A Ghost and a prisoner - One-stop shop for all things that might connect Kaithi and Vikram

Move along MCU, we have our very own LCU... It is Lokesh Cinematic Universe for the uninitiated. After weeks of fan theories doing the rounds that Lokesh Kanagaraj's upcoming film, Vikram, and his sophomore film, Kaithi, are from the same universe, the director took to social media to confirm this. In an emotional statement about his journey with Kamal Haasan and Vikram, Lokesh also asked the audience to brush up on their Kaithi trivia before stepping in to watch the much-awaited Vikram, which also stars Fahadh Faasil, Suriya, and Vijay Sethupathi.

With just hours to go for the release of Vikram, backed by Kamal Haasan's Raajkamal Films International, here are some possible threads that tie Vikram and Kaithi together. And don't worry, we do have THAT Biriyani shot on the list.

1. O Brother, Where art thou?

Right from the time we meet Anbu (Arjun Das) in Kaithi, there is an allusion to an "anna". Who is this brother that even Anbu is afraid of? What is this brother's calibre that makes a menacing villain like Anbu seem like a petty henchman? We are told that this brother is the person called Adaikkalam. The second half is all about Anbu making his way into the police station to retrieve Adaikkalam... his annan. But again... what if Adaikkalam and the anna are two different people? We are told Adaikkalam is played by Harish Uthaman, and we know that Suriya is playing a cameo in Vikram.

What if... I mean, what if, Adaikkalam and anna are not two different people, and even if they are, it is Suriya who is one of them and is the baddest of them all?

And if any of this is remotely true... will Kaithi 2 or Vikram 3 have real-life brothers Karthi and Suriya slug it out in LCU?

2. Shelter Island

One of the biggest questions in Kaithi was... Who is Adaikkalam? In fact, it is only in the final act that we are shown Harish Uthaman to be the big fish caught in a different net. However, let's jog a bit down memory lane, and play the game of "Connect the dots".

Early in Kaithi, Bejoy (Narain) talks to the undercover cop Ajaz Ahmed (Kanna Ravi) over the phone just after the drug bust. The latter wants to bail out of the company of the deadly gangsters he is surrounded by, expressing his fear about being exposed. Bejoy convinces Ajaz that none of them, including Ajaz himself, has a clue about the identity of Adaikkalam, the leader of the mob and the primary target of the drug bust.

It is, however, later revealed that Adaikalam (played by Harish Uthaman) was arrested by a different set of cops along with his gang of men and is confined in the police station.

Here's the catch: it goes back to the fact that none of the cops, including Ajaz, knows how Adaikkalam looks.

So we go back to point No 1... Is it time to officially say that it will be Lokesh who brings the two brothers together?

3. Who you gonna call... Ghostbusters!

The first tagline for Vikram was... Once Upon a Time, there lived a Ghost. Many of us assumed it was about the original Vikram, who might have taken a sabbatical from active spy duty, and is expected to make a return for this film. While this assumption still holds merit, what makes it more interesting is a passing statement in Kaithi.

When Bejoy (Narain) calls up Ajaz/Sampath (Kanna Ravi), the mole in Anbu's gang, the former asks him whether he knows about a certain "ghost". Ajaz's bewilderment notwithstanding, this statement sure seems to hold a lot of weight in Vikram. What if THAT ghost is THIS ghost. And to make it even more confusing, what if Suriya is the ghost... or what if he isn't the bad guy at all... Since it is all conjecture for now, why not push the boundaries, eh?

4. The Scorpion King

The first murmurs about a possible LCU were made when the trailer of Vikram released, and we saw Vijay Sethupathi's Santhanam talking about his stash when someone walks away with a sack of drugs that had a scorpion logo displayed prominently. We saw a similar logo in Kaithi when Anbu talks about the drugs that need to be transported. Now, we know Anbu got the drugs from somewhere. What if he got it from Santhanam? This also gives us a vague idea about the timeline. Is Vikram the prequel to Kaithi?

5. The multiverse of the Departed

While the characters in Kaithi were very binary, it is clear that Vikram will have roles that are in multiple shades of grey. We now know that the characters of Narain, Arjun Das, and Harish Uthaman make their way back into the film, and with visuals of Narain being arrested by Fahadh Faasil's Amar, we are put into more confusion regarding the intent of each of these characters. Was Narain an undercover cop? Is Fahadh, who is all masked up in the trailer, an undercover cop too? Or is he a criminal in khaki clothing? Meanwhile, in that Vikram glance, we saw Kamal Haasan bailing out Narain, Kalidas Jayaram, and a bunch of others from an underground prison. What got them there? And is that the moment where the world of Kamal Haasan and Adaikkalam collide?

6. Ten Years, a Prisoner

With the frame of the last walk of Dilli, along with his daughter, on the highway, Lokesh promised a sequel to Kaithi. But what is more intriguing about Dilli's character is his statement about being in prison for ten years. The question of "Why were you in jail" is met with half a smile and a convoluted answer from the guy. So what kept him away from the gangs for ten years, and more importantly, where does he fit into the world of Vikram? Anyhoo... the seeds are sown for the Kaithi sequel, and it is clear we will get more answers in a few hours.
   
7. Bucket (Biriyani) List

There is Kaithi. Kaithi has Karthi. Karthi has biriyani. Incidentally, he also acted in Biriyani. Nevertheless, there is Vikram. Vikram has Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil, Suriya, and Vijay Sethupathi. And most importantly, Vikram has shots of Biriyani. If there is biriyani there has to be a Dilli somewhere, and if there is Dilli, then there is the Kaithi connect in Vikram. Life is simple. Keep Calm and Have Biriyani. Vikram day is upon us. 

 
8. AAA (Amar Anbu Ajaz)

Where does Fahadh Faasil's Amar fit into all of this... IF... I mean, if Vikram is indeed the prequel to Kaithi, then Ajaz might still be alive, and very much embedded in the Anbu gang. And considering how Team Vikram announced that each of the leads has a team of their own. At that event, we saw Santhanam's team, Kamal Haasan's team, and Amar's team... What if there is another team? What if there is Anbu with his gang in the waiting? What if there is Adaikkalam himself keeping a very low profile?

At the end of the day, even if Kaithi and Vikram are cut from the same cloth, or even if they aren't, it is clear that Vikram made us think... a lot!

But yeah... Will all of these theories and assumptions be part of LCU and Vikram?  

Well... As Kamal Haasan once said... "Irundha, nalla irukkum"