Vikram Vedha, which hit theatres on September 30, is a Hindi-language remake of the 2017 Tamil movie of the same name. It tells the story of a cop and gangster chase, where both realize that a bigger game than their battle of wills is afoot. The latest release shares some plot similarities with the original, including the antagonist having a younger brother. 

In the Hindi movie, Hrithik Roshan plays Vedha and the character’s younger brother is Shatak, played by Rohit Saraf. The original saw Kathir as Vignesh or Pulli, Vedha’s sibling. 

Shatak, a smart boy who is serious about his studies, gets his moniker from the fact that he scored a hundred out of a possible hundred on a mathematics test. The Tamil movie also extols Pulli’s mathematical skills. 

Also Read | Vikram Vedha movie ending explained

The character serves as a moral compass for Vedha who is determined to keep his brother away from a life of crime. When we first meet Shatak, he is part of a group of kids being recruited to distribute drugs. Vedha puts an end to the association and warns Shatak not to become involved in this life if he wished to do great things and help those in need. Shatak, whose idol is Indian television superhero Shaktimaan, readily agrees. However, while Vedha is away in Lucknow on business, Shatak is approached to distribute drugs. He refuses but his friend, Chanda, agrees. She and Shatak take the consignment but find themselves surrounded by cops, who are conducting a raid. When the two eventually get caught, Chanda tries to protect the gang member, but Shatak rats on him, to save her from getting roughed up by the cops. As a result, he is scarred for life as a kebab skewer is driven into his hand. 

An enraged Vedha claims the life of the man who issued the order against his brother, showing the extent to which the gangster would go to protect his family. This becomes important, to understand his motivations later in the movie. 

Shatak survives the brush with a criminal life and eventually goes on to use Vedha’s money to help local entrepreneurs realize their dreams. He calls it “small loans, big smiles”, and shows Vedha there is a way to go legit and lead a white-collar life, by investing the ill-gotten money in legitimate businesses, so the returns on the loan, as well as the principal, become legal earnings. However, Vedha’s boss gets to know of this venture and gives Shatak his own money as seed capital.

This involves Shatak more heavily in Vedha’s world, as he begins to associate with his elder brother’s gang members. Things take a turn for the worse when Vedha’s boss’ money is stolen, and the thief turns out to be Chanda. The gangster’s boss seeks revenge, but Vedha chooses family, sending both Shatak and Chanda away to Mumbai – which leads to a gang war between him and his boss.

Also Read | Vikram Vedha: Story of Vikram Betaal explained

As a result of the war, Chanda is kidnapped, and Shatak tries to enlist Vedha’s help in retrieving her. At this time, the gangster is forced underground by the Uttar Pradesh police special task force. Shatak, therefore, turns to Vedha’s gang members, and is at one of their hideouts, when the cops raid the place and Vikram shoots the unarmed boy, before staging the crime scene to make it look like Shatak fired first. 

In a movie full of morally iffy characters, there is an innocence to Shatak who is Vedha’s chance of redemption. When that hope dies, the gangster embraces the darkness in his world to seek justice for his younger brother.