Whistle Movie Review
Tamil Superstar Vijay’s latest film Bigil is a sports drama laced with commercial elements. Atlee played to Vijay’s strengths and completely made it into a fanfare like his previous two outings with Ilayatalapathy.
What is it about?
Bigil (Vijay) is a talented football player who turns into a Rowdy after his father Rajappa’s (Vijay) death. He takes up the responsibility as women’s football team coach and makes them National Champions.
Performances:
Vijay does his usual stuff that will appeal to his fans. His mannerisms, performance and style are not something that strike a chord with Telugu masses though. Nayanthara is okay within her space. Jackie Shroff is a usual corporate villain and Yogi Babu’s jokes are good here and there. Most of the Female football players didn’t look the part.
Technicalities:
Atlee concentrated only on elevating Vijay’s character and creating fan-friendly moments. Football is just used as the backdrop for emotional quotient. There is a strong message about Women Empowerment. Technically the film is slick with grand visuals. Cinematography is excellent. Rahman’s background score is fine. Editing is not upto the mark. The film needs a lot of trimming.
Thumbs Up:
Vijay
Commercial Elements
Thumbs Down:
Routine Screenplay
Lengthy runtime
Regular Twists
Analysis:
Whistle is a routine commercial film with regular twists and turns. It has football game as its backdrop, which is used to elevate hero’s character to woo his fans and the masses. The father-son drama is reminiscent of Kshatriya Putrudu and the women football scenes are lifted from Chak De India. Hockey has been replaced by football, but everything remains the same.
First half is very predictable as the narrative is very flat without any surprises. There are three lengthy introduction scenes fot the hero. And the romantic track between Vijay and Nayan is a damp squib. There is no space for female lead but it is there just to be there. Everything is predictable until the intermission with a couple of action scenes targeted at Vijay fans. Second half also is predictable but a lot better as there is a bit of content as well as emotional connect.
Football games are shot well but are laughable without any excitement. The emotional aspect goes overboard as the director tries to squeeze in every problem faced by the women. None of those scenes are effective but serve commercial purpose. Whistle is a pure commercial film that lacks novelty. It will appeal to the masses who look for action scenes and regular masala moments. It may seem better if you are a fan of Vijay.
Verdict: Only for Vijay Fans
