Movies that have a sports backdrop are a rarity; a fact that has changed over the past couple of years after the success of Chennai 28. There have been a few movies in Kollywood and Bollywood that have used sport to take the story forward and almost all of them have dealt with cricket. Ghilli in 2004 was a deviation where Kabadi was an important part of the script. Five years later another movie which has Kabadi as a major element is ready to hit theaters.

The title tells you that the movie revolves around a Kabadi team and the stills and trailers have given us the feeling of a rural setting. We do not know much about the popularity of Kabadi in rural Tamil Nadu. What we do know is that the sport is in a bad condition, lacking in funds and professional management throughout India. The movie has highlighted the sorry state of this traditional sport of India in a raw rural setting.

Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu introduces a host of new faces to the Tamil screen and if successful has the ability to transform into another “Chennai 28 story’ which will augur well for Kollywood. Vishnu is the hero while the fast rising young heroine Saranya Mohan plays the female lead.

Not surprisingly, the director of the movie is Susindhran, the son of a former Indian Kabadi captain. Music has been scored by Selvaganesh, son of ghatam vidhwan Vikku Vinayakram. Laxman Kumar has handled the camera and G.C. Anandan is the art director. Anand Chakravarthy has produced the movie. All the best to this young Kabadi team.