How a Madurai goat tradition inspired this Malayalam filmmaker’s Tamil film 'Jockey'

When Pragabhal, director of the Tamil film ‘Jockey,’ visited the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, he stumbled upon something unexpected, a fierce goat fight unfolding just a few metres away. What caught his attention wasn’t just the intensity of the fight, but the deep bond between the goats and its owners.

The men stood in the ring alongside the animals, guiding it with pride and emotion, as villagers cheered in a frenzy. That moment sparked an idea. Pragabhal, a native of Palakkad who earlier directed the Malayalam film ‘Muddy’, felt an instant cinematic pull toward this lesser-known world.

While Jallikattu, the bull-taming sport, is widely known even beyond Tamil Nadu, Kida Sandai (goat fighting) remains largely unfamiliar despite being a tradition that dates back nearly a thousand years. This obscurity only deepened the filmmaker’s curiosity and pushed him to explore it further.

To truly understand the sport, Pragabhal spent nearly three years in and around Madurai, travelling across villages where these fights are held regularly—sometimes multiple times a month, and more frequently during the Pongal season. Immersing himself in this environment helped him observe not just the sport, but also the people and emotions tied to it.

Finding the right actors was another major challenge. The film required performers who could safely handle goats, an inherently risky task, also dedicate significant time to training. “The sport is extremely dangerous. A single blow can be fatal, and there have been real-life incidents. So we had to be very cautious during filming,” he said. The actors underwent rigorous training and, more importantly, had to build a genuine emotional connection with the animals so that the goats would respond to them naturally on screen.

Malayali actors Yuvan Krishna and Ridhaan Krishnas, who also appeared in ‘Muddy,’ play the lead roles in the film, alongside Ammu Abhirami. According to the director, the biggest challenge was in maintaining the authenticity—not just in depicting the sport, but also in portraying the people involved. “Those who are part of this tradition are very particular about it. We had to capture their behaviour, their mannerisms, and their emotions accurately. Being an outsider, that was a big responsibility,” he said.

The film also explores the strong sense of pride associated with the sport. For many families, winning a goat fight is a matter of honour, while losing can bring deep embarrassment. This intense emotional investment has even led to rivalries and conflicts between families over the years. “We tried to capture all these emotions in the movie,” Pragabhal added.

Interestingly, Pragabhal noted that many young people in Madurai are drawn to the sport with great passion. Some even leave professional jobs to pursue it, balancing everyday work with rigorous training. “There are youngsters who work as drivers during the day and train for the sport in the evenings,” he shared.

Addressing comparisons with Vetrimaaran’s ‘Aadukalam,’ which revolved around rooster fights, Pragabhal said such parallels were expected. “I admire Vetrimaaran’s work, and people naturally made that connection when they heard about this subject. But our film leans more towards a commercial style,” said the filmmaker who hopes to direct the sequel to ‘Muddy’ soon. “In fact, I was preparing to work on the sequel of ‘Muddy,’ when I stumbled on this subject. I am also in talks with other producers for other projects,” said the director, adding that he wishes to explore other genres too.
‘Jockey’, which premiered digitally in March, has been receiving strong attention and is currently trending on Prime Video, even making it to the platform’s top 10 list.