Pambattam (transl. Snake dance) 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 television release on 21 September 2023 at 8 p.m. on Zee Cinema prior to the release of Tamil version.[2]
| Pambattam | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | V. C. Vadivudaiyan |
| Written by | V. C. Vadivudaiyan |
| Produced by | V. Palanivel |
| Starring | Jeevan Mallika Sherawat Rittika Sen Saipriya Deva V. C. Vadivudaiyan |
| Cinematography | Iniyan J Haris |
| Edited by | Suresh Urs |
| Music by | Amresh Ganesh |
Production company | Vaithiyanathan Film Garden |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Cast
edit- Jeevan as R. Boominathan / Saravanan
- Mallika Sherawat as Mangamma Devi
- Suman as Police officer
- Rittika Sen as Radhika
- Saipriya Deva as Nagamati
- V. C. Vadivudaiyan as K. Kali
- Salil Ankola
- Saravanan
- Rikin
- Livingston as Thief
- Ramesh Khanna as police officer
- Saravana Sakthi as Police officer
- Karate Raja as Police officer
- Niyamat Khan
- Andrea Kurunathan
Production
editThe film began production in January of 2020 and Jeevan accepted the film after listening to three of V. C. Vadivudaiyan's scripts.[1] 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
editA critic from The Times of India rated the film 1+1⁄2 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]
References
edit- ^ a b "Jeevan chose this script from the three that I narrated to him: Vadivudaiyan". The Times of India. 4 January 2020. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Naagmati | 21st Sept, Thur, 8 PM | TV Par Pehli Baar | Promo | Zee Cinema". Zee Cinema. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Ramachandran, Avinash (4 January 2020). "Jeevan's comeback film titled 'Paambaattam'". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Amrish's Bollywood debut Nagamati is a historical fiction starring Mallika Sherawat". The Times of India. 9 November 2021. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Mallika to play a modern-day queen in her Kollywood comeback". The Times of India. 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "12 years after Dasavataaram, Mallika Sherawat to make a comeback in Kollywood with Pambattam". Bollywood Hungama. 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Mallika Sherawat to join the set of Vadivudaiyan's Pambattam". The Times of India. 24 February 2021. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ Gupta, Rinku (28 November 2022). "Location Diaries: Jeevan for Pambattam- A walk through fire". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ ""Why Are You Cornering Me? " - Actress's Question To Director On Stage Created Controversy". Chennai Memes. 28 November 2022. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Pambattam Movie Review : A 'so bad it's good' movie that's jaded and even unintentionally comical". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "பாம்பாட்டம் விமர்சனம்". Dinakaran (in Tamil). 26 February 2024. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "ஜீவன் நடித்துள்ள பாம்பாட்டம் படம் எப்படி உள்ளது? திரைவிமர்சனம்!". Zee Tamil (in Tamil). 22 February 2024. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.