Khalid Rahman’s ‘Alappuzha Gymkhana’, starring Naslen, is a lightweight, likeable boxing drama
- Trinity Auditorium
- Apr 11
- 1 min read
The film is fun and fabulously made, but this is a screenplay that gels better as an idea, when you think about it, rather than something that really excites you on screen. The rest of this review may contain spoilers.
The most interesting aspect about Khalid Rahman’s new film is that it’s a boxing drama that’s not exactly a boxing drama. There’s no “I want to become a boxer” dream inside the protagonist Jojo, played by Naslen. He fails his Plus Two exams, and he just wants to get into a college through the sports quota. And when he does take up boxing, with his friends, there’s no “underdog has to win” angle, even though the main characters are all underdogs. There’s no secret manoeuvre taught by a coach at the last minute, and this coach is not the usual “tough older man with tender heart” cliché we get in boxing movies. This man has got his own anger-management issues, and he seems as much one of the boys, rather than a wise mentor. Alappuzha Gymkhana is a boxing drama where the boxing happens on the sidelines of life.
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