Director: Pa Ranjith
Cast: Arya, Pashupathy, Dushara Vijayan, and Anupama Kumar
Rating: 3/5
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Director Pa Ranjith's latest movie Sarpatta Parambarai is a watchable sports drama that satisfies Arya fans and works despite its flaws. The flick is set in the 1970s and revolves around the intense rivalry between two clans from North Madras/Vada Chennai. The promising premise makes a decent impact due to the decent execution.
Playing it safe
A film entrenched in nativity hues must open with a strong sequence to give the viewer a reason to invest in the narrative. Vetrimaaran's Asuran is a case in point as the audiences were introduced to the dangers faced by the hero in the opening sequence itself.
Sarpatta Parambarai is an exception as it takes a while to get going and the opening sequences don't have a sense of urgency. The film subsequently follows the tried and tested 'three-act' structure.
The opening hour establishes the cultural backdrop of the film while the second one focuses on the hero's rise and downfall. The closing act, not surprisingly, deals with his attempts to redeem himself. While Pa Ranjith could have tried to experiment a bit with the structure, his decision to play it safe does not backfire as the narrative is easy to follow.
Predictable but engaging
That said, the film is fairly predictable. This, however, is not a major problem as commercial cinema has pretty much always stuck to templates. The Tamil classic Baashha, for instance, had shades of the Bollywood film Hum and indirectly served as an inspiration for Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale.
Raw action scenes
The boxing scenes are, not surprisingly, the heart and soul of the film and register as they are as realistic as they can be. Moreover, Sarpatta Parambarai -- unlike the recently-released Toofaan-- explores the in-ring tactics associated with boxing. This pretty much covers up the cliches that would have otherwise diluted the experience.
Arya, Anupama Kumar in top form
The effective performances further elevate the narrative. Arya shines in one of the most challenging roles of his career and pulls off the action scenes quite well. He fares equally well in an emotional scene where his character exclaims in desperation 'I am not the same man'. Pashupathy gets into the skin of the character, the way he did in the previously-mentioned Asuran.
Anupama Kumar, who rose to fame with her work in Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal, does justice to a character that could so easily have ended up being a mere caricature. The actor emotes flawlessly, making each scene more believable. That said, the makers could have explored Bakkiyam's backstory a bit more.
The shortcomings
On the flip side, Dushara Vijayan gets no scope to leave an impact as the character hasn't been fleshed out properly. This is a bit of a surprise as Pa Ranjith's Kaala and Kabali had featured strong females protagonists. Moreover, the film does not have a gripping flashback sequence, one of the pillars of commercial Tamil cinema.
Technical aspects
There isn't really much scope for music and the makers rightly refrain from stuffing the narrative with unnecessary songs. The editing could have been a bit better as the nearly three-hour runtime feels a little too long. The background score too does not leave an impact.