IRU MUGAN Trailer: Vikram Is a Dead Serious Friend and Delightfully Daft Foe
The monomymic Vikram is one of my favorite Indian actors. He has, over the course of 25 years, created an amazing body of work that is unlike anything else I can think of. He divides his time between mainstream masala performances, smaller more serious projects, and balls-out weirdo performances in a manner that demands respect.
His latest film coming to cinema screens, Iru Mugan, appears to fall into the balls-out weirdo category.Over the last 15 years he has starred in big budget blockbusters as a multiple-personality disordered Jheri-curled vigilante in Anniyan, a chicken-suited superhero in Kanthaswamy, a mentally disabled father fighting to gain custody of his daughter in Deiva Thirumagal, and a bodybuilder cum hunchbacked avenger in I.
There isn't much in the way of plot synopsis floating out in the ether at the moment, but the basics are pretty easy to glean from the trailer. Vikram plays a double role in Iru Mugan, as both friend and foe, or, in the words of his villainous alter ego, "Raja" and "Rani" (King and Queen). The second meaning of this turn of phrase to close out the trailer is obvious as we inspect his villain who sports distinctly feminine traits, which is a bit off-putting to say the least.
The film appears to show the villain perpetrating a biological chemical attack on Kuala Lumpur, the second such major Tamil film of 2016 to take place in Malaysia after Rajinikanth's Kabali, which is to be foiled - fingers crossed - by Vikram's heroic character. Apart from Vikram, who always gives his all, especially with the most insane of characters, we also get peaks at big-time Indian film heavy Nassar and Nithya Menen, who recently made a big splash with her amazing performance in Mani Ratnam's O Kadal Kanmani. These are both very capable actors, but they are exceptionally likely to be overshadowed by Vikram's intense on-screen charisma.
There has been talk in India questioning Vikram's performance as the villain as being a bit too "camp" solely based upon the trailer footage, but it's difficult to come to a final decision without seeing the film. His last major project, Shankar's I from 2015, featured a somewhat problematic portrayal of a transgendered stylist that rubbed me the wrong way and made for quite a bit of conversation about tolerance in the film's wake. From what I know of Vikram, I expect this will inspire similar talk as he is not one to back down from bombastic performances.
All that being said, this looks like 3 tons of fun in a 2 ton bag and I am all in. Vikram has done similar roles before, most recently as an agent working to prevent a terrorist attack on London in the atrociously boring Thaandavam. However, I think a big part of that film's failure had to do with the fact that it took itself far too seriously. Iru Mugan looks a lot less dire in its execution and I can't wait to see how it turns out.
Iru Mugan is scheduled to hit cinema screens worldwide on September 7.
