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Sports is an Underdog Mentality.
The winner and the other- They come from the folklore.
Between a win and a loss, audiences lose hope.
There is a tendency to grow among players.
A sports drama has a winner and a quitter. Most cinema projects have a winner. They have a quitter, too. The one of the innocent, charming, brave, and always on the verge of making a comeback at the next turn kinda.
Sarpatta Parambarai is a human-first sports drama. There is no becoming of the hero. Or that of a legend.
The Director
Pa. Ranjith delivers concepts. His stories fall into the context next. The characters fall last in the line.
His Pedigree
Level One
Characters have a fate within the restored chambers of the plot.
Level Two
The story has a bigger impact on the characters and audiences.
Level Three
The context fits struggles, wins, failures, and comebacks into their lives.
In Sarpatta Parambarai, we take back memories of the events and not the events. We take back the spirit, not the strength. We take back the winners and others as an inspiration, not as trophies.Not in every sports drama or fictional show, you celebrate the human spirit. The victory means a little less of a die-hungry importance.
The Boxing Events
The fighting scenes build an atmosphere of intensity where you fall for the drama. It is not a sports movie. The movie underlines the underdog spirit. Or picks the master-disciple saga in its underrated tone. Or it talks about the talent one doesn’t believe in of being any good until you step on the landmine of self-exhaustion (Annihilation) and don’t want to come alive out of it. (The alive part was a metaphor for not loving life or returning the favor of being born as the one).
What We were Intrigued
All breakthrough moments have incidents that reflect emotions basic to human existence. It is the hallmark of Pa. Ranjith. He doesn’t let you get lost in the drama or glory by making you stick to its true nature- The Eternal Fight.
Watch Pa. Ranjith's other ventures (The ones we have loved and would check back again to write about them over here): Madras (Tamil, 2014), Kaala (Tamil, 2018).Trivia:
Kabilan (Arya) was never gifted. Was he?
His dedication to sports and his coach was his so-called gift.
Boxing wasn’t able to stop him from walking down the dark road.
His broken and falling apart life even after tasting success testifies it takes more than a gift or talent to win in life. The gifted or talented ones may win the game once and for long. Their talent fails at proving it to life. They are not the champions in their lives. What a loss! They are living to maintain the image- The one that people worship. It’s not even theirs. It is borrowed at both ends. What a loss! What a film to make us realize the hero system in sports is a sham. No legend status if you can’t have them in folklore. Can’t teach them at schools. The so-called gifted sports individuals are a business at the best.
The Consumption of the Mind, Body, and Materials
The Eternal Fight is sacred.
The boxing ring is sacred.
Like any other field.
For any player.
The boxing ring doesn’t pick a champion.
At most, there are winners and losers in a bout.
With wins, there are legends.
Players with the legend status have a scar etched on their hearts.
Society celebrates these legends. Every bit of the story is sellable.
Every social legend is socially scalable and sellable.
How social legends infuriate other players without a stigma scar is a sick feeling.
Sarpatta Perambarai is about struggles. The struggles of the champions. The champions of the born kind. The champions of the gifted talent kind. The champions with the flaws kind. Legends cannot be weak. Which definition of sports legends is true?
Pa. Ranjith brings out the question of the mentality of sports legends in this film.
He doesn’t want or expect the heroes to keep the victory for themselves. To be selfish.
Kabilan educates us on how to treat sports and how to tackle the winners with respect and authority. The example of Coach Rangan is a true reminder. Make legends out of champions. Never worship them. Stop idolizing them. Don’t put them out of the human pedestal. Keep them in the grind of the game, struggles of the game, talent recognition, revival, and starting off their careers again by developing the next league of players. Something that they have not done before. Something that they are afraid of failing at.
