Rating: 3 out of 5
Bigil: Whistle worthy
STORY:
Rayappan (Vijay) is a do-gooder don in a downtrodden locality. He wants people in the area to come up in life with the help of sports. And he hopes that his ambition would be fulfilled by his son Bigil aka Michael (Vijay).
For, Bigil is a talented football player who is admired by one and all. But, a big tragedy results in Bigil ending up becoming a don much like his dad.
In the meantime, there is a women’s football team and it is coached by Michael’s friend Kathir (Kathir). The team is comprised of girls from mutliple backgrounds and they are filled with passion to achieve big.
However, some influential forces play spoilsport in their ambitions and Kathir gets grievously injured before a crucial match. The dreams of the team are about to shatter.
But all hopes are not lost, as Michael once again becomes Bigil and starts training the team. How he makes them win against all odds is the rest of the story.
ANALYSIS:
Bigil is a different story from Vijay’s stable. The actor, who hitherto focussed mainly on mass scripts, has this time attempted to strike a fine balance between commercial and content.
He has shown enough differences between the three shades- Michael, Rayappan and Bigil. Especially, Vijay has for the first time played a character liked Rayappan and he has taken pains to get the act right- from voice to looks. And as coach, he is a delight to watch.
Nayanthara plays Angel, who is there to support to the mission of the protagonist. The girls of the team, including Indhuja, Varsha, Reba, Amrita, Indraja etc, have done well in limited scope.
Both villains- Jackie Shroff and Daniel Balaji- have not been utilised much. Music is by A R Rahman, especially the background score, is great.
Production values of Bigil are of top notch. G K Vishnu’s cinematography and Muthuraj’s art direction are pillars of support.
Atlee, who is clearly inspired by many other films, focuses more on establishing characters throughout the first half. But he compensates for the lag in the second half by presenting it in an engaging manner. He has brought out the mass mannerisms and acting performance of Vijay.
The film runs for almost three hours and definitely needs some trimming. Especially, we get to see many football matches and a few of them can be done away with. Bigil is a complete treat for Vijay fans and a watchable entertainer for others.
