2.5 / 5
Liger is said to be the Bollywood debut of South superstar Vijay Deverakonda. Does he really need it, since his dub films have been hugely successful on OTT? The film is unfortunately stuck in production hell, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, and one can see that the flaws really affected it. It doesn’t live up to the hype it generates. Vijay Deverakonda has a certain presence on screen and is definitely actionable; there has never been any dispute about that. And he went through an incredible physical transformation to look like a professional MMA fighter.
Liger (Vijay Deverakonda) is so called because his father, who was a martial artist, is called Lion Balaram. His mother, Balamani (Ramya Krishna), identifies herself as a tigress, so he is a cross between a lion and a tiger, hence Liger, get it? Balamani is definitely a tiger mother who wants her son to be bigger and better than his father. So she goes to Mumbai and asks a famous MMA coach, played by Ronit Roy, to take him as a student. Liger was so naturally gifted that he beat all of his master’s students on the first try. Both his coach and his mother, over and over and over, tell him to stay away from women, but it’s predictable that he has a crush on a spoiled rich girl, Tanya (Ananya Panday), an influential figure. influence on social networks. However, in a hilarious situation, she turns him down because he has a speech disorder. But wait, near the end it’s revealed that she’s just acting like she hates him, so he’s going to hate her and that hate will fuel his ambition to be the number one MMA fighter. . Talk about reverse psychology or something. Over time, Liger became the national champion, and then, thanks to a wealthy patron, they went to America to win the international championship. The patron’s daughter, who turns out to be Tanya, is kidnapped, so Liger is apparently going to the rescue. And behold, the person behind the kidnapping turns out to be Liger’s childhood hero, Mark Henderson (Mike Tyson), the undisputed former MMA heavyweight champion. At this point, things get so complicated that you really don’t care what will be served next.
The combat choreography is really excellent. Whether it’s fight scenes in the gym, in the ring or with Mike Tyson, every fight scene is intelligently created. Though it’s hard to understand how Vijay Deverakonda could defeat someone as big and solid as Mike Tyson. However, the action scenes are smooth and the best part of the movie. And Vijay Deverakonda worked hard to get his kicks, punches and fighting stances right. He looks like an MMA fighter. But even his strong, muscular shoulders weren’t enough to save this movie from faltering. Ramya Krishnan excels in her role of mother, Ronit Roy tries hard to guide Mr. Miyagi’s inner self, and Ananya Panday tries to be a great influencer but gets accomplished by badly written.
Overall, Liger is a case of missed opportunity. Vijay Deverakonda is a genuine star and can certainly hope for a better film than Liger to make his Bollywood debut. Even his infinite charm and dedication are not enough to elevate it.
Trailer: Liger
Neeshita Nyayapati, August 25, 2022, 10:00pm IST
2.0 / 5
Liger’s story: One bottle wala from Mumbai wants to make a big splash in MMA sport. But when he fell in love, his life took a turn.
Liger Review: Puri Jagannadh’s Liger There was so much hype surrounding it prior to its release, there were only two ways it could go away. Or will it become a big hit or tanks spectacularly. Seeing how the movie failed to deliver anything novel, other than Vijay Deverakonda’s new body, it’s not hard to guess how successful it was.
Liger (Vijay Deverakonda) was raised by a single mother Balamani (Ramya Krishnan) who wanted her son to become an MMA fighter, especially jeet kune, like his father. She takes him to Mumbai to train under a famous coach (Ronit Roy) in the hope that he will win the national championship. So this movie is a sports movie, right? No. Despite being asked to focus, Liger falls for a social media influencer named Tanya (Ananya Panday), who pursues him relentlessly after she witnesses him fight. The only problem? She is the sister of his arch-enemy Sanju (Vishu). So this is the love story of a rich girl and a poor boy, right? No. Then there’s Mark Anderson (Mike Tyson), Liger’s childhood hero who is brought to the screen in the most bizarre way. So this is heartless commercial cinema, right? Well, unfortunately it’s not a very good one.
Puri has never been very logical but he makes his characters look… ‘stupid’, as Mike calls Liger in one scene, you can’t help but wonder why smarter writing isn’t included. family. Despite being a fighter’s sister, Tanya calls Liger ‘Chinese’ for fighting the way he does, calls his martial form ‘kung fu’ and is surprised to see him kick Grounding. Do we believe she never saw her brother fight in the ring or even knew what martial arts he practiced? Balamani warns his son to stay away’deyyalu‘(evil), classifying women as beautiful seducers would ruin his life. The way these scenes are written makes your heart ache. While it’s good that Puri tries not to be naughty (a bit petty), as he usually does, he couldn’t help but spoil a well choreographed fight scene involving women and a film Ananya and her friends with cryptic dialogues. Also, why would a professional MMA fighter be surprised that women can krav maga in 2022?
The lack of logic aside, Liger leaves no mark because there is simply no innovation in writing. The movie follows the usual stereotype of a sports movie, mixed with commercial cinema – that’s fine, but it’s not well done. Sunil Kashyap’s background and Vishnu Sharma’s camera work are stylish, but that doesn’t hold your interest for long either. Vijay dancing her heart in Akdi Pakdi and Coke 2.0 but the songs are a fit in a story like this. The rest of the songs, especially the problematic one Aafat was a miss, so were some of the fight scenes. Even the Liger’s stutter is used as a convenient plot device.
Coming to the only good part about this movie – Vijay Deverakonda. His dialogues, especially since he stutters, may be a hit-and-miss but the actor certainly brings sincerity to his role. Liger, his character, is very toned. The way the coach and his mother (the latter more often than the former) give lengthy speeches, you wonder if the character will undergo any maturity, which never happens. Even though it’s a bottle wala from Mumbai, the convenient door opened for him when needed, making his ‘struggle’ less of an issue. And despite all that, Vijay doesn’t just look fit and handsome; he makes you want to root for the character. It’s sad that the material doesn’t allow you to do that.
Ramya Krishnan was cast as the supportive mother, but she screams a lot. Ananya Panday looks cute but clearly has a lot to improve on in terms of acting. Getup Srinu is hilarious in some scenes, despite the silly dialogue assigned to him. Ali, Ronit Roy, Vishu and the rest of the cast are fine. Mike Tyson’s over-hyped cameo was a disappointment but there’s a very meta ear-biting scene written in it for fans. No one bought that ending though.
It’s ironic that Liger is asked to focus several times in the film, but the script itself lacks the same focus. Things just keep going without rhyme or reason and Puri doesn’t come to a satisfactory conclusion to any of the songs. Vijay deserves better, so do we. As the filmmakers promised, DIY watt lagaonebut it is not a good method.
