Here is the review of this week’s sensational sports movie ‘Lubber Pandhu’ that has the likes of big stars such as Sivakarthikeyan raving. The genre is not all that new as we recently saw the impressive ‘Blue Star’ and naturally there is a question whether this one will give the same experience. Well nothing can be far from that thought as we move further in our ‘Labbuer Pandhu’ Review.
Story of Lubber Pandhu
‘Gethu’ (Attakaththi Dinesh) is the one who gets down to the opening and sets off fireworks like Sehwag when playing gully cricket. However, he is the opposite of that at home as he is completely submissive to his dominating wife (Swaswika Vijay). Time rolls on and in the current generation Anbu (Harish Kalyan) is the biggest bowler in the town. Naturally the battle of egos erupts between the seasoned batsman and the sensational bowler that resonates in all aspects of their lives. The surprise twist is that the latter is dating the former’s daughter and the rest of the story of ‘Lubber Pandhu’ is whether their love overcomes the ego between the men for whom cricket is the foremost.
Acting Performances in Lubber Pandhu
‘Attakkathi’ Dinesh who has shown so much promise in his earlier outings but never saw the success he deserves has simply towered with his performances in this movie. Starting with the stance he takes at the crease its his show all the way. He is simply superb in the emotional scenes where he longs for his wife and feels guilt over going against his grown up daughter’s wishes. Harish Kalyan the perfect foil for Dinesh has matched his senior colleague in all their confrontation scenes especially on the cricket turf. He is full of energy in the romance with Sanjana Krishnamurthy who has also put in a sound performance as the girl torn between her father and lover. Swaswika Vijay has put in such a good show that she easily draws attention to herself whenever she appears on screen. In short she has convincingly brought to life a rural woman who is headstrong but soft at the same time. She is one to watch out for in future films. Bala Saravanan and Jensen take care of the comedy department and most of their jokes thankfully work which has not been the case with Tamil comedians in the recent year or so. Kaali Venkat, Karnan Janaki and Geetha Kailasam once again prove their mettle in relatively smaller roles.
Positives of Lubber Pandhu
Is ‘Labber Pandhu’ which is the Tamil slang for Rubber Ball only about the clash of egos? Well not really there are several layers to the screenplay that keeps the engagement factor alive from start to finish. For example the film speaks about caste disparities but in the most subtle and effective way that connects with both the so called upper caste and the lower caste giving rise to awareness and introspection instead of triggering hatred. The political clarity that the writer-director possesses is evident in the scenes between the two heroines who both undergo inter caste marriages. Similarly the comedy scenes involving Bala Saravanan and Jensen also raises political questions. The screenplay is written in such a way that even the smallest characters impress. Additional kudos for creating such strong female characters in a film that is largely about the ego between men. The Vijayakanth references will bring nostalgic emotions to senior viewers while veteran composer Deva has also been given a deserving shoutout.
Negatives
There are few flaws in ‘Lubber Pandhu’ which are definitely not enough to hamper the viewing experience or pulling down the narration in any significant manner.
Technical Aspects
The biggest strength of the film is Sean Roldan’s background music which elevates the ego blasting that is a major part of the story. His ‘Chillanchirkiye’ is a nice melody that is already a hit while the retro old song featuring Dinesh with a story on its own is highly enjoyable. Dineshkumar Purushothaman’s cinematography and Madan Ganesh’s editing have worked in tandem to bring to life the director’s vision on screen.
Debutant director Tamilarasan Pachamuthu who wrote the powerful dialogues in ‘Nenjukku Needhi’ has made such a solid debut with ‘Lubber Pandhu’ that he is sure to go places in the near future. He has shown great maturity in handling the sensitive subject with his hard hitting dialogues and free flowing screenplay and has kept the audiences entertained throughout. S Lakshman Kumar under his banner Prince Pictures has bankrolled yet another solid film that is both thought provoking as well as entertaining.
Verdict : ‘Lubber Pandhu’ is a rare commercial movie which can be enjoyed with family and friends and celebrated.
Rating : 4/5