Vikram is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Raaj Kamal Films International. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil. Kalidas Jayaram, Narain and Chemban Vinod Jose play supporting roles while Suriya makes a cameo appearance. The film's soundtrack and score are composed by Anirudh Ravichander, with cinematography handled by Girish Gangadharan and editing done by Philomin Raj. The film serves as the second installment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU). The plot follows a black-ops squad led by Agent Vikram, in which he aims a drug syndicate group called Vetti Vagaiyara, led by Sandhanam, who wants the missing drugs to be delivered to his cold-blooded boss Rolex.The film is a spin off of the 1986 film of the same name and also shares a Cinematic Universe with Kaithi (2019). The film also features a remixed version of the theme song from the 1986 film. Principal photography began in July 2021 and ended in February 2022 with filming taking place across Tamil Nadu including Karaikudi, Chennai, Pondicherry, and Coimbatore. Vikram was released theatrically on 3 June 2022, and generally received positive reviews from critics, praising the film's narrative style, action sequences, technical aspects and cast performances (particularly Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil and Vijay Sethupathi). The film grossed ₹442.45 crore (US$58 million) and went on to become the highest-grossing Tamil film of the year and fourth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time.Following the events after busting the illegal consignment of Adaikalam and Anbu by Inspector Bejoy,[N 1] Amar, the head of a black-ops team, is summoned by Police Chief Jose to bring justice to a group of masked vigilantes, who have killed Stephen Raj (following his arrest and subsequent release),[N 1] ACP Prabhanjan and his adopted father, Karnan.Amar leads the investigation by digging into Karnan's life, whose murder seems out of place, as Karnan was a common man and the other two were higher officials in the Narcotics division. He learns about Karnan's past as a drunkard, drug addict, and womaniser, but is very close to his adopted infant grandson. While investigating, Amar learns about the missing containers needed by Sandhanam, who is part of a large family and runs a crime syndicate named Vetti Vagaiyara. Sandhanam wants the drugs to be delivered to his cold-blooded smuggler boss named Rolex, whose identity is unknown. If the drugs are delivered, Rolex will help Sandhanam form his own government.
Meanwhile, Veerapandian, who is a PWD officer, assigns a meeting with other gangsters at a casino theatre, where he reveals that he, along with a contractor named Rudra Pratap, know the location of the drug containers as they want to bring the containers to Rolex, bypassing Sandhanam in the process. However, the masked men arrive and kill Veerapandian. After learning that Veerapandian is the target of the masked men from a chip of Karnan's, found in a brothel he frequented.
Amar chases after them and successfully captures one of them, revealed to be Bejoy. Amar interrogates Bejoy, where Bejoy tells them that the syndicate members killed his family after busting the drug consignment. Realizing that Rudra Pratap is also the target of the members, Amar, along with his team, barges into Rudra Pratap's daughter's wedding ceremony, where Rudra Pratap has also invited Sandhanam, for protection, fearing for his life and family.
The masked men, along with their leader, arrive at Rudra Pratap's daughter's wedding, where the leader forces Rudra Pratap by holding his daughter at knifepoint, drags Rudra Pratap, and escapes from the wedding. He leaves some of his members to deal with Sandhanam, but Sandhanam thrashes all of them. Amar chases the masked men, where he confronts the leader, who makes a video call to Sandhanam and reveals himself as Karnan, who is actually alive and faked his death. Karnan kills Rudra Pratap and escapes from the police.
Amar learns that Karnan is actually Vikram, who was the former commander of the black-ops squad, Pilot Black. Vikram, along with his team of eleven members, were disbanded after a botched mission in 1991 and declared as terrorists. Subsequently, they were hunted down and only Vikram and three other members of the team, managed to stay alive. Amar meets up with Jose and slyly finds out that Jose, himself, is Sandhanam's mole in the department.
It is revealed that Prabhanjan was captured by Santhanam, with Jose's help where Santhanam interrogates Prabhanjan about the containers, but to no avail and is later killed, which forced Jose, Veerapandian and Rudra Pratap to cover up the murder, by making it look like it was committed by terrorists. Amar orchestrates a bomb blast at Sandhanam's house, which destroys his drug lab in the basement, bungalow, and associate-Elango. However, Sandhanam (who was informed by Jose earlier) escapes, along with his whole family. Jose reveals Vikram's and Amar's identity to Sandhanam.
Later, Vikram arrives at the prison and frees Bejoy and his team. Sandhanam brutally kills Amar's wife, Gayathri, and sends his men to attack and kill Vikram's daughter-in-law and grandson at Prabhanjan's house, but Vikram arrives and saves them. However, a team member of Vikram's Pilot Black squad and associate, Agent Tina, who was undercover as the domestic help of the house Valliammal, is killed while helping Vikram. Distraught at Gayathri's death, Amar joins Vikram's gang to take down Sandhanam and his syndicate. He leaves for Jose's house and kills him after learning about his involvement in Gayathri's murder.
It is revealed that the reason for Vikram's actions is not vengeance, but a personal mission to bust the drug syndicate in the city, which manifested, in him, through Prabhanjan's death. He also admits that Prabhanjan was his own biological son. Afterwards, Vikram along with his grandson, reaches the Chennai Port, where the containers are hidden. Sandhanam learns about the location of the containers and attacks Vikram. Vikram mows down Sandhanam's men with a cannon and DShK and kills Sandhanam, with the help of his team, but the remaining members of his Pilot Black squad, Agents Uppiliappan and Lawrence, are killed in the action whilst trying to protect Vikram's grandson. Amar mourns Gayathri's death and with the syndicate destroyed, he dons the grease paint to continue Vikram's mission, by joining his team, along with Bejoy.
In Sassoon Docks, Mumbai, Anbu and Adaikalam, along with the gangsters affiliated with Sandhanam, hold a meeting with their boss, Rolex. Adaikalam and Anbu reveal Dilli's involvement in the drug ambush, and Sandhanam's men reveal Vikram and Amar's involvement in destroying their drug syndicate. Rolex announces a huge sum as a reward for the execution of Amar, Dilli and Vikram's team. They also reveal the current location of Dilli, in Uttar Pradesh, and Vikram's family in San Francisco. However, unknown to Rolex and everybody else at the meeting, Vikram is hiding amongst the gangsters, and learns about the bounty placed on his team and Dilli.
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