RIFLE RANGE BOY

Sarpatta Paramparai (சர்பட்ட பரம்பரை, Tamil, 2021) Written, Directed by Pa Ranjith One can learn a thing or two by watching films, i.e. if one is bothered to check the backstory. This is one rare full-length boxing film in Tamil, coming from a land that usually infuses familial masala to the storyline. In keeping with the timeline the story is set in, in the 1970s, there is ample sprinkling of Tamil Nadu politics to set the mood. For once, we see actors who really look their part as boxers. The make-up, boxing techniques and the make-believe props that cradles us back to the mid-1970s are convincing enough. Before watching this film, I did not know that boxing was a passionate sport in northern Madras even before the 1940s. Boxing came to India with the British. In Tamil Nadu, it was named 'kuttu chandei', and it came with its own set of rules. Boxers could not hit each others' faces, not the body. In the early 1940s, it seems there was a black British boxer (some say he is...

I rudhi 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 short...

The Trials of Muhammad Ali (Documentary; 2013) This documentary offering is not an offering to highlight the achievements of the most famous pugilist of all time, the three-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world, Muhammad Ali but it concentrates on a particular time in his life when he had a brush with the American legal system. It focuses a point in the late 60s and early 70s when Ali was at the height of his youth. It starts with him narrating of his experience back home in 1960 after winning the gold medal in Rome Olympics. A restauranteur refused to serve him even though he had made his country proud. He goes on to tell about the hypocritical attitude of the members of his church. The calling to embrace Islam came in 1964, but his conversion came under the scrutiny of the radar when he decided to follow the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and his association with Nation of Islam, Malcolm X and Dr ML King. The Nation of Islam was classified as a radical group which fought f...

Thrilla in Manila (2008, HBO documentary) They say that nature is a violent creature. There is plenty of evidence that shows that the forces of Nature are both brutal and murderous. Its damage can be mammoth. It has no sympathy for the weak-hearted and even the righteous. It is a necessary evil that ensures only the best survives. Man can be equally inhumane. Over generations, the will to survive as a species has ensured that only the strongest survive. A reflection of our violent past is seen in the society sanctioned a display of legal murderous intent of boxing. Here two individual are put on display to knock each other blind as many around them prosper in more ways than one. We grew up at a time when a live telecast of boxing could paralyse a nation. In the 70s when live broadcast was new, a boxing match held half a globe away was a national event, especially one involving the World Heavyweight Championship, specifically one involving Muhamad Ali. The greatest boxing fight...