The hustle for touching the success line, chanting ‘Kabaddi Kabaddi’, and tagging the competitors was missing from our site for a long time. The essence of Kabaddi was somewhere lost amongst the fame of Cricket and Football. But with the broadcast of Pro Kabaddi in Star Sports, the sport was reinvented and we as Indians rediscovered its essence. Along with Star Sports, Indian Movies also contributed to the celebration of sports such as kabaddi, hockey, boxing, and badminton. The celebration through the medium of entertainment not only promoted the game but also imbibed interests amongst online gambling players to indulge in kabaddi betting.
Let’s scroll through the movies, which showcased the crux of the sports:
- Panga:
Ashwiny I. Tiwary directed the Bollywood movie, Panga released recently (2020) and starred Kangana Ranaut as the protagonist. Kangana Ranaut played the role of a hockey player, who suffered through compromises and restrictions in her sports career. The plot of the movie focuses on the protagonist’s struggles and comeback in the world of kabaddi by challenging societal norms. Although the movie showcased a beautiful plot where family responsibilities and societal pressure should not hinder a sportswoman’s success. However, it failed to earn success in the box office.
- Badlapur Boys:
The remake of ‘Vennila Kabadi’, which was a superhit Tamil movie called Badlapur Boys was directed by Shailesh Verma. The movie beautifully portrayed the sport, kabaddi by reflecting it as a resource for saving a drought-ridden village. The movie starred Nishan Nanaiah, Annu Kapoor, and Saranya Mohan and included the elements of action, revenge, comics, and romance. The movie circled responding to a problem in the village by winning in a competitive kabaddi match. Failed impact at the box office did not stop from evident word of mouth.
- Okkadu:
The 2003 Telugu movie starring Bhoomika Chawla and Mahesh Babu, where the male lead plays the role of a kabaddi player. The movie reflected the participation of Ajay (Mahesh Babu) in the state-level kabaddi tournament. The hockey player discovered the forced marriage arrangement of Swapna ( Bhoomika Chawla) and rescued her. The union of Ajay and Swapna also occurred in the kabaddi field accompanied by the cheering crowd. The movie was positively accepted and also bagged the Filmfare award.
- Kabaddi Kabaddi:
The Telugu movie was released in the year 2003, which portrayed the sport kabaddi as a medium of uniting with his love. In the movie, the male protagonist challenges a village’s kabaddi team to marry the daughter of the sarpanch. The success of the love story depended solely on the winning of the match.
- Kabaddi Once Again:
The Punjabi movie by the director Sukhminder Dhanjal was released in 2012. The movie beautifully portrayed the dark realities of the sport, Kabaddi that was discovered in the sports career of Shingara Singh. The protagonist realized the other side of kabaddi after being selected for a match in England. Although it was not a hit at the box office it showcased the uglier side of match-fixing and human trafficking involved in the sports career.
- Kabaddi: The 2009 released movie, Kabaddi starred Praveen and Priyanka as leads. The movie was based on kabaddi but also included a glimpse of romance. The story centered around a kabaddi player (Parveen), who was trained by his passionate and avid coach. The storyline of the movie was enriched with the involvement of real-life players. The significant contribution of the real-life players authenticated the base of the plot for the audience. Despite much deserved critical acclaim, it failed at smashing numbers at the box office. But it did not stop its recognition at the Karnataka State Film Awards in the year 2009.
These movies center around kabaddi by adopting various themes and purposes. The movies combined romance, challenges, comedy, and success with the thrill of the sport. The list fits perfectly for a successful movie marathon based on the rediscovered sport, kabaddi.