In Bigil, Vijay plays Michael Rayappan, a football player who had to give up his passion due to personal tragedy that is the result of the violence that surrounds his life. And this same violence offers him a chance to get his life back on track, when his friend Kathir (Kathir), the coach of a women’s football team, is grievously injured. Michael aka Bigil has to take on the coach’s role so that the dreams of the players, all of whom are from the underprivileged class of the society, and most importantly, that of his father Rayappan (Vijay, again), a do-gooder don who saw sports as a means of social upliftment, come true.

Michael Rayappan is a rowdy working for public welfare in a Chennai slum. His friend Kathir, the coach of the Tamil Nadu women’s football team, gets attacked by goons while driving home. Michael fights them off but realizes his archenemy Daniel has stabbed Kathir, leading to spinal injuries that prevent him from accompanying the team. The team blames Michael for his condition, while Kathir tells a member of the federation to replace him with a former footballer named “Bigil” who is none other than Michael.