Vikramadithyan

Lal Jose's 2014 Malayalam film tells in parallel the lives of two boys, one the son of a policeman and the other the son of a thief. Vikraman and Adithyan have been rivals since childhood; their families' identities assign them roles from the start, and both try to get outside them. The film asks how determining the labels people are born with really are. The contrast between Dulquer Salmaan and Unni Mukundan is well built, and the story never definitively vindicates one of them. Lal Jose's work belongs to the character-driven vein of the Malayalam mainstream in this period. Its weakness is a romance that stretches the story without adding to it, and a final section tied off too neatly. Who it's for: viewers who like Malayalam cinema and character drama built on rivalry. Who it's not for: anyone bothered by how predictable the emotional resolution is, or who will find a runtime near two and a half hours excessive.