Along with his actors, director Pa Ranjith took up boxing lessons for Sarpatta Parambarai

Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming Tamil film Sarpatta Parambarai (2021) is not just a sports film. The feature is set in the 1970s and brings forth the culture and lives of the boxing clans that existed in North Madras at the time.

Ranjith’s film features two rival clans — Sarpatta and Idiyappa — who are forever duelling for their pride and honour.

To bring alive this era and the sport, the filmmaker himself underwent training to understand boxing and bring alive his vision for the film. He took up boxing six months before shooting began as preparation.

“This film is very special to me as I had written this 10 years back and was waiting for the right time to take it ahead," said Ranjith. "I wanted the audience to get the authentic boxing of the 1970s. Not only the era but how sport was placed at that time.

“To understand the technique and to form the boxer’s character, I decided to take boxing training and share my vision through the actors by sharing it with them,” he continued. “We all got trained at Fisherman Island, followed a strict diet, and stayed focused till we shot for the film.

"As a part of preparation, I underwent six months of boxing training before starting the project to understand the sport and to put possible minor details to make it look real.”

To play the lead role of Kabilan, star Arya took up four months of training, including boxing, cardio and weight training for six to seven hours a day, followed by a strict diet. Even during the lockdown, Arya continued with the rigorous routine and diet to maintain his look, as shooting was still to be completed.

John Kokken, who plays his adversary Vembuli, took up training for four hours each day. His workout included high-intensive functional and body-weight training.

Santhosh Pratap, who plays boxer Raman, and Shabeer Kallarakal, who plays Dancing Rose, are both trained martial artistes. The duo also underwent specialized training for boxing.

The boxing drama is due to be released on Amazon Prime on 22 July.