Alappuzha Gymkhana Movie Review: An Enjoyable Sports Drama That’s Less sports And More Drama
Khalid Rahman weaves a grin-inducing story about a bunch of teens trying to find purpose, friendship, and fight through the unlikeliest of journeys.
Alappuzha GymkhanaU/A
Alappuzha Gymkhana Review: Alappuzha Gymkhana is about a bunch of small-town boys trying to become boxers. But the brilliance of director Khalid Rahman’s writing lies in the fact that the film is not actually about boxing. Jojo Johnson (Naslen), Shifas Ahammed (Sandeep Pradeep), Shifas Ali (Franco Francis), and David John (Habish Rahman) are teens from Alappuzha Gymkhana who have just discovered they haven’t cleared their board exams. This doesn’t come as a surprise to them—they seem to know their limitations. Jojo, the driving force of the group, convinces his friends that becoming boxers might help them gain college admissions, given that academics clearly aren’t their strength. But the real motivator seems to be their bruised egos. What begins as an impulsive decision gradually turns into something life-changing when the group enters a state-level tournament.
Alappuzha Gymkhana is primarily about these friendships. Khalid Rahman stays away from the familiar arcs of conventional sports dramas. Instead, he crafts something akin to Alappuzha Diaries, infused with the quirks and warmth of these teenagers. That makes the film stand out amidst the generic fare of its genre. What also elevates Malayalam cinema is the attention to setup before conflict is introduced. Here too, we get grin-inducing glimpses of Alappuzha as we journey with Jojo, the hopeless flirt. While he is the protagonist, the film ensures we don’t mistake him for the hero. Yet there’s something undeniably magnetic about his personality. His quiet empathy makes him the natural leader of the pack, and the subtle evolution of his character goes unnoticed—until it finally lands. When it does, we recognize how carefully Jojo’s arc has been constructed from the very beginning. That’s the understated magic of the writing. Nothing is overt, but everything is deliberate.
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Alappuzha Gymkhana doesn’t weigh itself down with typical underdog tropes. While the aim of winning hovers in the background, it never feels like a pressing concern for the protagonists. They’re in it more for the experience than the outcome, and that sense of wonder becomes contagious. Eventually, we stop caring about whether they win or lose. Instead, we become invested in their spirit, their effort, and their growth. That’s why even the most commercial moment in the film—when an entire stadium cheers for the underdog team—feels entirely earned. After all, it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog, right? Khalid brings style and flair to the sport of boxing, though he doesn’t dive too deep into its technicalities. We explore this world through the eyes of the novices, and like them, we’re captivated by the little we see—surface-level though it may be.
The usual clichés—unexpected triumphs, rousing speeches, emotional crescendos—are refreshingly absent here. Instead, we meet a team that knows how to lose with grace and find joy in small victories. More often than not, the Alappuzha Gymkhana boys end up losing, sometimes embarrassingly so. Yet we’re always rooting for them because they’re such well-drawn characters. That’s the film’s greatest success. Even though we may forget their names, we come to know them intimately. This is a testament to the film’s writing, which is further elevated by Jimshi Khalid’s stylish cinematography and Vishnu Vijay’s fitting soundscape.
In the end, Alappuzha Gymkhana isn’t a film about victory in the ring, but one about resilience, camaraderie, and quiet transformation. It’s like Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age tale like Everybody Wants Some disguised as a sports drama—where the biggest wins are emotional rather than athletic. With its charming characters, understated writing, and grounded storytelling, Alappuzha Gymkhana punches far above its weight—and lands with lasting impact.
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