Harish Kalyan and Attakathi Dinesh in ‘Lubber Pandhu’
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association

In a rustic like India the place cricket is an emotion, there’s no dearth of movies on the beloved sport. From biopics on a few of the finest gamers the sport has seen, to utilizing cricket as a backdrop for a heart-warming underdog drama, a number of iterations of the sport have been explored. Now with Lubber Pandhu, director Tamizharasan Pachamuthu sheds gentle on the rubber ball cricket event tradition prevalent within the deep pockets of Tamil Nadu, and intricately weaves an intriguing narrative round it.

Some movies blow your thoughts with a definite story set in a totally new backdrop whereas others narrate a easy, simple story however work because of the best way its parts come collectively; Lubber Pandhu is a textbook instance of the latter. Within the movie, Anbu (Harish Kalyan) is a small-town man and a gifted bowler who crosses paths with Poomalai a.okay.a. Gethu (Attakathi Dinesh), an older, much-revered batsman. A sequence of unlucky incidents set off their egos and their on-field rivalry spills into their private lives… just for it to hit a crescendo once they be taught that Anbu is in a relationship with Gethu’s daughter Durga (Sanjana Krishnamoorthy).

Attakathi Dinesh and Harish Kalyan
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

Movies on ego and interpersonal relationships appear to be working properly for Harish. He ended final 12 months with a bang because of Parking, the place his character confronted off towards a fellow tenant, performed by the veteran MS Bhaskar. On this movie, his rivalry is with Attakathi Dinesh who’s recent off the success of the underrated J Baby which was additionally, by the way, about household and interpersonal relationships. Whereas the premise may sound much like Blue Star which got here out earlier this 12 months, Lubber Pandhu dwells deep into the intricacies of relationships and the way egos can impact them. The truth that each movies additionally maintain a mirror to how deep-rooted caste-based discrimination is in our society in a delicate method, is the cherry atop the cake.

Each the lead characters aren’t notably difficult roles, although Harish and Dinesh pull them off fairly properly; the rationale boils all the way down to how their characters have been sketched. Anbu and Gethu are two males belonging to 2 totally different generations however that’s about all of the distinctions they’ve. Each would do something for his or her one real love, worth friendship, are gamers with egos as huge as their skills, and, after all, love cricket greater than anything.

Director Tamizharasan does a splendid job of characterising and, because the movie progresses, humanising Anbu and Gethu’s tryst with a myriad of feelings. Anbu, as his identify suggests, is the primary to wave the white flag whereas Gethu, as you may need guessed, is the more durable nut to crack. Talking of names, Yashoda (performed by a powerful Swasika) has to show right into a mom determine for her husband Gethu who prioritises his sport over the betterment of his household. For a movie on a sport between testosterone-powered males, Lubber Pandhu pleasantly surprises you with how properly the ladies characters are written.

Whereas the romantic parts between Anbu and his girlfriend Durga (Sanjana Krishnamoorthy) are written with sufficient care to not slacken the circulation of the movie, it’s the matured romance between Yashoda and Gethu that’s most memorable. This works predominantly due to the love-hate relationship they share, together with an extra layer introduced in by the truth that they belong to 2 totally different castes. Lubber Pandhu additionally showcases the boys to be impetuous creatures whereas the ladies — who face the brunt of their male counterparts’ actions — are extra level-headed and preserve issues from falling aside. However arguably one of the best a part of the movie is the way it by no means villainises any of its characters or romanticises their flaws; it reveals them to be a product of their circumstances, and the way all it takes is one proper name to get into the great books of their members of the family.

Harish Kalyan and Sanjana Krishnamoorthy
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

Tamizharasan introduces us to the world of rubber ball cricket, and its impression on the lives of its gamers, full with their quirks; there’s even a scene the place a bride indicators an settlement at her wedding ceremony reception that she would let her husband play cricket together with his associates! Be it the introduction songs they play each time a star participant walks into the pavilion — it’s Vijayakanth hits for Gethu, and Vijay for Anbu — or how Gethu makes use of his handkerchief as a bat deal with grip, the eye to detailing turns us from theatrical watchers to stadium spectators. A private favorite is how the movie defines two specific timelines with how a lot a rubber ball prices in that particular 12 months.

And boy, the cricket match parts are a deal with to look at! The director spins a googly with these sequences as he goes towards the grains of regular cricket movie tropes. Tamizharasan subverts expectations at essential moments and these nuggets of little wins lets us ignore the movie’s snags comparable to a pressured feminine empowerment trope surrounding a participant, that feels pointless. As with each Tamil movie on cricket, there’s ample scope for humour because of the colloquial sport commentary, however Lubber Pandhu takes it up a notch with the characters performed by Bala Saravanan and Jenson Dhivakar. The movie additionally does a beautiful job on the subject of managing its secondary characters and the one performed by Kaali Venkat may very properly develop into a fan-favourite.

With a number of arcs weaved collectively seamlessly — together with the caste oppression angle to which Tamizharasan provides a profound decision — the filmmaker makes his mark as a expertise to be careful for. Lubber Pandhu is a breath of recent air and a refreshing addition to the ever-growing listing of movies on cricket; a lot in order that we are able to name it an entire new ballgame.

Lubber Pandhu is presently working in theatres