Liger Review: This sports drama is utter rubbish in the name of entertainment
Liger Movie Rating: 1.5 Stars
Finally watched Liger movie in Hindi on Disney Plus Hotstar. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: Vijay Deverakonda, Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishnan, Ronit Boseroy, Mike Tyson, Chunky Panday and Makrand Deshpande
Director: Puri Jagannadh
Release Date: 25th August 2022 in Cinemas & Digital premiere on Disney Plus Hotstar from 21st October 2022
Story: It revolves around Liger (Vijay Deverakonda) who comes with his mother (Ramya Krishnan) to Bombay from Banaras with a mission. Liger wants to be a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) champion. His late father’s dream of being an MMA champ could not be fulfilled as he had had a premature death.
Liger is trained by the best MMA trainer Christopher (Ronit Roy) and has an edge because he is an exceptional fighter. His mother constantly reminds him to remain focused, and towards that end, to never get attracted to any girl. But as luck would have it, Liger falls in love with Tanya (Ananya Panday) who woos him like a lady obsessed with him. This, in spite of the fact that he stammers while talking.
However, there comes a stage when the love story of Liger and Tanya comes to an end. Obviously, Liger is crestfallen. Anyway, it’s now time for the national and then the international MMA championship. Does Liger realize his dream of being the world champion? What happens to Liger and Tanya’s love story?
Positives
1. Excellent Performances
2. Cinematography
3. Screenplay
Negatives
1. Music
2. Climax
3. 2nd half
4. Direction
5. Story
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie on OTT because trailer looks just good for me so skipped theatrical watch.
Story revolves around Liger’s only aim is to become a national MMA champion. He and his mom land in Mumbai to pursue their dream. Liger gets trained in MMA but the twist in the tale arises when he gets cheated on by a rich girl Tanya. The rest of the story is about how a heartbroken Liger gets back in form and wins the international MMA championship.
A routine story which has a great amount of action, a fair amount of romance and some light moments and drama. His screenplay in the first half is quite good but the post-interval portion does not have the excitement or thrill of the first half despite being filled with the championship fights. While some light moments definitely evoke laughter/smiles, emotions are not too impactful or effective. This is probably because the character of Liger does not come across as being too vulnerable, emotionally or even otherwise. The climax is a big letdown. Putting lack of logic aside, Liger fails to leave a mark because there’s simply no innovativeness in the way it’s written. The film follows the usual template of a sports drama, mixed with commercial cinema which is fine, but it just isn’t done well.
Coming to the only good part about this film is Vijay Deverakonda. His dialogues especially because he stammers might be a hit-and-miss, but the actor sure brings sincerity to his role. Performances from supporting cast is also very good. But Mike Tyson’s much-hyped cameo is a let-down but there’s a very meta ear biting scene written in there for fans. No one buys that ending though. Overall, a missed opportunity. Vijay is a genuine star and certainly could have hoped for a better film than Liger to be his Bollywood debut. Even his infinite charm and dedication aren’t enough to uplift it. My view on this movie Not Recommended.
For more Bollywood and Cricket updates visit my page on Facebook Durgesh Tiwary’s View and website Cricket Movie Website