Vikram Vedha is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Pushkar–Gayathri and produced by S. Sashikanth under his banner YNOT Studios. The film stars Madhavan, Vijay Sethupathi, Shraddha Srinath, Kathir and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar while Prem, Achyuth Kumar, Hareesh Peradi and Vivek Prasanna play supporting roles. Inspired by the Indian folktale Baital Pachisi, the film tells the story of Vikram, a police inspector who sets out to track down and kill Vedha, a gangster. After Vedha voluntarily surrenders himself, he tells Vikram three stories which change his perceptions of good and evil.
In January 2015, Sashikanth revealed that he would be producing a film directed by the husband and wife duo, Pushkar and Gayathri. Following a year of development on the script throughout 2015, Madhavan and Sethupathi were selected to play the lead roles in February 2016. Principal photography began in November of the same year and was completed by January 2017. The film was shot mainly in North Chennai, with the area being used as its backdrop. Sam C. S. composed the soundtrack and score, P. S. Vinod performed the cinematography, and the film's editor was A. Richard Kevin.
Vikram Vedha was released on 21 July 2017 and received positive feedback, with critics praising all major aspects of the production. Made on a budget of ₹110 million (about US$1,661,631 in 2017), the film performed well at the box office, grossing ₹600 million (about US$9,063,444 in 2017) worldwide despite experiencing difficulties due to the changes resulting from the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. Vikram Vedha won four Filmfare, Vijay and Norway Tamil Film Festival awards each. Additionally, it received three Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, two Techofes Awards and an Edison Award.
The movie's successs lead to a Bollywood remake directed by the same creators and starred Saif Ali Khan playing as Vikram and Hrithik Roshan playing as Vedha.
Tropes pertaining to the film:
- Ambiguously Evil: Vedha. While he was a scrupulous person, he helped Vikram take down the Dirty Cops in his own department when Vikram eventually finds out that his own department ( from his own boss to his own partner) accepted bribes from the syndicate who kills Vedha's brother.
- Ambiguous Ending: Vikram managed to defeat his own fellow cops who are bribed by the Big Bad and kill his own superior officer with Vedha's help, but they aim their guns at each other making the viewer guessing whether Vikram spared Vedha but either Vedha kills him, shoots Vedha or leave as it is; Vedha killing Vikram although the latter kills the person responsible for his brother's death, making Vedha an Ungrateful Bastard; or mutually kiling each other due to the lack of trust between them.
- Black-and-White Insanity: Vikram's ideals meant that all criminals should die, regardless of how big their sin is to the society. Vedha's stories when he interrogated him made Vikram realize that an evil person can do a morally wrong action for good purposes, while a good person can do a morally wrong action for his own benefits.
