Sarpatta Parambarai — An impactful sports drama
*Might contain some spoilers*
The journey of an aspiring boxer to regain the reputation and honor of his clan.
Before starting about the movie, I would like to say Pa Ranjith is back. After facing severe criticism for his previous two films is back, Pa Ranjith has provided us an amazing film that is filled with so much passion and love.
Sarpatta Parambarai is all about boxing and legacy that speaks a ton about those involved in the sport. The 173-minute run-time hardly matters as the story that Pa Ranjith has told requires the time and the utilization of the same is perfect with numerous character having an arc of their own.
Coming to performances, it is Pasupathi who stands out from the rest as a strict teacher with a burden of legacy to carry who is searching for the heir to his throne. His acting skills is much known and the Sarpatta Parambarai is just another excellent testimony that he’s an brilliant actor.
John Vijay and Arya are the next two characters who give a memorable performance. John Vijay as ‘Daddy’ is an amazing friend/motivator that everyone needs. Sarpatta will be a landmark movie in Arya’s career who aptly portrays the character of Kabilan. He felt odd to the North Chennai environment in the first 20–30 minutes yet courtesy of the character depth we gradually start accepting and become a part of his journey.
As with any past Pa Ranjith movies, the female character in this movie is exceptionally written well with their own dignity. Be it the Tushara Vijayan as the female lead, Anuppama Kumar as Kabilan’s mother even Sanchana Natrajan who is sort of secondary character has their own acting space and enough character depth which I found it quite remarkable.
Besides these characters, there are umpteen other characters and everyone has got a path of their own in the movie whilst as well contributing to the movie. The last movie with numerous characters and enough character depth I remember is Vadachennai. I can’t think of any other movie with these many characters provided enough space.
Unlike his predecessors, Pa Ranjith’s Sarpatta Parambarai portrays oppression in a quite unique and subtle manner. The concept is not overdone. We feel the oppression and the rage yet it’s because of the actions of the characters and not because of the character’s lengthy dialogues like in his previous movies, which ends up being more impactful.
Another appreciable factor I liked about the movie was the opposite clan were portrayed just as the rival and not as a villain. There were separate characters to do the villain’s job. A noble portrayal that’s rare. The parallel political happenings in Tamilnadu were intertwined in a perfect manner and the way it affects the movie path is quite noteworthy.
On technicalities, the movie contains just two songs which truly provides some breather in the movie. Santhosh Narayanan’s Neeye Oli BGM is so catchy and it’s correctly used at places where only its necessary. The boxing matches are choreographed in a spectacular manner.
Coming to the weaknesses, the major problem was its predictability. As we are used to numerous sports dramas, we can easily guess what’s going to happen next. It really pulled down the movie. There was a slight dip in the screenplay in the second half with monologues that were patchy and could have cut short a bit. Besides, I couldn’t find much to pick on the movie.
Overall, an engaging sports drama that works very well in providing us an impactful watch.
Worth it.
