Film Review 'Bigil': Strictly for Vijay fans

Unlike their previous projects, this film is an action-packed sports entertainer that talks about women empowerment and the upliftment of the downtrodden.

Though it has relatable theme, colourful visuals, peppy music and star power, the screenplay fails to engage the audience in crucial scenes and becomes too predictable.

The film begins with the introduction of Micheal Rayyappan, a violent youngster, who lives like a messiah of sorts for people in the north Madras. Within few minutes, we get to learnthat he is also a professional footballer, who had to abandon the sport due to a personal tragedy in the past.

While we are just gearing up to watch an engrossing sports drama, Atlee takes us into the life of Micheal’s father, Rayyappan, a don and a do-gooder. He is also shown as a doting father, who wants Micheal alias Bigil to become a National football player. He believes that only sports can uplift to the underprivileged and his son has to lead by example. However, violence shatters both their lives. Afteralmost seven years, situation forces his son, Micheal, to take up the role of a coach for a women’s football team, which was formed by his close-friend Kathir (Kathir).

This time, he gets an opportunity to help eleven underprivileged women to realise their dreams. Will he make it happen or fall prey to his father’srivalries? Though the plot gives ample space for a perfect sports thriller, theuneven sequences in the first half lets it down big time. We get to see a couple of fights to establish the machismo of both Micheal and Rayyappan and a couple of songs to establish the good-hearted nature of the heroes. Even the football sequences, which is supposed to be the USP of the film, looks unrealistic and fails to give us the feel of a high-budget film.

The second half is similar to Sasikumar’s recently released Kennedy Club, which was also a sports film that talks about women empowerment. Major drawback of the film is its duration. The director has taken a lot of time to narrate this familiar story. Love sequences between Micheal and his girl friend Angel (Nayanthara) is needless and doesn’t fit into the subject. However, everytime when the film seems to be sinking into the banality, Atlee manages to come up with mass moments, sentimental scenes and saves it. Rahman’s background score gives us some adrenaline rush — especially in the scenes where an acid-attack victim (Reba Monica John) walks into the ground for a match after living in the dark for years.

Finally, all credit goes to Thalapathy Vijay for elevating this ordinary script into an engaging one merely with his screen presence. He has pulled off both the characters with ease and has given many mass moments for his fans to rejoice. Overall, the film is a fairly entertaining sports drama that deserves a one-time watch.