On Vijay's 45th birthday, his 63rd film announced; Tamil superstar to play double role in Bigil

Fans of Tamil actor Vijay can no longer use #Thalapathy63 to refer to the highly-anticipated sports action entertainer helmed by Atlee. The director has previously teamed up with the actor for blockbusters like Theri and Mersal. The producers of the film, AGS Entertainment, unveiled the first look poster along with its title Bigil, a day before the actor's birthday. The second poster was released at midnight.

Touted to be one of the costliest films made in Vijay's career, Bigil will see the actor in a dual role. He will play a father, a North Chennai gangster, while his son will be shown as an exceptional football player. The junior Vijay will have four different looks Bigil, depicting his transformation from a passionate player to rugged gangster and then a coach of a football team for underprivileged women.

Vijay in Bigil's first look

Indhuja, Rebba Monica, Varsha Bollamma, and Amrita Iyer will be seen as the main players. Kathir of Pariyerum Perumal fame plays Vijay's friend in Bigil on whose request he agrees to train the women's team. Nayanthara is the female lead of the film. The cast also includes Jackie Shroff, Anandraj, Daniel Balaji, Vivek and Yogi Babu. Shroff had previously revealed that he portrays the president of a football association.

Vijay in second poster of Bigil

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Though the film has a sports angle, Atlee has said to have included a lot of action scenes to please Vijay's fans. Daniel Balaji of Vada Chennai fame plays a henchman, so there may be a scene featuring him and the lead actor. The stunts have been choreographed by Anl Arasu of Sultan and Race 3 fame.

AR Rahman, who has scored Mersal has composed two songs for Bigil. GK Vishnu is the cameraman, while Vivek has written all the songs.

According to reliable sources, the team has short around 85 percent of the film in the outskirts of Chennai. Initially, Atlee intended to shoot the football match sequences in a foreign stadium but abandoned the idea considering the exorbitant fee and lengthy procedure to procure permission for filming. The film's art director Muturaj erected a massive stadium set in Chennai, where the team filmed for more than 60 days. The team will also soon camp in Delhi to shoot a crucial scene featuring the women footballers.

The source adds that Bigil will set a benchmark for sport films released in Indian cinemas, especially in the way the game is presented onscreen. The team has used multiple high-end cameras and powerful lights to recreate the real football matches, as seen on television.

The team plans to wrap up Bigil's shoot in July and focus on the post-production phase for three months, so that the film can release in Tamil and Telugu by Diwali 2019.