Lubber Pandhu

Lubber Pandhu (Transl. Rubber Ball) is a drama about egos set against a backdrop of cricket in a villaga in tamilnadu. The story revolves around Anbu and Poomalai aka Gethu, played brilliantly by Harish Kalyan and Attakathi Dinesh respectively, and their egos of never losing a cricket game and all the complexities this behavior brings with it. I was never really a fan of Dinesh's acting, but he was a surprise package in this movie. More than these two, the female leads Swasika and Sanjana Krishnamutrhy stole the show with their presence.

The film deals with a lot of human emotions, caste based discrimination without being overly melodramatic or preachy. It is these kinds of movies that remind you that despite having big action set pieces in big budget pan India movies, it is human emotions that matter in a story. This movie offers plenty of those moments. Be it a relationship between two teenagers who are in love, a wife and a husband, a mother and a son, a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law, or a pet and its owner. These subtle emotions are visualized beautifully.

This is a sports drama, and the editing and cinematography hit it out of the park to draw us in when the characters are playing cricket. You won't get the same goosebumps inducing feeling you get when watching Lagaan, but instead the sport is staged to bring you closer to the characters. One thing I wished they spent a bit more time on was the sound design, especially during the cricket games. The production design is just right.

I recommend watching this movie if you want a nice departure from the high-octane action thrillers that have been fed us in the recent past. You won't be disappointed.

-CinephileIndia2023.