From undergoing training sessions to being on a strict diet, Vijay has apparently given his best for playing Michael, the footballer. Read on..,

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Thalapathy Vijay 's Bigil: 20 frames that show the actor nailing the footballer avatar in the Atlee-directorial

Team CE

Updated:14th Oct, 2019 at 4:08 PM

The trailer, firstly, puts an end to the long-drawn discussion over the number of roles played by Vijay, thereby confirming that the film is the story of a footballer son and his gangster father.

The footballer character is named Michael, as reports had earlier indicated.

Michael - the football player - also gets a cracker of a introduction in the trailer, with the camera arching over Vijay as he points towards the crowd.

Watching Vijay in this scene, it's clear that the actor has taken quite some efforts to look young and vibrant for these portions.

The crowd in the stands looks all fired up, as Michael aces this index finger pointing-stance.

The film was initially said to be titled Captain Michael, with the acronym CM allegedly alluding to Vijay's political intentions.

Well, one can't say it is completely false, as the frames of Vijay wearing the band with the initial C show that he is indeed Captain Michael.

Vijay had mentioned in the audio launch that he had fun learning football with the crew during the shot-breaks.

Seeing Vijay ace the bicycle and scissor shots with ease, we can say that the actor has had fun playing a footballer on-screen too

Clearly, lots of efforts has gone into getting these shots perfect in the film.

All of Vijay's team mates that feature in the film are apparently real-life football players from North Madras.

Several football players, who have competed at the national level, have participated in choreographing the match sequences in the film.

Multiple cameras were apparently used by cinematographer GK Vishnu for filming the match sequences.

The CGI that have been used in the matches also seem largely functional.

For the first time in Tamil cinema, a football stadium set was constructed to shoot the match-sequences and the climax.

The stadium set reportedly costed Rs 6 crore. Apparently, it worked out more economical for the makers than to rent an actual stadium for the entire period of the 50-day-schedule.

We also have easter eggs for the football lovers like the Messi sticker on the wall of Michael's room that reveals that he is a fan of the Argentian player.

Vijay's transformation into a coach from the football player seems to be the film's plot twist.

Vijay had reportedly undergone a two-week football training camp before shooting the match and coaching portions.

Kathir and Yogi Babu play Vijay's teammates in Bigil.