Review: Lubber Pandhu

What also strikes you vividly is the manner in which all the male characters are showcased in the film. Almost all the lead male characters in the film are showcased as being irresponsible, untrustworthy, dependent and with an extremely low sense of self-esteem while all the female characters are showcased in exactly the opposite fashion.

Lubber Pandhu Review

Film: Lubber Pandhu
Director: Tamizharasan Pachamuthu
Cast: Harish Kalyan, Attakathi Dinesh, Swaswika, Sanjana Krishnamoorthy, Kaali Venkat, Bala saravanan , Geetha Kailasham, Deva Dharshini , Jenson Divakar and TSK among others
Music: Sean Roldan
Cinematography: Dinesh Purushothaman
Editing: Madan
Rating: 3 stars

Lubber Pandhu is a mixed bag. It truly is. One moment it is funny and almost in the next instant, it turns serious. It initially misleads you into believing that it is a simple sports drama that revolves around the egos of two cricket lovers playing gully cricket in a small town only to evolve into something much more significant such as caste and the deep-rooted differences it brings along with it.

Before we analyse any further, here is the synopsis…
Poomalai aka Gethu (Attakathi Dinesh), an artist by profession in a small town, loves to play cricket so much that he neglects his profession and family to play the sport.

Gethu isn’t your average teenager or youngster who is passionate about cricket. He is well past middle age and the father to a young maiden who is madly in love with another cricketer, Anbu (Harish Kalyan), who is equally passionate about the sport. While Poomalai is a batsman, who takes pride in his batting skills, Anbu is a fast bowler, who takes pride in his bowling. Both players are from the backward classes and are not allowed to play in a team comprising of upper caste players. A series of developments result in an ego clash between Anbu and Gethu. How they put aside their egos to come together to bring about a change in the mindset of those from the upper classes is what Lubber Pandhu is all about.

There is no doubt that the film is entertaining. It might not have you hooked to the screen but it is a fairly decent engaging entertaine that has its moments.

The story isn’t complicated and the narration is fairly lucid. Except for a couple of factors that work against the film, everything about the film is pretty much okay and works.

What doesn’t work…
The misandry in the film is unmistakable and it is what stops the film from being what it could have been – a flawless, complete family entertainer.

Director Tamizharasan Pachamuthu seems to paid attention to factors that are considered “progressive” in this day and age and gone out of his way to include them in his film.

It is with this thought that he chooses to play the gender card.

Take for instance a sequence that appears before a crucial match in the film. Two male characters have a conversation on the composition of their team for this match. One character is surprised to know that there is a girl who has been included in the team and raises a question about it. The other character — the “hero” character – confronts him saying, “Aambala Thimira Kaaturiya?” (Are you showing your male arrogance?). The question raised by the first chap is neither arrogant nor condescending. It is just a simple enquiry. However, the director, who is eager to position his film as being “pro-women” and wanting to showcase that it is for “women empowerment”, has a dialogue that hits out at men for no reason.

What also strikes you vividly is the manner in which all the male characters are showcased in the film. Almost all the lead male characters in the film are showcased as being irresponsible, untrustworthy, dependent and with an extremely low sense of self-esteem while all the female characters are showcased in exactly the opposite fashion.

Take for instance, Harish Kalyan’s character Anbu. He goes begging after the heroine, after the relationship between the two suffers a temporary set back.

“You may be able to live without me but I cannot live without you,” he says pathetically in a bid to placate her anger and make up.

The same attitude and mindset is displayed by the other male protagonist, Gethu (Attakathi Dinesh). There is a scene in the film in which his wife leaves him. When she returns, he sheds tears and begs her to not leave him ever again.

What works…
Swaswika as Gethu’s wife is clearly the best performer of the film. She comes up with a realistic and measured performance that provides the film with some much needed credibility.

Three other actors also join hands to save the day for the film. The first of these is Kaali Venkat who plays the altruistic original founder of the club, who seeks to take all players along with him. The two other actors who play a crucial role in making the film work are Balasaravanan and Jensan Diwakar.

While Balasaravanan plays the role of Anbu (Harish Kalyan’s) friend, Jensan Diwakar plays the role of a loyal supporter of Gethu (Attakathi Dinesh). The dialogue exchanges between the two are what make the film entertaining for the most part.

Harish Kalyan and Attakathi Dinesh come up with neat performances but there is nothing outstanding or remarkable about their contributions to the film.

Sean Roldan’s music as always is apt and a big strength to the film.

Verdict:
On the whole, Lubber Pandhu is a reasonably good entertainer that is worth a one-time watch.