From Ghilli to Balti: The evolution of the sports genre in Tamil cinema

No conversation about Tamil sports dramas involving Kabaddi can begin without mentioning the genre’s classic text, Ghilli. The film employed the trappings of Kabaddi to amplify the larger-than-life persona of its hero, who takes it upon himself to protect a young woman from a gangster obsessed with marrying her. The Vijay-starrer is not, at its core, a film about Kabaddi, nor does it pretend to be. The sport simply provides the backdrop, while the true essence of the story lies in the hero’s coming-of-age journey, shaped by a life-altering experience and the discovery of love.

Then there is an outlier like Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, directed by Susienthiran, which stripped away the production gloss and epic scale of Ghilli to tell a grounded story about a village and a few players for whom Kabaddi becomes a matter of pride and self-respect. This is a far more stripped-down take on the sports drama, where team dynamics, the dramatic circumstances that bring the players together, and their struggle to rise above limitations form the core of the narrative.

Bigil, starring Vijay, is a loud, blockbuster-style sports drama that prioritizes fan service and indulgent social commentary over the game itself. The film shows little balance, using football less as a sport than as a stage for recycling tired ideas. Its scale, multiple Vijay roles, larger-than-life ambition, and massive budget overshadow the immediacy and simple pleasures of football, which is supposed to be central to the story.

Pa Ranjith’s Sarpatta Parambarai, which released on OTT during the pandemic, seamlessly weaved together boxing, character development, and incisive social commentary. The film explores the exclusivity of boxing, which has historically been restricted along caste and class lines due to their technical demands and origins, and shows how they can be democratized through a common man who dares to embody the dreams of the voiceless. It stands out as one of the most cinematic sports films in recent years, where authentic milieu and form combine with engaging character work and world-building.

Another recent film that used sports as a narrative crutch for a personal story was Lubber Panthu, which explored an ego clash between two men playing gully cricket in a rural setting. The film frames its conflict as a game of one-upmanship between a young, dashing player and his lover’s father, who is uneasy about their relationship. Their rivalry plays out on the cricket field, with each match spilling over into their social circles and family lives. Lubber Panthu offers an intimate look at human interaction through the lens of street cricket, charting emotional conflicts and personal journeys against the arc of the game. The stakes are smaller than in other entries of the canon, but they are felt nonetheless.

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