Husband-wife director duo reveal why they cast Radhika in ‘Vikram Vedha’

The husband-wife director duo Pushkar-Gayathri, who helmed the recently released two-hero film “Vikram Vedha” starring Bollywood heavy-weights Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan in titular roles, has opened up on the reason behind casting actress Radhika Apte in the film. Elaborating on the same, the duo said in a joint statement, “We wanted someone with great acting chops to play the role of Priya. It required someone who can stand up to both Vikram (played by Saif) and Vedha (played by Hrithik). Radhika Apte seemed like the perfect fit for it. And our choice proved right. She was so real and brought gravitas to the character. The little nuances Radhika brought in enriched Priya.”

Radhika plays the role of a Vedha’s lawyer and Vikram’s wife in the film. The directors further mentioned, “When we met her for the first time, it was almost like meeting a long lost friend. She’s a thorough professional, always ready to do more than what was expected. It was an absolute pleasure to work with her.” “Vikram Vedha” is the official remake of the 2017 Tamil blockbuster of the same name which starred Vijay Sethupathi and R. Madhavan. The Tamil film too was directed by Pushkar-Gayathri.

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Meanwhile, at a time when only content from South India seems to be working at the box office, Bollywood has come up with a story in the form of “Vikram Vedha,” which has its roots in a Tamil hit film and a two-hero structure much like the earlier release of this year, “RRR,” which turned out to be a blockbuster. The film, which has two of Bollywood’s best-looking men — Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan — in titular roles, is a remake of the 2017 Tamil film of the same name, which saw Tamil cinema’s Makkal Selvan (‘national treasure’) Vijay Sethupathi and R. Madhavan in action.

The husband-wife director duo Pushkar-Gayathri, who helmed the original, has steered the Hindi version too, changing the backdrop to Kanpur and Lucknow. Saif plays the encounter specialist Vikram, who learns about the grey nature of humans and the vehicle for this epiphany is Hrithik’s character of Vedha. This is perhaps the first time that Hrithik plays a menacing gangster on screen, and boy, he does it with absolute finesse!

The actor, who has been mostly cast in urban roles, returns to the grunge and rustic dimensions with Vedha after his 2017 release “Super 30,” and seems to be owning the screen, be it in the high-speed shots or the rack focus from his gun-holding arm to his face in his intro. There are hardly any body shots of Hrithik flexing his muscles, yet he shoulders the film with his portrayal. If Hrithik’s Vedha is the simmering volcano waiting to unleash destruction, then Saif’s tough-as-nails cop Vikram is the tornado that acts as the counter force to Vedha. Radhika Apte reunites with her “Sacred Games” co-star Saif. She plays Vedha’s defence lawyer, who is at a cross-roads in her life along with her husband Vikram.

Indo-Asian News Service