Bison Kaalamaadan Review

After delivering four socially relevant and impactful films consecutively (i.e., Pariyerum Perumal, Karnan, Maamanathan, and Vaazhai), director Mari Selvaraj collaborated with Dhruv Vikram for Bison Kaalamaadan, a social drama set against the backdrop of Kabaddi. From the moment of its announcement, the film was anticipated to be the first big breakthrough for the talented young actor, Dhruv Vikram. The project was first announced in 2020, but filming did not commence until June 2025. After a year in production, the film was finally released in theatres today. Did Mari Selvaraj score his fifth hit as a director? Has Dhruv Vikram scored his first theatrical hit? Is the film as compelling as the director’s previous four works? Let’s find out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Inspired by the life story of Manathi Ganesan, an Indian Kabaddi player and Arjuna award winner, Bison Kaalamaadan tells the story of Kittan Velusamy (Dhruv Vikram), a young boy from a socially oppressed caste in the 1990s. What challenges did Kittan face in his pursuit of his dream to play for the Indian Kabaddi team? How did the feud between two groups (one from an upper caste and the other from an oppressed caste) in a district in Tamil Nadu influence his journey? Why is Kittan’s father, Velusamy (Pasupathy), reluctant to let his son play Kabaddi? Did Kittan overcome all obstacles and make it to the Indian team? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Dhruv Vikram delivered a fiery portrayal of Kittan, with his intense hunger for Kabaddi, helplessness, pain, anger, and frustration, all convincingly expressed. He displays qualities that suggest he could become not merely a star, but a brilliant actor. Pasupathy, as the protective father, gave a top-notch performance, underscoring his capabilities as an actor.

Rajisha Vijayan, as a supportive sister, performed well, making the most of her extended role. Aruvi Madhan portrayed Santhanraj, the physical training (PT) master, with notable skill. Ameer, Lal, and Anupama Parameswaran made significant impressions in their crucial characters. Bison is among those rare films where virtually every actor, regardless of the size or importance of their part, delivers strong performances.

Technical Aspects:

Almost all technical departments provided outstanding work within a limited budget. Among them, cinematographer Ezhil Arasu’s work stands out, capturing the rural Tamil Nadu of the 1990s breathtakingly. His camera work is inarguably one of the film’s highlights. Nivas K. Prasanna’s music seamlessly complemented the film’s theme and mood, with nearly all songs blended seamlessly in the narration. The track played after Kittan’s father consents to his Kabaddi pursuit beautifully symbolised Kittan’s transformation. His background score also aligned perfectly with the mood of the film, elevating the overall experience.

Editor Sakthi Thiru’s editing was sharp in the first half, though the second half could have benefited from tighter editing. Particularly, the last hour felt overly prolonged. The production design team successfully recreated the 1990s setting within a tight budget, paying close attention to detail. Let’s Mari Selvaraj’s work, both as writer and director, in the analysis section.

Positives:

1. First Half
2. Exceptional Technical Values
3. Strong Performances
4. Powerful Story Telling

Negatives:

1. Excessive Blood & Gore
2. Slow Pace
3. Drag In The Second Half
4. Predictable Narration

Analysis:

Mari Selvaraj, undoubtedly is an exceptional storyteller and director. There is no doubt about it. Each of his four(i.e.Pariyerum Perumal, Karnan, Maamanathan, and Vaazhai) previous works as a director, tells us his conviction, unapologetic attitude in conveying his ideology, powerful storytelling skills and his command over most of the crafts of a film. Just like his earlier films, Bison Kaalamaadan, too has a socially relevant story and it was told in a very hard-hitting and powerful manner. It has everything that we expect from a Mari Selvaraj film but this time around, he ended up becoming monotonous. Only the backdrop changes but the core point of a person or a group of people from the oppressed castes, fighting against social inequalities, remains the same.

‘Life gives a certain amount of respect through status to each person… doesn’t matter if I’m fighting the battle reluctantly or not, I just have to continue fighting the battle to safeguard my respect’, says Kandasamy, the head of an upper caste group, in a crucial sequence in the film. ‘I have been trying to leap over the obstacles they keep placing in my path. I’m not sure how far I should fight it out, to reach the point of no obstacles’, says Kittan in an emotional burst-out sequence. These two dialogues from Kandasamy and Kittan, sum up the point that the director wants to convey through the film. There is a sequence in the film where a seemingly insignificant issue on a bus turned out to be a never-ending feud. The way the sequence was written and executed was just brilliant. The entire first half of the film has many such well-executed sequences, coupled with very good performances from the actors.

After a gripping first half, the film lost its track to an extent in the second half. The narration in the second half gets very predictable, slow and unexciting at most parties. Quite a few episodes in the second half looked prolonged and at times tested the patience as well. Another major drawback of the film is the repetitive theme. Mari Selvaraj has directed five films so far and including, Bison, four out of the five films have the same concept with just a change in the backdrop. Yes, social inequalities were there and still are there. No one is denying it but what is the point of making movies continuously with a 1990s setup on the social inequalities? Haven’t things changed now to an extent? Instead of continuously showing the things from the past, isn’t it a good idea to create awareness, engagingly and entertainingly through films? There was excessive blood and gore throughout the film. The director went overboard in depicting the brutal killings. Also, though the Kabaddi matches in the film were shot well, they failed to evoke excitement due to the predictable execution.

Overall, Bison Kaalamaadan is a typical Mari Selvaraj film which has a socially relevant theme, brutally honest narration, top-notch technical values and brilliant performances but the film makes you feel monotonous with its repetitive core plot and it also loses its track in the later part with a few dragged-out episodes. You may give watching the film a try if you like hard-hitting social action dramas but keep your expectations in check because, Bison is nowhere near the best of Mari Selvaraj.

Bottomline: Powerful, But Slow…

Rating: 2.5/5