Sarpatta Parambarai (2021) - Movie Review | Epic Tamil Sports Drama | Arya

Now this… is an epic boxing movie! Servus Freunde, my name is Jimmy Cage and SARPATTA PARAMBARAI is a brand-new Tamil language period sports drama. It was scheduled for a theatrical release but once again, because of the pandemic, it was now put directly on Amazon Prime for everyone to stream at their homes. It’s an epic film, that also has a pretty epic runtime of nearly three hours and I highly recommend everyone to take their time and fully invest into it. Which honestly isn’t really that dif

ficult, because it’s a damn immersive and rousing piece of filmmaking. It was written and directed by Pa. Ranjith, who we have just been introduced to recently when we watched his second film MADRAS. Our review for that one is already up for all patrons and YouTube members. SARPATTA PARAMBARAI very much reminded me of MADRAS, because of the detailed and dense portrayal of a specific location, the interactions, entanglement and portrayal of several strong and memorable characters and also the dee

p rivalry between two factions that is at the heart of the story. The world building in SARPATTA PARAMBARAI is fantastic and from the get-go we get entrenched in the boxing world of North Chennai in the late 1970es and early 80es. It is about this clash between two clans, one of which giving the movie its title SARPATTA PARAMBARAI. The whole opening sequence puts us right into one of the movie’s several great boxing spectacles and it becomes apparent immediately what a lush and intense productio

n this is going to be. The sets, designs, the costumes, the make up and hairstyles, the cinematography, music and editing. The movie does a terrific job in transporting the heat and excitement of such big sporting events. With the commentators, the big crowds and the tension between the individual opponents as well as the bigger faction or group dynamics. And right from the get-go, SARPATTA PARAMBARAI isn’t just a big spectacle, that also really nails the period setting – at least as far as I ca

n tell as an outsider, but it’s also establishing all these different characters and their relationships while doing so. Our main protagonist Kabilan, played by Arya, is a simple working-class guy with a big passion and huge commitment to the sport and especially coach Rangan, played by Pasupathy. Yet he’s not really fully accepted in the clan and seen more as an outsider. He’s also made fun of at the beginning, because he’s also always hold back from boxing by his loud mother Bakkiyam, played b

y Anupama Kumar, who I have just seen recently in MY SON IS GAY. This delivers some really funny moments at first, but it also quickly becomes important for the emotional backdrop of the character and we find out that Kabilan’s father has been a boxer himself, who lost his life due to the escalating rivalry and also entanglement into some shady gangster stuff. Which again, becomes more important in the second half of the film. Kabilan is like a spectator from the sidelines, who’s not supposed to

really box himself but who also cannot wait to get his own shot. And we of course also can’t wait to see him enter the ring. Even with his big working cloths on, we can already spot Arya’s huge physique and we can’t wait to see him unpack all that muscle and also see him get his chance to prove himself. And when that finally happens, which is almost a full hour into the film, it’s simply glorious. The entire first half of the film is pretty fantastic. The film is able to create this hectic, den

se and brutal world and to paint all these different characters in a believable, grounded and yet slightly heightened way. The cast is really great and Pasupathy as the coach Rangan is one of the many highlights in the ensemble. He’s so determined, so into the intricacies of the sport, so thoughtful but also so direct and unforgiving, which leads to one of the film’s ongoing conflicts, the rejection of his own son as a possible contender. That son, Vetriselvan, is played by Kalaiyarasan, who add

s yet another wonderful performance to the film. Two other standouts among the supporting cast are John Vijay as Kevin aka Daddy, a very eccentric boxing figure from the past, and Shabeer Kallarakkal as Dancing Rose, also a very eccentric boxing figure, but from the present. Dancing Rose is honestly so awesome, that I wouldn’t mind a spin-off movie with him. He’s the perfect mixture of a very impressive athletic showcase and a slightly over the top persona, that can be totally out there but also

never becomes too comical. He is integral to two of the film’s best scenes in my opinion. The first one being the one, in which the two clans are arguing about the next bout and who will fight in it. It’s so intense and such a great build-up. And the second one being then the fight between Kabilan and Rose. The boxing matches themselves are nicely presented. They are fun and intense, realistic enough but also giving you that sweet cinematic touch. I specifically liked how the movie is shining a

light on the important footwork of the boxers. The cinematography by Murali G. is beautiful throughout the film and when I say “beautiful”, I mean how it is able to transport you to this specific place and time. Another important element for the film’s rousing nature is the score by Santhosh Narayanan. The background music perfectly blends into the action and drama and the very few songs, just two shorter ones in the middle and a neat training montage later on, add another nice punch to the fil

m. And Arya himself does of course also a very good job as Kabilan. He’s coming across a little bit like this naïve, simple child in a man’s body. Not completely unlike Stallone’s Rocky in the first movie, although a bit more comical. He’s the underdog waiting for his shot. And with a runtime of nearly three hours SARPATTA PARAMBARAI is really giving you the full character arc and spectacle. The rise and fall… and then rise again. As I’ve said, the first half is pretty fantastic, but thankfully

the second one is also able to keep your attention and further explore the world of these characters. The movie early on mentions the ongoing national emergency, that was issued by prime minister Indira Gandhi and how Tamil Nadu was able to uphold its autonomy for a long time. Now I have clearly not much knowledge about this specific part of Indian history, but the movie is really only using it as a means to add to the historic setting and steer the story into certain directions. Which was fine

for me. You can definitely feel the movie’s length in the second half and it does become a bit predictable, but that’s something that pretty much comes with the genre of a sports drama anyway. Some of the more dramatic moments in Kabila’s arc seem to be slightly too much to stem for Arya – or let’s say, there are one or two moments, where I was enjoying the drama and downfall a little bit too much as this slightly comical melodrama and not in a completely genuine way. There’s also this very late

introduction of another coach figure and I felt there was more potential there. We get an awesome training montage and also a very funny, sweet moment on a ship, but I thought what was missing were one or two quieter moments. Maybe a little story or anecdote about Kabilan’s father for example. I also felt as if the finale, the final boxing match, was almost a little bit too much like a necessity in the end. Maybe I was missing a little bit more characterization of John Kokken’s Vembuli. He was

introduced as this super menacing adversary, then for some reason he was rather weak all of a sudden, and then he was back to being strong in the end. But at that point I wasn’t really feeling the big tension and emotional stakes too much anymore. But it’s just a minor gripe. Something that I was very impressed by is a really long montage in the second half. On one hand I was wondering if all those character developments and this downward spiral weren’t a little bit rushed, but on the other hand

I was really quite mesmerized by this montage of crime and misery. And another element that I was also enjoying a lot is Dushara Vijayan’s character and performance. She portrays Kabilan’s wife Mariamma and while a lot of her role contains of her constant lamenting about her husband’s negligence, she nonetheless comes across as a very charismatic and powerful woman and she has some truly standout moments in the film. One of which happens after their marriage, when she is just bursting into this

little dance and then jumping on her newly-wed husband. There’s a certain spark to her presence in the film and it adds another layer to this otherwise very male-centric boxing world. So in German I’d say: I give SARPATTA PARAMBARAI 8 out of 10. It’s more like 7.9 but I don’t do that. Alright, that’s it. Like always, comment below and let me know what you think about SARPATTA PARAMBARAI. And also let me know what is your favorite film with Arya. You can hit me up, on Twitter, Instagram and Lett

erboxd – and also on Patreon – simply at The Jimmy Cage. And if you enjoyed this episode, please give me a thumbs up, share, subscribe – whatever you like. And make sure you hit that bell, for all I have to tell!