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Lubber Pandhu Review - Pitch Perfect!
Bharath Vijayakumar
In debutant Tamizharasan Pachamuthu's Lubber Pandhu, a minor altercation that arises from a casual remark, snowballs into a major ego tussle between the two male leads. It is like what would happen if there is too much air pressure within the rubber (sorry lubber) ball. It is going to burst. Do the protagonists realize this before the threshold is reached? This is the premise of Lubber Pandhu. But Lubber Pandhu is also so much more. If the ego battle is the equivalent of the battle between the bowler and the batsman on the pitch, the film packs in so much and acts as a commentary on casteism, misogyny, family dynamics and love among other pertinent topics. In other words, it isn't just the batsman and the bowler who are in focus. The entire ground with the fielders and even the audience is given due importance in the film.
The most striking aspect of Lubber Pandhu is that each character is well established. It could even be someone who is just making a one scene appearance. But he or she registers. The drama and the emotions work right through. They reach a crescendo at crucial places. The emotions are high, but the melodrama is almost absent. Anbu (Harish Kalyan) and Durga (Sanjana Krishnamoorthy) are probably the only two characters that are close to being ideal. The others have noticeable flaws. Poomalai aka Gethu (Dinesh) is passionate about cricket and is the best in the business. He is revered in his locality for his skills with the bat. He is someone who enjoys the jubilant face of a bowler when he picks his wicket. He even loses his wicket on purpose (not before thrashing the opponents) to enjoy this scenario. He realizes that more jubilant the face, the more important his wicket is. So, when a much younger Anbu picks his wicket and reacts as though this is what he expected to happen, it hurts Gethu's ego. Anbu isn't celebrating the wicket. He just gives a 'It is this simple to get you out' look that greatly flusters Gethu. Of course, there is a crucial scene before this event which actually sets up these two individuals to have a go at each other. But that look is what exactly hurts Gethu. Just like how a nonchalant 'hello' uttered by Anbu irritates him. See, this is exactly the beauty of Lubber Pandhu. It is seemingly innocuous gestures or words that rile up these individuals. The USP of Lubber Pandhu is the ensuing relationship dynamics that is disrupted because of this incident on a cricket ground. The lives of these characters outside are disturbed as Anbu is in love with Gethu's daughter.
The cricket scenes in Gethu are top notch. It is inevitable that these scenes could turn predictable quite easily. While that cannot be avoided completely, the detailing of these scenes is simply brilliant. Cinematic liberties aside, the nuances are captured well. Note how Gethu always plays the first ball as a dot ball by defending it. But when his ego is touched, he isn't himself and tries to smash the first ball. And when he regains his composure in the climax, he gets back to his best. Talent and physical attributes aside, these things are also about one's mental state of mind.
Running for 2 hrs and 26 minutes, not one scene in Lubber Pandhu feels irrelevant. And it is a pleasant surprise how the director is not aiming for easy claps. You know that Anbu is a Vijay fan and the intro music of Pokkiri Pongal is played during his entry into the field. But unlike the Vijayakanth song for Gethu along with a lot of other Vijayakanth references, the Vijay references are subdued and even the Pokkiri Pongal song actually stops with the beginning music. And you know how easy it could have been to extend this just a little for some whistles. But Tamizharasan Pachamuthu is rather interested in earning every cheer through his craft and there are plenty such moments where the cheers are induced organically.
The dialogues are simple, relatable, to the point and terrific. Be it the one about how people who assume or pretend that they aren't casteist, and yet are afraid to take a strong stand against casteism, actually end up causing more damage than the ones who are openly casteist. Or the one where someone who is against casteism being called out for being misogynistic. This is a film that makes all its points loud and clear and yet ensures that nothing sticks out and everything gels with the core narrative.
For a film that is so clear on inclusivity and gender equality, I guess some portions need to be discussed. The scene where Gethu's mother reaches out to his wife Yashoda works really well because of the acting all around. But she is essentially guilt tripping Yashoda to make her do something and the purpose is achieved. The entire conversation is one way, and it is all about what Yashoda's action means to others and there is hardly any mention of what the actions of others have on Yashoda. This can again be discussed under the debate of depiction vs endorsement/glorification. To the film's credit, Yashoda is shown as a strong woman who can stand on her own. In fact, no one can have a say against her. She has an agency of her own. But as a counter argument, it can also be said that by showing such a strong woman being easily guilt tripped, is the right message being sent across? But then again, it is also a fact that the Gethu - Yashoda pair had gone against their families to enter into an intercaste wedlock out of love. They love each other and this is very apparent in the film. They aren't living with each other due to any compulsion but only out of love. But is Yashoda actually happy? Because you sense disappointment and regret from her voice in a later scene when she tells Anbu's mother about how she knows about guys because of the 20 years she lived with Gethu. She literally says that there is no guarantee that those who are good to the outside world will be good to the ones at home. This argument of to and fro can go on. Simply put, as a depiction (and that too of characters from a small town) this portion is fine. As an endorsement, it is not. And I do believe this isn't endorsement because as I said earlier, Anbu and Durga seem to be the most ideal characters in the film and from what we see in the film, both have a lot of love and respect for each other, and it shows in the way they treat each other. I am hoping that this is what the director is endorsing.
The other minor grouse I had when I watched the film the first time was the climax. Wouldn't it have sufficed if the opponent team just won on their own rather than Anbu deliberately helping them? But on subsequent watches I did not mind this and it actually even sits quite well with the theme of the film. Showing Love (Anbu) is what real Pride (Gethu) is!
Bottomline
This cricket centered drama that beautifully integrates the subjects of casteism and male ego and misogyny and bats for inclusivity is PITCH - PERFECT!
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