Cast: Vishwa, Mirnalini Ravi, Stun Siva, Manoj Bharathiraja, Narain
Director: Suseenthiran
Music Director: Arrol Corelli
From agriculture, it became women empowerment season. Now from women empowerment, it has turned into the sports drama season. And do these films at least justify this season, let alone the previous misconstrued women empowerment one? Of course not. Last week it was Jada, and now we have Champion following the same theme except with a plausible connection between characters. But honestly, that doesn’t make it any better.
Jones (Vishwa) is an extraordinary football player hailing from Vyasarpadi. His father Gopinath Dhiraviyam (Manoj Bharathiraja) strives to fulfill his dream of making his son play for the Indian team but dies unexpectedly on the football ground. Jones along with the help of his coach Santha (Narain) find the reason behind his death whilst also achieving their goal. The film is a revenge drama that felt the need to incorporate football for conveying a social message and connecting it to the title. We don’t get to see any football except for a few cuts here and there. Scenes and shots that did not require length were stretched out and those that needed a proper introduction and development were made short. I found myself asking, how long do I watch Jones thwacking a rogue just so that Dhanashekar (Stun Siva) can make an entry and his accomplices have a conversation. And where did Mirnalini Ravi suddenly appear from? It seemed way too artificial and unprofessionally staged.
Champion-movie-stills
The plot would’ve survived just fine without the romance sequences. They had no substance other than providing space for two songs (which managed to pass), to tick ‘commercial elements’ box. Even a layman would know that a character is the main antagonist after being hyped and literally made to slaughter someone. But somehow Susi thought of it to be an entirely fresh idea, giving Stun Shiva a couple of slow-motion shots when the hero is exposed to the truth. I’ve seen gullible characters but not someone as gullible as Vishwa. After having a good pep talk with Narain to not delve into violence, one sentence from his father’s friend infuriates him and he’s off to kill Siva. Just when a word from his ex-girlfriend gets him back on track, he loses his cool yet again. Boy make up your mind!
I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that Stun Siva noticed an angry Vishwa through the wing-mirror of his car. How did he comprehend the emotion from that poker face? I found no expressions of love, sorrow or anger, right through the film except for an occasional nerve twitch. Narain, who appears for a short while, plays his part well with a great performance during the climax. Mirnalini, touted as the heroine, has little to do and is almost forgotten by the end of the film. Stun Siva looks fierce and even manages to talk sternly but fails to intimidate at any point. In fact, one of his clan members made me more anxious than he did. Jones’ mother Jaya, essayed by actress Vasavi, was the best performer.
Arrol Corelli rescues the film with his impressive background score and songs especially compensating for the instances where Vishwa fails to emote.
I only wish for writers to stop blending various genres into one just so that it serves as a selling point. Or at least request them to not do a half-baked job with a mixed genre film. In an attempt to keep up with a particular trend, they are only failing to be true to the medium, in turn, churning out mediocre films with no impact.
The Champion review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
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