Vikramadithyan


Vikramadithyan is a 2014 Malayalam comedy-drama film co-produced and directed by Lal Jose. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Unni Mukundan and Namitha Pramod in the lead roles, along with a cameo appearance of Nivin Pauly. The screenplay is by Iqbal Kuttippuram, while Jomon T. John handles the cinematography. The music is composed by Bijibal. The film was released on 25 July 2014 and was a commercial success.

Plot

Kunjunni Menon, a witty thief, loves Lakshmi, a police constable. While following her one day, he finds out that she wishes to marry a policeman. Vasudeva Shenoy, Laksmi's colleague expresses his desire to marry her, despite his mother's objections.
Kunjunni poses as a police constable and manages to marry Lakshmi before Shenoy can convince his mother. Shenoy then gets married and both the couples are blessed with baby boys on the same day.
In the present, Shenoy's son Vikram has become an SI and proposes to his childhood friend Deepika a week before joining. Lakshmi's son Adithyan, who has been missing for a few years, returns to town at the same time. The story then proceeds into a series of flashbacks.
Lakshmi finds out that Kunjunni had cheated her but they pretend to have an amicable marriage. A young Adithyan however, still believes his father to be a policeman. He and Vikram become rivals in school and start competing with each other, wagering that the loser should salute the winner, a habit they then carry into adulthood. Adithyan always ends up losing. One day Kunjunni is caught red-handed by Shenoy and his team while attempting a theft and is paraded half-naked through the street. A distraught Adithyan and friends watch the scene. Unable to face his son and berated by Lakshmi, Kunjunni commits suicide.
Vikram grows up into a hard-working young man while Adithyan becomes quite lazy and does petty illegal activities to gain some pocket money. Adithyan and Deepika fall in love while Deepika and Vikram remain close friends. Once the duo passes their degrees, both decide to apply for the SI selection test. Though the two share a healthy rivalry, Shenoy is spiteful towards Adithyan. Adithyan outranks Vikram in the preliminary round which irritates Shenoy. Vikram however, acknowledges Adithyan's superior intellect displaying his deep respect for his rival. Shenoy is able to trap Adithyan in a narcotics case and desperate to put him behind bars, he guards the evidence personally. But Adithyan is saved when Vikram secretly swaps the evidence with Lactose powder and Adithyan expresses his gratitude, revealing that the respect they hold is mutual. In a final attempt, Shenoy convinces Lakshmi that he was the one who swapped in evidence and asks her for a favor in return. Lakshmi hides the interview memo Adithyan was to receive and only Vikram's name appears on the final rank list. A heartbroken Adithyan blames Lakshmi for Kunjunni's death and claims that she could have changed him had she tried. Adithyan disappears that night.
In the present, the police station is holding a small function to commemorate Shenoy's retirement and Vikram taking charge on the same day. Among the notable guests, new sub-collector Lokesh joins as a surprise to wish the father-son duo. Lokesh later reveals that he and Adithyan are friends and the story proceeds to one final flashback.
On a train journey to Delhi, Lokesh unwittingly stops Adithyan from committing suicide. The two later become close friends and roommates. On Lokesh's insistence, Adithyan prepares for the UPSC exams while doing odds jobs in between. Both of them clear the exam together and Lokesh further reveals that Adithyan is now an ACP, Shenoy's superior. Shenoy is forced to accept defeat and salute Adithyan. Satisfied with his revenge, he decides not to tell Vikram.
Vikram manages to find out and salutes Adithyan publicly. The two embrace and acknowledge their friendship. Vikram asks Adithyan to accept Deepika and reveals that his next goal will be to catch up with Adithyan.

Cast

Critical reception

The film was enriched with huge cast.Dalton L of Deccan Chronicle rated the film 3 in a scale of 5 and concluded his review saying: "Lal Jose’s nonlinear romantic love triangle may be somewhat idealistic in nature. However, it’s a compelling entertainer that extols the virtues of education, work, perseverance, and the struggle for goodness; and inspires one to compete with nothing but the highest order." P. Sanalkumar of Kerala Kaumudi called the film's script "weak" and was critical about the film's cinematography and acting by Anoop Menon. He concluded the review saying that the film is reserved only for those who are "meek and lowly in spirit".
Nicy V.P of IB Times praised the script and called the film a perfect, well crafted flick for Eid and rated the film 4/5.

Box office

The film was commercial success. The film collected 34,767 from UK box office. The film was a superhit at the box office collecting around 15 crores at the Kerala Box Office Alone.

Soundtrack

Awards

; 2014 Kerala State Film Awards