Crossword Genius

Student cutting film about pig iron maybe beginning to get friendly (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

clubbable

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'friendly' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'student cutting film about pig iron maybe beginning' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'student' could be 'ba' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ba' is found in the answer.
'about' could be 'c' (circa) and 'c' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'to get' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for clubbable that I've seen before include "Sociable" , "available for a bash" , "prone to a beating?" , "Partial to a drink" , "Convivial" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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