This is the film I am most confident of: Pa Ranjith on Sarpatta Parambarai

The launch of Pa Ranjith's explosive trailer for Sarpatta Parambarai was accompanied by a virtual chat with some of the cast, Arya, John Kokken and Pasupathy, as well as the director.

The film, based on the boxing culture of North Madras, will be released on Amazon Prime Video on 22 July.

At the trailer launch, director Ranjith revealed that he had first thought of the subject way back in 2012. The story struck him during the making of his directorial debut film, Attakathi (2012).

"I thought of making this film after Attakathi," Ranjith said. "I had plans then, but I couldn't go ahead with them. When I was researching in North Madras for Madras (2014), the main sports I witnessed people play were football and boxing. Why was boxing so popular was among the questions that came up for me. The culture was present here since the pre-Independence era. It was among the many elements that I wished to make into a film.

"For me, North Madras has been stereotyped," he continued. "I wanted to break that and make a new story. This felt convincing to me. After Kaala (2018), I decided to take this up seriously."

The film is set in the 1970s. "The boxing culture remained from the pre-Independence era till the 1990s," said Ranjith. "I could have taken up the 1990s, but the 1970s was an interesting period. The situations, landscapes, costumes, language felt interesting. It was also a challenge for me to deliver an experience for the audience. The audience has to live and experience the lives that are so far beyond their connection today. The political backdrop, the colours, sets are elements that will bring a new experience to the audience today."

Ranjith called the film's script his strongest work. "The film which I am very confident about, as a script, is Sarpatta," he said. "I am thankful to everyone who supported me through it, and will, I hope, be popular with the audience."

Sarpatta Parambarai captures the intense subaltern boxing culture that thrived in the North Madras region. Actor Pasupathy, who grew up in the same part of the city, said, "My childhood happened along Royapuram, Sharma Nagar. From childhood I have seen these boxers and how they prepared. Ranjith narrated the story and I was quietly impressed, as I had seen these matches in the early 1990s."

Describing his role in the film, he said, "Actually, in this film, I was working more on the training, the body language of the masters. The basic element of boxing I practised. Our master was Ranjith, and what he needed, we tried to deliver."

Calling it one of the most physically demanding roles of his career, Arya said, "It was very difficult for me because Ranjith just wouldn't okay the shot if I didn't hit John [Vijay], Santhosh [Prathap] or Shabeer. He [Ranjith] had to hear the sound of the punch on the monitor. It used to be like a real fight. We would feel like [Muhammad] Ali or [Mike] Tyson, with the audience cheering us on all around."

He added, "I have gone through a major physical transformation for this film and done a rigorous amount of training to get the physicality of techniques of a boxer right. It is a completely different role for me from my previous movies and I believe it is going to be a career-defining film for me."

The actor also joked that the cast had to conduct a 'sorry session' after each take, since the punches they landed were real.

Actor John Kokken, who plays a character named Vembuli in the film, agreed. He said, "Every punch we had to make was real. Ranjith is one of the most perfectionist directors. Every punch had to have real contact, or he would not let us not hit each other. If we did not make contact on a punch, he would cut and ask us to do it again."

Vijay Subramaniam, director and head of content at Amazon Prime Video, India, said, "We make a continuous effort in understanding the pulse of our customers and provide them with a wide variety of content. We are glad to have become a service where stories that are deep-rooted in culture and cinematic marvels get a global voice. Sarpatta Parambarai is one story that was waiting to be told, its universal theme of passion, grit and the quest for identity will resonate well with our audiences in India and all over the world."

Sarpatta Parambarai also features actors Dushara Vijayan and Kalaiyarasan in key roles. The film is set to be released on Amazon Prime Video on 22 July.