a phenomenal ability to delineate the raging undercover cop on a mission and the antagonist who is cool and calculated till the end. Differentiations are not just in the body language but also in the way the characters move, walk and talk.

The gamble of carrying the film’s action all along on the superhuman capabilities of a chemical resulting in an adrenaline push seems to have paid off for the director. It is shown as having been invented by the villain, which the hero aims to stop and prevent its entry into India. As an accomplished artiste like Vikram plays both the hero and the anti-hero, like Rajinikanth in ‘Robot’, to perfection.

The power girl Nayantara gives Vikram terrific company throughout, though she is away from the screen for a brief period, only to resurface when the director gives his flick a twist. Essaying the role of a lady secret agent clinically, she is a sharp contrast to the limiting and poorly written role of Nitya Menen, who accompanies Vikram on his Malaysia sojourn to hunt down the evil doers. Like the hero, Nayan too has survived many a twist and stayed at the top of the heap in Southern cinema.

Harris Jayaraj, back after a brief hiatus, shows he can still pack a punch in the era of Anirudhs and G V Prakash Kumars. Cinematography by R D Rajasekhar adds the much-wanted dazzle to the songs, even as Jayaraj impresses with his background score. A sizzler of a film, one can say, by and large.

Film Name : Inkokkadu

Cast : Vikram, Nayantara and Nithya Menen
Direction : Anand Shankar
Genre : Sci-fi
Likes : Vikram, in a stylish, effective double role
Dislikes : Wavy pace in the second half