Pambattam Explained

Pambattam is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language horror thriller film^[1] directed by V. C. Vadivudaiyan and starring himself, Jeevan, Mallika Sherawat, Rittika Sen, and Saipriya Deva. The film was released after a four-year delay to highly negative reviews. The film was dubbed in Hindi as Naagmati, which had a direct-to-television release on 21 September 2023 on Zee Cinema prior to the theatrical release of the Tamil version.^[2]

Production

The film began production in January 2020 and Jeevan accepted to star after listening to three of V. C. Vadivudaiyan's scripts. This film marked his comeback to films after a five-year gap.^[3] The film was planned as a multilingual film with the Hindi version titled as Naagmati.^[4] Mallika Sherawat plays a queen in the film, which marks her return to Tamil cinema after a twelve-year gap.^{[5] [6]} Sherawat joined the sets in February 2021 during the second schedule and shot some of her dialogues in Hindi.^[7] A dungeon set was made at Binny Mills in Chennai. The stunts were choreographed by Super Subbarayan. Jeevan sustained several injuries including burns from torches falling in a narrow passage and a hairline muscle tear from falling through gaps between beds while rolling sideways on the ground.^[8] At the film's trailer launch, Saipriya Deva said that she signed the film as a heroine but lamented about how her name was disregarded from promotional material.^[9]

Reception

A critic from The Times of India rated the film out of 5 and wrote that "The overall vibe of Pambattam is jaded and even comical. The scenes that are supposed to be pretty serious, like a marriage by abduction and even the death of one of the important characters, just don't make you feel any kind of emotion".^[10] A critic from Dinakaran wrote that the director delivered the film in the old formula of telling a historical story and then combining it with a social story.^[11] A critic from Zee Tamil wrote that since it is a small budget film, they did not spend much on CG scenes, and it would have turned out to be a better film if only a little attention had been paid to it.^[12]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 4 January 2020 . Jeevan chose this script from the three that I narrated to him: Vadivudaiyan . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200107123603/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/jeevan-chose-this-script-from-the-three-that-i-narrated-to-him-vadivudaiyan/articleshow/73084444.cms . 7 January 2020 . 23 March 2024 . The Times of India.
2. Naagmati 21st Sept, Thur, 8 PM TV Par Pehli Baar Promo Zee Cinema . 18 September 2023 . . 26 August 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240826035635/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZR9QHcNCu0 . 26 August 2024 . live . YouTube.
3. Web site: Ramachandran . Avinash . 4 January 2020 . Jeevan's comeback film titled 'Paambaattam' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231115012354/https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/tamil/2020/jan/04/jeevans-comeback-film-titled-paambaattam-2084806.html . 15 November 2023 . 23 March 2024 . The New Indian Express.
4. Web site: 9 November 2021 . Amrish's Bollywood debut Nagamati is a historical fiction starring Mallika Sherawat . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230710165031/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/music/amrishs-bollywood-debut-nagamati-is-a-historical-fiction-starring-mallika-sherawat/articleshow/87608293.cms . 10 July 2023 . 23 March 2024 . The Times of India.
5. Web site: 3 February 2020 . Mallika to play a modern-day queen in her Kollywood comeback . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210928115136/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/mallika-to-play-a-modern-day-queen-in-her-kollywood-comeback/articleshow/73871569.cms . 28 September 2021 . 23 March 2024 . The Times of India.
6. Web site: 3 February 2020 . 12 years after Dasavataaram, Mallika Sherawat to make a comeback in Kollywood with Pambattam . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200301235923/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/south-cinema/12-years-dasavataaram-mallika-sherawat-make-comeback-kollywood-pambattam/ . 1 March 2020 . 23 March 2024 . Bollywood Hungama.
7. Web site: 24 February 2021 . Mallika Sherawat to join the set of Vadivudaiyan's Pambattam . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220715182806/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/mallika-sherawat-to-join-the-set-of-vadivudaiyans-pambattam/articleshow/81194657.cms . 15 July 2022 . 23 March 2024 . The Times of India.
8. Web site: Gupta . Rinku . 28 November 2022 . Location Diaries: Jeevan for Pambattam- A walk through fire . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201062608/https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/features/2022/nov/28/location-diaries-jeevan-for-pambattam-a-walk-through-fire-37131.html . 1 February 2023 . 23 March 2024 . Cinema Express.
9. Web site: 28 November 2022 . "Why Are You Cornering Me? " – Actress's Question To Director On Stage Created Controversy . https://web.archive.org/web/20230203223748/https://chennaimemes.in/why-are-you-cornering-me-actresss-question-to-director-on-stage-created-controversy/ . 3 February 2023 . 23 March 2024 . Chennai Memes.
10. News: Radhakrishnan . Roopa . Feb 23, 2024 . Pambattam Movie Review : A 'so bad it's good' movie that's jaded and even unintentionally comical . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223155048/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/pambattam/movie-review/107932454.cms?from=mdr . 23 February 2024 . 23 March 2024 . The Times of India.
11. Web site: 26 February 2024 . பாம்பாட்டம் விமர்சனம் . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240323102108/https://cinema.dinakaran.com/pampatam-criticism/ . 23 March 2024 . 23 March 2024 . . Ta.
12. Web site: 22 February 2024 . ஜீவன் நடித்துள்ள பாம்பாட்டம் படம் எப்படி உள்ளது? திரைவிமர்சனம்! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240229172732/https://zeenews.india.com/tamil/movies/jeevan-starring-pambattam-movie-review-in-tamil-489958 . 29 February 2024 . 23 March 2024 . . Ta.