Laabam - S.P. Jananathan's swan song amplifies his social conscience
The late filmmaker S.P. Jananathan in a career spanning three decades has directed only four films but each one of them illuminated hitherto unknown sides of the underprivileged society. His fifth film 'Laabam' too is in his signature style prioritizing his social conscience above all else.
'Laabam' is about Pakkiri (Vijay Sethupathi) the son of a cobbler who champions the cause of farmers who are exploited by the greedy middlemen and not only suffer in poverty but resort to suicide. Pakkiri is accepted as a leader and he spreads awareness to the agriculturists that it is their produce such as sugarcane and cotton which impacts the entire global economy. He also teaches them how they can unite as one force under the community farming module and enable them to fix the price for not only their products but also their labor. This irks Vanangamudi (Japagapthy Babu) the rich landlord cum politician of the area and by devious methods, he turns the people against Pakkiri. The people's hero then becomes a hunted man and what happens next is what 'Laabam' is all about.
'Laabam' stars Vijay Sethupathi, Shruti Haasan, Jagapathy Babu, Kalaiarasan, Sai Danshika, Daniel Annie Pope, Ramesh Thilak, Marimuthu, Shanmugharajan, OAK Devar, Vincent Asokan and the late Nithish Veera. Music is by D.Imman, cinematography by Ramji, and edited by N. Ganesh Kumar and S.P. Ahamed.
S.P. Jananathan's noble intention to educate the public about many issues is commendable and may help in altering the way agriculture is approached in modern times before it's too late. Producers Vijay Sethupathi and Arumugakumar deserve praise for backing the director's vision. On the whole 'Laabam' serves as a reminder that the world has lost a true socially conscious filmmaker who not only delved deep into the issues he handled but also shed light on the remedies at hand.
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