Bison Kaalamaadan (2025) [Movie Review] — Mari Selvaraj’s bruising, beautiful kabaddi saga

Bison Kaalamaadan traces the life of Kittan, a kabaddi player shaped by hardship and a single-minded love for the game. Directed by Mari Selvaraj and co-written with Karnan Helmer, the film draws loosely from the life of player Manathi Ganesan and situates its protagonist in a landscape of social pressures, familial bonds and physical contest. It’s an ambitious addition to Selvaraj’s cinematic world — not his finest, perhaps, but unmistakably stamped with his concerns and sensibilities.

Story & screenplay

A simple passion, an elaborate canvas

The narrative follows Kittan’s uphill battle to pursue kabaddi while negotiating personal loss and societal obstacles. Selvaraj’s screenplay prefers emotional textures to tidy plotting: the film often drifts into episodic vignettes that build atmosphere more than tidy cause-and-effect. The transition between past and present — and the switch from black-and-white to colour — is used effectively to signal memory and transformation, even if the sprawling runtime occasionally diffuses narrative focus.

Performances

Committed acting anchors the film’s ambitions

Dhruv Vikram commits to a physically transformative, muscular portrayal of Kittan; he is most convincing when channelling fury and competitive intensity. Pasupathy, as the father, supplies the film’s emotional backbone with a restrained, moving turn. Madankumar Dakshinamoorthy provides quietly poignant support as Kittan’s mentor, while Ameer and Lal enhance smaller moments with their presence. Rajisha Vijayan and Anupama Parameswaran are tasteful in their parts, though a misstep in dubbing for Rajisha slightly undercuts the film’s earthy tone. Overall, the ensemble’s conviction keeps you invested even when the script meanders.

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Direction & technical craft

Selvaraj’s signature empathy, sometimes at the expense of pace

Mari Selvaraj brings his trademark blend of social conscience and visceral storytelling. Cinematographer Ezhil Arasu K captures the raw rural textures and the brutal poetry of physical struggle, framing kabaddi not just as a sport but as a rite of survival. Where the film fumbles is in length and density: at nearly three hours, the abundance of characters and subplots means some late entrants never fully land, and the emotional core can feel tempered by distance.

Kabaddi sequences & choreography

Sport as cinema — tense, tactile, choreographed

The game scenes are indisputably one of the movie’s strongest assets. The kabaddi matches are shot and edited to emphasise impact and strategy, turning bodies and breath into a cinematic language. These set pieces deliver genuine tension and are staged with a clarity and inventiveness that make the sport thrilling to watch even for viewers unfamiliar with its rules.

Music & cinematography

Subtle score, striking visuals

Nivas K. Prasanna’s score never hogs attention; instead, it seeps into the film’s atmosphere, bolstering moments without overt sentimentality. Ezhil Arasu K’s lensing — especially the film’s monochrome-to-colour transitions — works as both stylistic flourish and narrative signal. The technical palette enhances the film’s moods, from dusty desperation to combustible triumph.

What works and what doesn’t

A film of big heart and uneven rewards

Bison Kaalamaadan succeeds when it zeroes in on Kittan’s physical trials, mentor bonds and father-son intimacy — these are the movie’s most human and affecting moments. It stumbles when it accumulates characters and subplots in the final hour, diluting focus and emotional clarity. At times, Kittan feels admirably mythic yet curiously opaque; we see his reactions more than his inner life.

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Final verdict

Imperfect, intense and ultimately rewarding (7.5/10)

Mari Selvaraj’s Bison Kaalamaadan is a powerful, occasionally unwieldy sports drama that celebrates the grit of kabaddi and the stubborn humanity of its protagonist. With strong performances, vivid matchcraft and striking visuals, it’s a film worth watching — especially for those who appreciate cinema that blends social urgency with physical spectacle. Not flawless, but moving and memorable.