Ka Ba Ddi: A Breath, a Move, a Game
Kabaddi is a high-energy team sport originating in South Asia played between two teams of seven players on a divided court. The sport combines elements of tag, wrestling, and tactical invasion. A game of strategy, that has evolved from ancient Indian military training exercises. In Alia Syeds film, the choreography plays out with bodies in slow motion.
CinemaSerf@Geronimo1967
Given Kabaddi is a quickly paced, end-to-end, sport that appears to combine the athletic aspects of wrestling, judo and rugby, I struggled to see what the point was in slowing it all down, cutting off the heads of those playing and generally presenting us with something as lacklustre as it was befuddling. Lots of almost inaudible repetitions of “ka ba ddi” and the odd squeaky shoe are all our ears have to contend with and the mid-shot and low-angle coverage of the action gives us neither any context of the play nor appreciation of the skills of the players as this ten minutes goes precisely nowhere. Perhaps it’s a labour of love for director Alia Syed, either that or all the competitors are in witness protection, but in any case this just didn’t register with me at all.