Film

Vikram Vedha

Name: Vikram Vedha
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Released: 2022
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Radhika Apte, Rohit Saraf, Yogita Bihani

Other titles called Vikram Vedha: the 2017 film.

A slick Hindi-language crime thriller about a righteous cop and a charismatic gangster locked in philosophical combat. Vikram Vedha is smart enough to know its morality isn't simple, stylish enough to make the violence sing, and grounded enough that the ideology matters. It's for people who want their action films to think.

TMDb rating

3.4

If you liked this

Raid2018

Ajay Devgn hunts corruption through a nocturnal tax raid with surgical precision. Like Vikram Vedha, it's a taut procedural wrapped around questions of what justice actually means, and the tension comes from competence colliding with systems.

But It's deliberately paced and cerebral rather than bombastic. If you want constant movement and spectacle, it can feel slow.

Khosla Ka Ghosla!2006

A middle-class Delhi family takes on a property thief with cunning instead of violence. It shares Vikram Vedha's interest in how ordinary people outthink their enemies, and the same pleasure in narrative turns and moral complexity without preaching.

But It's a comedy-drama with barely any action, so the genre will feel completely different despite the thematic kinship.

Gulaal2009

A young man gets pulled into campus politics and finds himself in moral quicksand. Director Anurag Kashyap crafts the same atmosphere of blurred lines and philosophical violence—people talking their way toward destruction as much as fighting.

But It's deliberately difficult and fractured. The narrative witholds clarity, which mirrors its themes but can feel frustrating if you want straightforward storytelling.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Vikram Vedha

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Man Between1953

Both films believe that the best thrillers aren't about violence but about the moment someone realizes their moral certainty was always fragile. Both use an antagonist who talks as much as acts.

A tense Cold War thriller where a good man is forced to choose between two sides, each claiming righteousness. Carol Reed's masterpiece predates Vikram Vedha by seventy years but hits the exact same note: philosophy as thriller, ideology as plot.

But It's a 1953 British film in black and white. If you want colour, scale, and contemporary India, this will feel like a complete detour.

Jail2009

Neil Nitin Mukesh plays an innocent man in prison, sparring verbally and philosophically with a cop. It's a chamber piece about power and justification—two intelligent opponents testing each other's ethics in close quarters, like Vikram Vedha at half speed.

But The budget is small and the scope is constrained. After Vikram Vedha's scale, the limitations might feel claustrophobic in the wrong way.

Mulk2018

Rishi Kapoor fights a legal battle over his family's honour in a post-9/11 world. It's interested in how institutional power works against individuals and whether the system can be fair—the same moral questions, asked through courtrooms instead of streets.

But It's a legal thriller, which means it's structured around exposition and argument rather than action and intrigue. Patience required.

Rang De Basanti2006

Young idealists turn radical after the system fails them. Like Vikram Vedha, it's obsessed with what makes someone righteous, what corrupts, and whether violence can ever be justified—but it asks those questions on a national scale.

But It's a three-hour Bollywood film with a young ensemble cast, songs, and sprawling ambition. If you want lean and focused, this isn't it.

Drishyam2015

A common man outwits the police through planning and nerve. It has Vikram Vedha's pleasure in tactical thinking and cat-and-mouse games, plus the same moral murkiness—you find yourself rooting for someone doing something wrong.

But The twist is well-known now if you move in circles that discuss Hindi thrillers. Knowing the ending might drain some of its power.

NH102015

A couple on a highway stumbles into violence and must become brutal to survive. It's grittier and meaner than Vikram Vedha, but shares the interest in how circumstances strip away someone's moral self-image and what they're willing to become.

But It's violent and bleak in a way that doesn't offer much release or catharsis. The tone is relentlessly grim.

Minari2021

Both ask: what does it mean to be righteous when the world is structured to make righteousness a luxury? Both suggest that good people can cause harm, and that harm often comes from people doing their best.

An immigrant family pursues their dream in rural Arkansas and discovers how systems are rigged. It's quieter than Vikram Vedha but operates on the same engine: showing how good people rationalize hard choices, how survival and morality collide.

But It's intimate and reflective rather than propulsive. The conflict is internal and systemic, not between characters face-to-face. The pace is slow and the violence is structural, not physical.

The Serpent2021

Both are built around charismatic performances from men who talk their way through moral labyrinths. Both understand that the most interesting criminals are ones who know exactly what they're doing. Both suggest that righteousness and corruption are closer siblings than we'd like.

A miniseries about a career con man and the detective pursuing him across continents and decades. It's fascinated by how charm and intelligence can serve corruption, how seduction works, and whether the hunter and hunted ever really differ. Hypnotic.

But It's eight episodes, so commitment is high. The character is repellent in ways Vikram Vedha isn't required to be. Some will find the aesthetic (slick, detached) comes at the cost of emotional grounding.