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Lubber Pandhu

By-
Farhad Dalal
Rating
4 Star popcorn reviewss

Introduction

In an early scene in the Tamil film Lubber Pandhu (which literally translates into Rubber Ball), you are introduced to its two principal character against the backdrop of a cricket ground. The year is 2011 and the craze for cricket is at its peak given that India has freshly lifted the ODI world cup (as implied from the surrounding voices in the village). In the midst of things, you are introduced to Anbu (an incredible Harish Kalyan), a fabulous bowler who doesn’t initially find himself in a local team’s 11 because he belongs to an oppressed community. After being coaxed by another character, he finds himself in the 11 but doesn’t get a bowl for the same reasons. At the same time, you are introduced to another character Gethu (a sulerb Dinesh Ravi) who is a prolific batsman and single-handedly wins the match for his team. More importantly, Gethu is a character belonging to the relatively higher strata of the community, something that brings him instant fame with his batting. And with cricket being a rivalry between bat and ball, it is almost symbolic of the thorny relationship that Anbe and Gethu would have in the days to come, something that essentially forms the crux of this wonderful film Lubber Pandhu.

Story & Screenplay

In many ways, Lubber Pandhu does unfold on the lines of the Tamil film Blue Star with traces of Harish Kalyan’s film from last year, Parking. While Blue Star did have an underlying theme of casteism in play, Parking was about the fuelling of the male ego that sees two characters pitted against each other. In Lubber Pandhu, it is both set against the backdrop of cricket as a sport. Yet, the writing of the film thrives on a charming casualness that is pretty much prevalent in the drama. For instance, we do know that cricket is a sport that unites with no room for caste or religion in play. Yet, in a scene when a character is asked on why he loves cricket, he almost doesn’t have an answer, exclaiming that ‘it is because he does’. This is the type of casualness that works in the film’s favour because it does not intend to highlight any of its underlying themes, nor does it wish to use the sport as a tool for messaging purpose. And so, at its heart you could say that Lubber Pandhu is a drama about character dynamics with every other element being used in the background.

The drama takes a 11 year jump wherein you are reintroduced to the characters in the same village. The discussion around the Indian Team is now replaced with that of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) featuring Dhoni whose graffiti is painted on the walls of the house of Anbe. Similarly to represent a generational gap, you see the graffiti of Saurav ‘Dada’ Ganguly also painted on the walls of one of the houses. And these two figures represent the relationship of Anbe and Gethu, alerting the viewers before the actual conflict transpires. And while both are shown to be lovers of cricket, and individually great players themselves, each of them lead normal lives outside the cricket ground.

The proceedings are nuanced particularly because the casteism and the ego tussle are just used as byproducts of the drama. And because this story is about character dynamics, you can engaged with the characters that much more. So the central conflict of the relationship between Anbe and Gethu that soon hits rock bottom following an ego clash during a match (wherein Anbe uproots the stump of Gethu while silencing the crowd and Gethu’s supporters), the actual twist in the tale is that Anbe is in love with Durga, a fiery young woman who is the daughter of Gethu. Anbe might possess a truck load of ego which he flaunts in front of Gethu but with Durga, he is the softer person often taking a backseat when she asserts herself in a solidly penned character. Similarly, Gethu has a stoic demeanor in front of Anbe but often shows his tender side with his wife Yasodai, who is equally assertive even as Durga maintains her distance with him. Invariably, both Anbe and Gethu are essentially the same person with similar traits, only generations apart.

The use of casteism also is prevalent only in the background. It doesn’t intend to rile up your emotiona but instead downplays it. For instance, there are casual inferences involving a character who wishes to address his caste on his jersey or even a character implying on how another character thinks that Anbe is ‘like his brother’ and not his ‘actual brother’. The message is subtle but effective even as the cricketing bits takes over. At no point does the drama feel heavy because tonally, the drama is always light and frothy even as you witness fate bringing Anbe and Gethu to play for the same team that results in friction. But here, even the friction that you see is associated with distance – you never see them embroiling in a fight like the characters in Parking. But the distance here is steadily narrowed as they get accustomed to each other’s company. One of the highlights for me was in the refreshing final act that made me put this film above the cliched climax of the otherwise good film Blue Star. It had much more purpose here that sums up the screenplay really well, something that was charming and resounding with its messaging and laced with a sense of casualness that absolutely hits home.

Dialogues, Music & Direction

The dialogues are laced with bouts of humour that never allows the drama to be of higher decibels while leaving it in the more lighter and charming space. The music is sweet and gels well with the drama. The BGM is never used as a tool to highlight the messaging in the drama. You won’t find notes of higher decibels even in crucial scenes, while maintaining the calmness in the drama that eventually felt so organic and grounded with respect to the characters who also have lives of their own outside cricket. The cinematography is pretty good here although the shots capturing cricket could have been a little better. Likewise for the editing that had a few too many cheat cuts during the cricket matches as opposed to a single take of the sport. Not that it impacted the overall product drastically, butba little more finesse would have further elevated the drama. Director Tamizharasan Pachamuthu does a superb job with the world-building and characterization in his debut outing. He has a sense of calmness with which he approaches his characters, as a result of which each character has space to shine and make a splash. He isn’t too weary about the messaging of the drama and often maintains a low key that invariably allows the drama to be well nuanced. The direction is incredible here.

Performances

The performances are wonderful to witness here. And if even the supporting cast members have a story to tell through their actions and antics, then you know that the drama has hit home. Mounica Senthilkumar as Sathya and Devadarshini as Anbu’s mother have her moments to shine. TSK as Venkatesh does a stupendous job in a character with grey shades and he definitely leaves a mark. Jeson Dhivakar as Kozhandhai and Bala Saravanan as Kathadi are two characters of the opppsite spectrum in terms of their support towards their respective teams, but both have similar traits, a reflection of how each person might be different but at the end we all are the same. And both are superb to witness here. Swasika as Yasodhai is incredibly good, often being a steadfast fire-brand that makes her presence felt. Likewise, Sanjana Krishnamoorthy as Durga is brilliantly assertive and stands her own while being pitch perfect with the emotions that she gets to play with. Kaali Venkat as Karuppaiya is just so affable as a character who is more inclusive in his approach. Dinesh Ravi as Gethu and Harish Kalyan as Anbu are both sides of the same coin. Both have their egos in play with dollops of goodness reserved for their spouses. And both have such a stellar screen presence that they invariably feed off each other’s brilliance and make for two towering performances in the film.

Conclusion

Lubber Pandhu is a gritty drama on cricket laced with bouts of casteism presented with charming casualness that makes it a rather brilliant watch. Available on Hotstar.

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