Sarpatta Parambarai review: Ranjith's best work

Sarpatta Parambarai

Tamil (Amazon Prime Video)

Director: Pa Ranjith

Cast: Arya, Dushara Vijayan, Pasupathy, John Vijay, John Kokken, Shabeer Kallarakkal

Rating: 3.5/5

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” said the great Muhammad Ali. In Pa Ranjith’s Sarpatta Paramabarai, Rangan (Pasupathy), a veteran coach, tells this to his pupil Kabilan (Arya), who is gearing up for his first big bout.

Set in the 1970s, the film shows how Ali was a revered figure to the boxers of North Madras. They read about him to feel inspired. In fact, as a tribute to the legendary sportsperson, Ranjith even re-creates the iconic 1965 Ali-Sonny Liston bout picture.

Just like his boxing milestones, Ali’s activism is significant to the story, which is about the rivalry between the boxing clans Sarpatta and Idiyappa. The former family is filled with working-class people. They have a history of great boxers but they also want to wipe out memories of being slaves to upper-class people.

The reputation of Sarpatta clan is on the verge of extinction with no boxers to knock down their mighty opponents. We know Kabilan will rise to the challenge.

The biggest fear of watching a sports drama is to be let down by its overuse of cliches and melodrama. Sarpatta Parambarai stands apart in this aspect. It’s a skillfully made film powered by great drama and strong characters.

This isn’t the Ranjith who made Kabali (2016) and Kaala (2018). In those films, his ideologies clashed with the enormous stardom of Rajinikanth. By trying to cater to both, he ended up offering middling films. Here, with the weight of working with a huge star off his back, Ranjith comes across as fearless and focused.

For someone who always wanted his filmmaking to be as appreciated as his politics, Ranjith can be proud of Sarpatta Parambarai. With the superb staging of scenes and great character developments, he makes the sports drama tropes of coach-pupil relationship, hero’s rise, and fall and his final comeback, extremely likable. Santhosh Narayanan’s score is the proverbial cherry on the cake.

Of course, the nearly three-hour film has minor flaws. Followed by a terrific first half, which is filled with potent scenes, the screenplay stumbles a bit when Kabilan loses his way to become an alcoholic. His mother’s fear of seeing his son turn into a rowdy comes true. The portion, however, feels rushed and less impactful. Sarpatta Parambarai springs back to life when Kabilan decides to transform himself.

Ranjith packs a punch in his research of the sport. He gives us three boxers with distinct qualities. John Kokken plays the arrogant Veimbuli, the most-feared fighter while Kallarkkal is Rose or famously known as Dancing Rose for his amazing footwork. Kabilan is a good mix of power and technique.

The performances are astonishingly good. Arya shines more as an innocent boxing lover aiming to go any length for his coach than the fierce fighter inside the ring. He is terrific in a moving scene where he is heartbroken as a fallen boxer.

Right from the first scene, Pasupathy commands respect, and his performance is marked with a stamp of a great star. The ever-dependable John Vijay is excellent as the Anglo-Indian Daddy, who is Kabilan’s biggest support. While Kalaiyarasan does well, his character arc has no direction throughout the film.

Dushara Vijayan, hands down, is the film’s best performer. This reiterates the fact that women in Ranjith’s films are female firebrands. Dushara plays Mariamma, Kabilan’s wife. She is a full-of-life, fiery and assertive individual who dares to knock down a group of thugs. She is brutally honest about her husband’s fall from grace but loves him unconditionally.

It’s an interesting character which also gets the best line of the film. “It’s wrong to bring pride in the clan. Boxing is just a sport. One who plays well will win,” she tells her husband in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sarpatta Parambarai is a feel-great film. Ranjith’s least political film topples Madras (2014) to be his best work.

(The film is streaming on Amazon Prime Video).