SARPATTA PARAMBARAI (2021)
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| Critic - No. 226 |
Director: Pa. Ranjith
Written by: Pa. Ranjith
Produced by: Neelam Productions, K9 Studios
Casts: Arya, Pasupathy, Dushara Vijayan, Kalaiyarasan, John Kokken, Santosh Prathap, John Vijay, Anupama Kumar, Shabeer Kallarakal, G.M. Sundar, Vettai Muthukumar, Sanchana Natarajan, Kaali Venkat, Tiger Thangadhurai, Maran
Language: Tamil
Genre: Action, Drama, Sports
Music: Santosh Narayanan
SYNOPSIS:
A young man, Kabilan, from the Black Town of 1970’s segregated Madras finds himself with the opportunity to redeem his boxing clan and himself from years of defeat. With rivalry breeding outside and within his gang, can he do it? Will he be allowed to?
REVIEW:
Pa.Ranjith is known for his raw and bold dramas that often tell the stories of the underprivileged or the Northern Madras of the Indian community. He did take a slight diversion by giving us a few commercially inclined yet powerful films such as Kabali (2016) and Kaala (2018) with superstar Rajinikanth. It is immensely satisfying to see Ranjith returning back to his roots with ‘Sarpatta Parambarai’ that has his trademarks stamped over each frame.
Sarpatta Parambarai revolves around a community of boxers in the Madras of the 70s, centering around the rivalry between Sarpatta Parambarai (one of the clan), coached by Rangan (Pasupathy), a former champion, and the Idiyappam Parambarai, whose trainer Duraikannu (GM Sundar), was Rangan’s opponent during their playing days. The rivalry builds on like a pressure cooker and at one point leads Kabilan (Arya), a boxing enthusiast rising to challenge Durai’s protégé and the so-far invincible champion Vembuli (John Kokken) to a fight.
The first half of the film is jet-fast and intense with Ranjith quickly getting us inside the world of the boxing world in Madras quite comfortably. Though we are thrown with many characters rapidly, the beauty of Ranjith’s screenplay is that he develops each of them properly and gels them with the overall purpose of the narrative. That is the epitome of great writing! Each character is so intense and memorable. When the film opens, we are in the early days of the Emergency (1970s), and we see it celebrating the Dravidian leadership standing up to it which I felt is a nicely weaved nod to the present parallels. Even though Ranjith has refrained from stating the year that the film is set, he adds in details like these to encapsulate it.
Before we know, we are seeing back-to-back, excellently staged boxing battles that increase the rivalry within the Sarpatta clan itself as well as between the opponent. Since there are many characters, Ranjith builds a focused goal for each one and lets the narrative and situations clash them up, creating a rousing drama.
Sarpatta Parambarai also incorporates elements like caste conflict and the question of pride into the sporting milieu to make it an engaging watch. In the second half of the film, this angle becomes the dominant story. From a film about boxing, it shifts to a story of Kabilan’s redemption after losing his way because the system wants to stereotype people of his social status. Though the beats are familiar, the family dynamics and Kabilan’s relationship with his mother and wife are interesting. As much as we see Mariyamma, Kabilan’s wife complain about her husband choosing a life of violence, she also remains as his emotional fulcrum, forcing him to mend his ways eventually. I love how Ranjith writes his love scenes with sheer reality. One such example is a scene where Mariyamma instructs Kabilan after a heated conversation, “I’m starving. Come and feed me,” and the two proceed to make small talk. It’s a beautifully written softness in between a loud, manly film.
Arya as Kabilan is the biggest winner in the film and more than his terrifically chiseled physique, he delivers a magnificently whole rounded performance, bringing us to his peak days back in Pattiyal (2006) and Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005). Pasupathy and Dushara are the next in the line playing the coach and the wife of Kabilan. They are perfect as the pillars of the protagonist, kicking him up to senses whenever he falls. Out of the antagonists, I loved Dancing Rose (played effectively by Shabeer) and how his character is built up during the pre-interval scene. I would definitely love to see a standalone film about him. Kalaiyarasan gets a deserving role for his talent and returns to his Madras form in a very unpredictably complex role as Vetriselvan. John Vijay gives a nice light-heartedness to the story by his flamboyant role.
Technically, Sarpatta Prambarai is a beast. The film successfully transports us to the era, ensuring that not a character or a prop feels out of place. The cinematography (Murali G) and the production design (Ramalingam) deserve all the accolades for bringing us a top-class film. And the film’s high points are the fights choreographed by the Anbariv duo. You will see yourself cheering as a spectator for each staging of fights. I will never be able to forget the gloriously staged fight between Kabilan and Dancing Rose which will definitely go down as one of the best fight sequences in Kollywood. In addition, Santosh Narayanan's inspiring score and Ruben's sound design are another big strength for the film's intensity.
On the flip side, the second half does wander slightly before it picks up. Running close to 3 hours, the second half could have been trimmed by 15 mins or so by editor Selva R.K. As the film travels in a familiar route of an underdog boxer story, there are no big surprises or twists as well. That said, Pa Ranjith strikes back to form with Sarpatta Parambarai which I feel is his best film to date that can stand on par with Madras. Though it's quite disappointing that we are unable to see it on the big screens, it is heartening to know that at least the film is reaching a wider audience with the OTT release.
Pa.Ranjith delivers a knockout punch with ‘Sarpatta Parambarai’, offering a rousing boxing drama backed with immense research, strong technical aspects, and solid performances.
CELLULOID METER- 4/5:
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