'Laabam' movie review: Vijay Sethupathi, the preachy professor

Laabam

Tamil (Theatres)

Director: SP Jananathan

Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Shruti Haasan, Sai Dhanshika, Jagapathi Babu

Rating: 2/5

Certain films offer a tentative vibe ahead of their release. The trailer for Laabam had given a glimpse of an outright preachy film. Our fears have come true.

Vijay Sethupathi plays Pakkiri, who returns to his village in Tamil Nadu after a long-stint of nomadic living. The man who travelled across the world claims to have the knowledge of succeeding in community farming.

After becoming the chief of the village’s farmer’s association, he protests the greedy capitalist Vanangamudi’s (Jagapathi Babu) plan of setting up a bio-diesel project in the village.

Tamil cinema has squeezed the issue of land grabbing like a well-served tube of toothpaste. So Laabam is not just utterly predictable but also highly uninventive in its storytelling.

Every aspect of filmmaking in Laabam suffers from a lack of finesse. The poorly edited film forgets to breathe. Thanks to the hurried and information-filled screenplay, nothing registers in our head. The less said the better about the film’s staging and production value.

Laabam unravels like a classroom lecture. Sethupathi is the professor who preaches non-stop on community farming. He doesn’t miss a chance to address the negatives of capitalism to his village people.

The script seemed apt for a documentary. Director SP Jananathan’s way of turning it into a feature is by forcing a female protagonist (Shruti Haasan) and a clichéd villainous character into the plot.

Shruti Haasan plays Clara, a singer. She is supposed to educate the villagers through her performances but the manner in which this idea is executed is laughable.

Even more funny is how quickly she falls in love with the protagonist. The romantic track appears highly unrealistic. The weakly written character obviously does nothing to enhance Shruti’s performance. So dated is Jagapathi Babu’s character that it reminds us of the villains of the 80s.

Jananathan’s untimely death due to a cardiac arrest earlier this year sent shock waves through the Tamil industry. The National Award-winning director’s short filmography is very impressive. Laabam, though well-meaning, is far from his best.

In Sethupathi’s career, a mediocre film is always around the corner. The always-in-demand actor believes in exploring as many roles as possible. It’s impossible, even for a gifted actor like him, to strike with 100 per cent accuracy. Some films will work while some will misfire. Laabam is definitely a failed experiment.