Vikram (film)

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Vikram
Directed by	R.D. Rajasekar
Written by	Sujatha
Starring	Kamal Hassan Preethi Dimple Kapadia
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Release date(s)	1986
Country	India
Language	Tamil
IMDb profile

Vikram is a Tamil-language movie starring Kamal Hassan, Preethi, Dimple Kapadia, Amjad Khan and Sathyaraj, released in 1986.

It was a high budget movie and perhaps the first one to introduce Tamil audiences to events happening outside of their homeland. Until the release of this movie, the most complex plot to feature in Tamil movies was that of the hero impersonating a thug (or a statue, as in Oru Kaidhiyin Diary) to stop the wrongdoer, and eventually losing a loved one to a single bullet/stab-wound in the climax. Vikram was among the first few movies to deviate away from this routine, which set the standard for future movies to follow.

The film was directed by R.D. Rajasekar, and the background score was written by Ilaiyaraaja. The storyline was by Sujatha the Tamil novelist and short story writer. Special effects and stunts were choreographed by Vikram Dharma.

[edit] Plot

An undercover agent is sent to retrieve a nuclear missile that was lost to the terrorist and underworld don Sugirtharaja. The missile is held in an imaginary country called Salamia, where Sugirdharaja has high-level government contacts. It's difficult to get visas for Salamia, so the hero and his aide Preethi (the computer expert who holds the code to disarm the nuke) enter Salamia along with a troupe of folk artists.

While socializing with the locals, the hero becomes close to the king, (Amjad Khan) his sister the princess (Dimple Kapadia) and one of the queens who speaks Tamil (Manorama). He also learns about a particular "Eli Kovil" or "temple of the rats" where commoners are forbidden to enter. Rumours seem to suggest that some kind of nefarious activity is going-on inside Eli Kovil, and that the royal family is somehow unconcerned about it. This raises the hero's suspicion, and he decides to take a cheap dig at it himself.

Eventually it turns-out that Eli Kovil is where the stolen missile is actually being held by Sugirdharaja, with help from the head priest of Salamia (Madhaguru) whose royal guards vigilantly patrol the building. By nightfall, the hero takes the code to disarm the nuke from Preethi (who falls for him) and infiltrates the heavily guarded compound undetected. He gets right up to the nuke's on-board control panel and starts to key-in the disarming code, but unfortunately the piece of paper holding the code falls from his grip, right into the hands of the armed guards below. A gunfight ensues and all baddies except Sugirdharaja are vanquished.

Meanwhile, the Agni Putra is launched and it heads straight for Delhi. Back at HQ, the Chief and his aides watch an animation of the missile's path on a computer screen. Their despair turns into delight when the animation shows the missile deviating from Delhi and plunging into the Bay of Bengal. Ecstatic with joy, the Chief cries out "Yessss, he did it!!!".

Back in Salamia the action is not over yet. Sugirdharaja takes Preethi hostage and flies-off in a helicopter. The hero throws a lasso at the skids (from atop a galloping horse) and eventually climbs onto the side tube. A high-action scuffle ensues when the hero clings-on to the skids despite being pummeled by Sugirdharaja, and eventually forces his way into the cockpit to batter the villain. The latter sets-off a time bomb and jumps out the chopper with a parachute backpack strapped-on.

The hero and his beautiful dame follow suit, and a tense fight ensues in mid air, amidst the freely-falling trio. Sugirdharaja loses the backpack to Vikram and falls to his death, while the latter gently glides down to safety cuddling and kissing his dame. The princess arrives on camel back and the film ends on a frivolous note, with the hero running away from two gorgeous dames close on his heels.