In this episode, we step into the ring with Sarpatta Parambarai (2021) — a gritty, stylish Tamil boxing movie directed by Pa. Ranjith. Set in 1970s Madras, the film follows Kabilan, an underdog from the working-class Sarpatta clan, as he rises through the ranks of the boxing world amidst deep caste divisions, political rivalries, and personal demons. It’s a movie that draws clear inspiration from Rocky but uses its influence to tell a uniquely Indian story.

Adam immediately pointed out how this movie felt leagues above what he expected from a boxing film. The aesthetics, the period-accurate costumes, and especially the mustache game left us all in awe. Adam even joked that the movie looks so good you could pause it at any frame and have a perfect 70s magazine ad. For him, the film’s strength wasn’t just the boxing — it was the atmosphere. The sweat, the smoky boxing clubs, and the bustling streets of 70s Madras all felt incredibly alive.

We spent a lot of time talking about how Sarpatta Parambarai isn’t just a sports film — it’s a movie about caste, power, and resistance. Khilli explained how Pa. Ranjith’s politics are deeply rooted in anti-caste narratives, and the movie’s portrayal of working-class life was intentional and deeply layered. Nicky, coming in as the pop-culture outsider, noted that while the boxing arc felt familiar (training montages, underdog fights), the specific context of caste rivalry added a weight rarely seen in Western boxing films.

Of course, this wouldn’t be Fear of Stairs without side tangents. We got lost in a debate over the term “pugilist” — which Adam thought was a word nobody used anymore — only to be owned by Nicky busting out a journalist’s vocabulary mid-episode. There was also an extended bit where Adam recounted being randomly asked to take a photo with a stranger’s kid in Thailand — a moment so baffling that we joked maybe Fear of Stairs had reached international celebrity status (it hasn’t).

Khilli also broke down the specifics of Tamil boxing styles and the real-life boxers that inspired the film’s characters. Winnie loved the choreography of the fights, especially the scene where a dancer-boxer taunts his opponents with elaborate footwork like something straight out of Tekken. And yes — we all absolutely lost it during the infamous scene where the main character gets stripped naked in the ring for humiliation, prompting Adam to declare that stripping people in public seems to be a recurring cinematic humiliation tactic in Indian cinema (it happened in Jawan too).

By the end of the episode, we agreed that Sarpatta Parambarai is one of the most visually stunning films we’ve covered — a movie that punches hard, not just in the ring, but in its cultural commentary too.