Bigil Review: A goal to celebrate!

Bigil (2019) is a film by Atlee with Vijay and Nayanthara. There are spoilers in this review.

Since Day 1 of promotions, Atlee has been telling us it’s “dedicated to women”. Let’s be honest. Today everyone wants to join the “feminism” bandwagon regardless of whether they believe in it or not. I loved Raja Rani, the first half of Theri (before Sam died, Vijay & Amy Jackson got atrocious wigs) and 15 minutes of the flashback in Mersal so I decided to give this a watch.

The first half felt a little too long. Do you know what takes the cake? The scene that Michael aka Bigil (played by Vijay) asks Angel (played by Nayanthara) out. I was like, “Kuch bhi?” I’m waiting for the right opportunity to destroy someone’s trophy and ask them out in the name of repairing it? At least in 24, Surya kept rewinding time (in the pretext of repairing Sam’s watch) to woo her. Here Michael was like, “While I wait for my trophy, shall we date?” And dear Angel, living up to her name, says Yes. What really disappointed me was when a song as beautiful as Unakaaga was used for this 2 minute romance. I was all ready to invest in a romantic track with Vijay & Nayanthara just like the good ol’Days.

But then I felt like Atlee was singing this in my head,

“Are you crazy, you useless illiterate goon. Do you have a brain. How dare you. I will kill you”

The UK censor board cut almost all the fight scenes so it kind of spoilt the experience for me even though I dislike fight scenes. I didn’t get to see how Rayappan died and the lead up to the Singapenney song.

One of my favourite parts of the first half were the scenes where Angel almost gets married. Atlee‘s films are fraught with intertextualities & as a film buff you’ll have a blast noticing the little references. The wedding scenes where Angel’s fiancé, John begins with “John aagiya naan”, you can‘t help but to notice the reference to the Nayanthara-Aarya starrer Raja Rani by Atlee.

Right after the interval, the movie got better. I would not want to comment on the Football scenes because my knowledge of Football is limited to playing it 8 years ago on my PSP and my Brother forcing random football facts down my throat. They looked fine to me but the VFX was a little jarring at some portions.

One of the saving graces of Bigil and what pulled it over from a mansplaining extravaganza to a sincere film for women was Angel’s role in the film. Contrary to the blink and miss apperances the ladies had in Mersal, Angel was actually useful! She had a purpose of being with Bigil during the matches. However, what seemed like subtle masterstrokes for me were the scenes that Bigil kept mum for a bit and Angel spoke.

The scene where Angel tactfully speaks to Gayatri’s Husband to allow her to play even after marriage. The way she asks Bigil to stfu by placing her hand over his. For a film “dedicated to women”, Atlee did the right thing to let the WOMAN SPEAK FOR A WOMAN. If Bigil spoke the same lines that Angel did at Gayatri’s house, it would’ve honestly not resonated with me.

Gayatri’s role was crucial to point out another challenge that women face today. When she confides in Angel and tells her that she’s pregnant, we see Angel telling her having children is not an end to one’s dreams. Gayatri goes on to tell that she doesn’t want her coach, Bigil, to know that she‘s pregnant. Very often, in the name of feminism, women today are under some kind of pressure to prove that they are strong.

Do this & prove that you’re a strong woman.

Do this & be the first woman to do so.

However, we need to understand that there’s a limit to everything. She needs to know that she doesn’t HAVE to do this because she a woman. She has a choice because she’s a HUMAN first. I was really glad that Angel told Bigil and then they decided to not let Gayatri play.

Imagine if Atlee decided to have Gayatri confide in Bigil and then Bigil says, “Okay so you don’t get to play.”

These are the little masterstrokes.

There were a quite a few tear jerkers in the film. The first is when Gayatri’s Grandmother presents her with a pair of boots when she returns to her match. The feeling of seeing a woman support a woman is something out of this world...I know it shouldn’t be but it is. To know that someone who knows what you go through and has been in your shoes before stands beside you...that power is honestly irreplaceable.

Another scene that left me in tears, which I didn’t expect it would especially after I didn’t cry during Uyare, was the scene that Anitha gets attacked.

I’ve heard boys say that a girl gets molested because she asked for it (aka smiled and talked to a man) but at the same time somewhere else in the world girls get acid thrown at their faces because they reject men & say no. So what are we supposed to do? Walk around with a metal helmet everytime we talk to men? The 24/7 fear that a woman goes through while walking the streets of Singapore, India, UK, US, Malaysia etc. is real. While the degree varies, it is very much present.

One scene that definitely disturbed me in the 2nd half was the scene that Bigil calls his student a “fatso” a billion times in order to “spur them on”? I’m still trying to see how that works out. I mean this isn’t just a ”girl thing”...I don’t think anyone feels inspired after being called a fatso. Trust me.

Lastly, I would like to say that there were some cute moments between Angel & Bigil. Especially that scene where they have a dance off & it brings back memories of the good’ol Kodambakkam Area days. I’m grateful that Atlee did this film and that too tactfully. Here’s to Vijay, Nayanthara - who saved the day and Singapengal who don’t want the Aan Inam to pray to them but just respect them as human beings ;)