Toofan and Sarpatta parambarai – two movies that attempt to showcase boxing. My thoughts..)

Barbara Tuchman, my favorite historian had a simple piece of advice pasted on her desk ” Will the reader turn the page?” If there is ever a litmus test for good writing, it is this. And that is why all her books were often eminently readable. Similarly, for filmmakers, the rule of the thumb is: “Can we keep our audience riveted to the screen, without boredom, inertia, and fervently praying for the film to end quickly?” If this dictum cannot be satisfied, there is a problem. We can sit through mindless movies, not once but twice and even more if necessary if the director can keep it going at an interesting pace and rhythm, even if the beaten-to-death storyline is predictable within half an hour. But most commercial movies suffer from the disease of casualness. The movie starts out well, there is a definitive premise in mind, the first thirty minutes show a lot of promise, and then laziness creeps in and the director begins to take the audience’s sensibilities for granted, and furthermore assumes his audience has no brains whatsoever and cannot appreciate an intelligent treatment of a subject. That’s when, at the end of the movie, you get irritated and wonder how the three hours could have been put to better use. Yes, Indian films tend to run for about 3 hrs, especially, those that don’t have much to say. That’s an irony there for you.

Yesterday was a boxing day at home. What I mean is I watched two movies, almost mirror images of each other about the travails of a boxer and boxing. One is a Tamil film “Sarpatta Parambarai”, and the other is “Toofan” in Hindi. Both movies are 2.45 hours long. The storyline of both films is this: Boxing takes over the life of a young man, he faces troubles, comes out triumphant. Not a bad premise for an overall tale, but the problem, as we said earlier, is in the execution. The first thirty minutes or so presages the possibility of a rich meaningful tale, and we cozily stretch our legs on the recliner hoping to be sucked into a different world, and before long, the reality comes crashing down. Of the two, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra’s Toofan is a notch better than Ranjith’s SP, only because Farhan Akhtar is a far superior actor than Arya can ever hope to be.

Both men have spent time tuning their bodies to portray a boxer: the muscles ripple, the six-abs shine through, the nerves glisten and stretch – all that is fine, but watching Arya enact his role makes one think how he could have become an actor in the first place. For right or wrong, I have seen Arya for more than a decade, and the only expression he can carry well is one of sheepish ignorance ( in other words a blank look). On the other hand, Farhan is an expressive actor from a good pedigree, and he does more with the role than Arya does. There is at least a range of emotions, and flashes of brilliance that shine through every now and then. Both men have proved that they have worked for their money by putting on some belly for their respective roles. Not sure, if that’s not some kind of cosmetic skin-like carapace pasted on top of their skin, quite possible, but it does look real and out of shape, and gives some credibility at the physical level, if not so much in the acting. Farhan has worked with Rakeshyh in the past, in the roles of Milka Singh, and I suppose they were trying to ride the same wave again in the form of a boxer. Speaking of Boxing itself, both movies pay tribute to Mohammad Ali. That’s good. No film on boxing is complete without a word on the master. As far as the filming of the boxing training routine and bouts is concerned, Toofan is much more true to the sport than SP is. The boxing sequences are more authentic, the camera angles are much more in perspective in Toofan than in SP. In SP, at crucial moments in the fight, the sequence grinds to a focussed slow-motion, and we see and hear only the thud of the glove hitting the face with sweat and blood spewing all over. The easier thing to do when the lead actor cannot act well. Strangely, Arya underperforms in the romantic moments of the film too. There must be something wrong in his makeup, or whatever, that there is a rigidness about him that is impossible to shake off. Farhan Akhtar, again, does a better job wooing the sweet Dr. Ananya ( played refreshingly well by Mrunal Thakur).

One good thing in SP ( the only good thing in fact) is that the story is uncomplicated. It is about two local boxing clans fighting for hegemony during the time when Indira Gandhi imposed a nationwide rule of emergency. Ranjith seriously believes in period films ( I didn’t seriously mean that). Toofan, on the other hand, skips skirts and hops through multiple layers of stories. It’s about goondaism, orphans, undying love, Hindu-Muslim sentiments, bomb blasts, and whatnot. One gets confused, leaving our tears diluted and apportioned equally to all, with no serious commitment to any. A sense of relief sets in the climax, when we are told what Aziz ( Farhan’s character) is fighting for. The mystery is resolved.

Forgetting the heroes of both films for a moment, we must appreciate the wonderful work by the supporting cast. If at all the movie deserves its money, it’s for them. Whether is Paresh Rawal and Supriya Pathak in Toofan or Pasupathi and Anupama Kumar in SP, to name a few – their performances lift the quality of the movie from bad to watchable. They help in scaffolding the poor screenplay, editing, and the general storyline. The music is passable and has no role to play except in the action sequences. The background scores are not jarring either and does its job decently well.

For me, these two films stood in stark contrast to another boxing film I happened to rewatch two weeks ago. That was unfortunate because it colored my view of Toofan and SP. Clint Eastwood’s “Million dollar baby” is about one girl’s dream of becoming a boxer as a last resort in her life, to reclaim a modicum of self-respect and dignity, to find meaning and a sense of purpose, to stand in the glare of footlights even if it is for few minutes. It is also a story of triumph, but of the spirit, and of a different order and quality. It is also about a victory that comes at the price of a life, and of surmounting odds even when there is nothing to look forward to on the other side. Hillary Swank as the aspiring boxer, Clint Eastwood himself as the coach and brilliantly supported by Moran Freeman as the administrator of the Boxing club, the million-dollar baby gives us a scorching insight into boxing, the life of a boxer, and the force that drives people to beat each other in a ring, There is no other sport as cathartic as boxing is. It epitomizes the raw, primeval, physical energy and its vent. Million-dollar baby swept the Oscars, and rightfully so. After Martin Scorcese’s brilliant adaptation, in 1980, of Jake LaMotta’s memoir “The raging bull”, it was Eastwood’s Million dollar baby that resurrected boxing as a metaphor for life and death. Against this background, both SP and Toofan are not even “a pale blue dot”, to paraphrase the legendary Carl sagan’s words said in a different context.

Both SP and Toofan are currently showing on Amazon prime. I wouldn’t advise against watching them, but if you do, keep your expectations low and time yourself. Thankfully streaming gives us the liberty to control the destiny of our interaction with a film. Use it generously in both cases.

God bless…

yours in mortality,

Bala