Irudhi Suttru

An Indian boxing film. Prabhu is a coach. He is difficult, has been pushed out of the national setup after a fight with an official, and is sent to Chennai to train women's boxing as a punishment posting. The federation there is corrupt. Places are sold, and one boxer in the squad has bought hers. He sees someone else. A young woman selling fish in the market has a natural punch and no interest in boxing at all; she needs money and is unimpressed by him. From there the film is a training story with an obstacle that is not the sport. Her family, the federation, the coach's own temper and her sister's resentment all get in the way before any opponent does. The coach is not softened. He drinks, he insults people, and the film keeps him unpleasant well past the point where these stories usually turn him warm. What the narrative is interested in is not winning but the arrangement: the film says a talent without money or connections is not developed but bargained over, and shows the bargaining. The training sequences are physical and unglamorous, and the fights are shot short and close. Ritika Singh plays the boxer. She was a real mixed martial arts competitor with no acting experience, and won a national award for the part. R. Madhavan plays the coach and put on considerable weight and training for it. Sudha Kongara directed. The film was made simultaneously in Tamil and Hindi with the same leads, released under two titles. Who it is for: anyone who likes sports films where the sport is the smaller problem. Who it is not for: anyone tired of the genre's shape; the beats are the familiar ones even if the details are not.