Irudhi Suttru (இறுதிசுத்த்று, Final round, Tamil; 2015)
This flick which falls under the new category as far as the Tamil cinema is concerned, sports drama, was recommended by a long time connoisseur of Indian arts, music and performing arts. I decided to give it a go.
I was floored by what I saw. It breathes a fresh of new air into an otherwise stereotypical exploitative misogynistic world of Indian cinema which pays more attention to the erotic female part of the anatomy rather than exploring themes of empowerment and positivity. For the outset, one can kind of predict the direction of the movie, just as most stories from this genre are. There are more things to see here than the mere storyline and eye-candy. It is the setting, the simple real to life acting and realistic boxing that are the selling points of the offering. Sorry, no glamorous, exotic looking Aryan beauties in psychedelic-hued garbs to savour, just sweaty girls from the fishermen's village in boxing shorts (not boxer shorts!).
This flick which falls under the new category as far as the Tamil cinema is concerned, sports drama, was recommended by a long time connoisseur of Indian arts, music and performing arts. I decided to give it a go.
I was floored by what I saw. It breathes a fresh of new air into an otherwise stereotypical exploitative misogynistic world of Indian cinema which pays more attention to the erotic female part of the anatomy rather than exploring themes of empowerment and positivity. For the outset, one can kind of predict the direction of the movie, just as most stories from this genre are. There are more things to see here than the mere storyline and eye-candy. It is the setting, the simple real to life acting and realistic boxing that are the selling points of the offering. Sorry, no glamorous, exotic looking Aryan beauties in psychedelic-hued garbs to savour, just sweaty girls from the fishermen's village in boxing shorts (not boxer shorts!).
The songs are not sung by actors but form as a background score to set the mood to the flow of the story. The songs most sound like traditional village songs with understandable Tamil wordings and skeletal accompanying percussions.
A disgruntled sportsman with loads of potential failing to rise to the occasion due to unavoidable circumstances, own follies or external manipulation is all too familiar to us. Due to non-conformity to rest of the corrupt officials with personal agendas and self-gratification, Prabhu is non-ceremoniously sacked from his coaching job in Delhi and is sent off as a punishment to an under-sponsored under-performing amateur boxing club by a fishing village. Prabhu lives a bitter life after failing to hit it big in the international boxing arena after a sabotage and after his wife walked out from his life.
He detects an unexpected talent in an untameable crude young fisherwoman, Madhi. In the sea of mediocrity, he sees raw trainable talent for world class boxing. All through the turmoil of sibling rivalry, the sister's passion for making it to the police academy, family poverty perpetrated by a drunken father, attitude problems, puppy love and sabotage from the top, the hero expectedly, extracts the pearl from the mud which harvests the oyster!
Two things struck me as I was watching this movie. Firstly, the concept of love in the modern world, no thanks to the lingua franca of the world with its limited vocabulary for the word 'love', every gratifying feeling is equated to passionate lustful love. Perhaps because of the fear of growing old and unproductive, modern man subconsciously tries to keep the fire for lust burning in his belly way past his shelf life, sometimes with the help of pharmaceutical agents.
A disgruntled sportsman with loads of potential failing to rise to the occasion due to unavoidable circumstances, own follies or external manipulation is all too familiar to us. Due to non-conformity to rest of the corrupt officials with personal agendas and self-gratification, Prabhu is non-ceremoniously sacked from his coaching job in Delhi and is sent off as a punishment to an under-sponsored under-performing amateur boxing club by a fishing village. Prabhu lives a bitter life after failing to hit it big in the international boxing arena after a sabotage and after his wife walked out from his life.
He detects an unexpected talent in an untameable crude young fisherwoman, Madhi. In the sea of mediocrity, he sees raw trainable talent for world class boxing. All through the turmoil of sibling rivalry, the sister's passion for making it to the police academy, family poverty perpetrated by a drunken father, attitude problems, puppy love and sabotage from the top, the hero expectedly, extracts the pearl from the mud which harvests the oyster!
Two things struck me as I was watching this movie. Firstly, the concept of love in the modern world, no thanks to the lingua franca of the world with its limited vocabulary for the word 'love', every gratifying feeling is equated to passionate lustful love. Perhaps because of the fear of growing old and unproductive, modern man subconsciously tries to keep the fire for lust burning in his belly way past his shelf life, sometimes with the help of pharmaceutical agents.
 |
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, who was the
chief guest, with Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Ellis during a
boxing match in Madras on January 31, 1980.
|
Next, everybody in the film seems to be behaving as if they are sacrificing for another. Madhi is frustrated as she has to give up so much to take care of the family as the father neglects his duty as the head. The father feels he is suffering by having two female heirs, instead of sons, as a curse for marrying outside his caste. The elder sister believes her sister, Madhi, is spoiling her chances by boxing better, but she gives in. The mother feels she gives in to the whims and fancies of her alcoholic husband to ensure the family stays intact. The coach uses his own funds to sponsor the boxers, another sacrifice! Are they all genuinely going out of their way for the love of it, the game, the bond, the passion of the sport or the DNA-blood relationships? Is it based on self-interest? The pride of having a kid who is a world champion, the coach who geared his student to the world stage or the fame and wealth behind these?
Another subtle message that is sneakily made evident is how different generations, particularly the women folks, go with their day to day challenges. The older GenX ladies appear more fatalistic in expecting many outcomes in life. They accept their second-class role in society almost willingly. The millennials take nothing lying down. They give a good fight, standing shoulder-to-shoulder challenging the obstacle ahead eye-to-eye with their counterparts of the opposite sex!
A highly recommended movie. Remade in Hindi as well (Saala Khadoos). An example of the direction of the new wave of Indian cinema. In the same vein as ' Bhag Milka Bhag', 'Mary Kom.'Another subtle message that is sneakily made evident is how different generations, particularly the women folks, go with their day to day challenges. The older GenX ladies appear more fatalistic in expecting many outcomes in life. They accept their second-class role in society almost willingly. The millennials take nothing lying down. They give a good fight, standing shoulder-to-shoulder challenging the obstacle ahead eye-to-eye with their counterparts of the opposite sex!
Comments
Post a Comment