Tamil School Pasanga (2024)

 

The last time I watched a Malaysian-made Tamil film, I was a guest at the launch and the premiere. It took plenty of diplomatic skill to criticise it while ensuring I sprinkle it with chocolate and nuts on it to sweeten the overall read. The producer and director managed to overlook the needle pricks.

This time, I voluntarily stepped into the theatre (didn't buy popcorn, sugar issues, dammit) and was curious as to how far the Malaysian Indian film scene has come since then.

Well, as expected, the film started slow and somewhat confidently wiggled its way into the halftime, really sure that the audience would still plant their butts on the seats. But what the hell, the scenes were charming and, well, kept the few audience members in the Rawang LFS cinema plant their butts on their respective seats.

There's something about not overstaying the welcome feel throughout the film. The story is very familiar if you have watched the older Hollywood flicks like To Sir With Love or Dead Poets Society, or the amalgamated copy, Nammavar, in Tamil. A teacher comes to a school that needs some sort of rehabilitation. He does do that, but not without challenges and resistance, and how he gets over it would form the rest of the narrative.

This film follows the formula to the T, but the difference is that, in doing so, it tackles many issues facing the Tamil schools in the country and predicaments afflicting the Malaysian Indians in general. The filmmaker tried his best to skillfully blend many of these issues into the narration; some felt very relevant, and some—somehow—felt like they were force-fed and could have been left out.

But this is not to say the story went left field or something. The characters, at least the main ones, do keep us intrigued, with all the actors, from the lead, played by co-producer Denes Kumar (well known among the Malaysian Indian content followers), right down to the little ones, being good and adequate, and even if at times the performances look amateur, you are involved enough to dismiss any sign of weaknesses.

And this is also the first time I ever got emotional watching a Malaysian flick (bar the earlier P. Ramlee features, but that's another story)... it will hit you hard, that scene. I wish it could be avoided, sort of something most lazy directors would resort to in order to get the attention towards the climax—but I suppose it is needed in this film.

I am also glad that the romance angle is not explored too keenly, or it would have lost the focus. Neat, tidy script (despite the lag in the beginning and some not-so-great comedy materials), a not-too-rushed pacing, and, as mentioned, able performances from all around make this a good viewing. The only issue I had was the quality of the picture, which kind of switches now and then from really good to grainy. Well, it was not bothering me.

If I were the great critic Roger Ebert, I would definitely give it two and a half thumbs up...if such a thing is possible.