Liger Review: Neither roars nor growls

Liger

Director: Puri Jagannadh

Cast: Vijay Deverakonda, Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishnan, Chunky Panday

Released in theatres.

Someone had told me that a tiger is as mighty as a lion then why is the lion called the king of the jungle? Because a tiger growls and a lion roars. Another analogy says that if a cheetah is faster than a lion, and an elephant is stronger than a lion then why is the lion considered the king of the jungle? Because of the lion’s attitude. The character in this film is a crossbreed of a lion and a tiger, called Liger. But the filmmaker decides to ignore the cardinal rule of filmmaking, “Show, don’t tell.” The ‘Saala crossbreed’ is announced by Liger’s mother (Ramya Krishnan yelling at the top of her voice throughout the film).

Vijay Deverakonda has the physicality of a professional MMA fighter but the attitude is missing. Vijay has a strong screen presence but it is not utilized to a good effect in the film. His raw energy could have given a new look and feel to the film. His stammer is inconsistent and forced. I can’t remember any other actor getting the stammer right than Shahid Kapoor in Kaminey (2009).

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But the real problem lies in the writing. The film uses an outdated plot and usual tropes to tick the checklist of a ‘mass entertainer’ film. A lackluster script focuses on action and tries to fill up the rest of its 140-minute runtime with songs and senseless screenplay and corny dialogue. I’m game for mass entertainers but glaring mediocrity is tough to sit through. Everything is told to you without any reasoning whatsoever and it is expected that you go with the flow.

There’s no chemistry between Vijay and Ananya Panday who plays the female lead. Ananya’s Taniya is another addition to the list of obnoxious, cringe-worthy female characters played by young Bollywood actresses in such big-budget films. Forget depth or layers, these characters (and actors) don’t have anything to offer on the surface level too. Why and how such girls fall in love with the guy they apparently hate to begin with is a question.

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The only way you can enjoy this film is by looking at the irony of the film. The film begins with Vijay’s Liger saying in a voice-over something like, “Main kahani sunane mein kamzor hoon, phir bhi koshish kar raha hoon”. That should warn you for whatever is going to follow. Ananya’s Taniya whose expressions turn weirder as the film progresses says that “Main Hollywood jaa rahi hoon, to pursue my acting dreams.” Sigh. Taniya’s portions in the US show her only roaming through Las Vegas and provoking Liger via a video call during an MMA fight. The logic had rested in peace long ago.

The storytelling is so complacent that it does not bother about any accuracy. I assume the film is simultaneously shot in at least two languages. The Hindi version has Liger and his mother originally hailing from Banaras, Uttar Pradesh. But they don’t bother to change the mother’s name from Balamani to a north Indian name. You may say that they are from north India. But what do you do about the actors’ physical features and attire which are so south Indian? Take this sequence for instance. Out of nowhere, an action scene takes place in a moving Mumbai local train. Because why not? The scene features actor Atul Parchure as a simpleton who suddenly turns out to be a cop with a gun. A Gujarati woman (guessing by her way of draping a sari) starts speaking in fluent Marathi. To top it all, the film ends with a remix of a Punjabi song. Is this how you make a pan-India film?

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I love cameos by stars and crossovers. So, I was looking forward to Mike Tyson’s cameo appearance in the climax. It has some fun moments but the legendary fighter is caught in an act of buffoonery. Chunky Panday makes a cameo appearance as well, as Taniya’s father. There’s no chemistry either on screen between the real father-daughter duo.

I liked the action and dance choreography of the film as well as its cinematography. The packaging is good but the material inside is worthless. The songs are shot well but inserted haphazardly. Liger is Vijay Deverakonda’s launch vehicle in Hindi and potentially a pan-India market. But there’s neither direction nor enough fuel in this vehicle to go miles.