Flies high with pride
What started as a not so confident exercise made me sit up and look in awe within minutes. I was super excited to watch ‘Kammatipaadam’ thinking that it would be a fun film but it was the opposite. Seeing the posters, I thought ‘Parava’ too would be on the same lines but it ended out to be one of the nicest feel good films of late. Being a fan of Soubin Shahir, I was naturally interested to watch when I got to know that it’s a film directed by him.
‘Parava’ is not a film which one watches on purpose but a film which happens on its own. These are like typical seven pointers in IMDB which works wonderfully well and could connect to us personally. Much like ‘The Bronx Tale’. It’s not a film everyone would have watched. It’s not a film which is recommend to everyone for watching. But for someone who adores the gangster flicks, this movie could be as personal as it can get. Given that De Niro had directed it with his regular culprits, which deals with nostalgia, this really was a sweet experience. ‘Parava’ was one such movie for teenagers.
Being a big fan of no nonsensical teen age films more than coming of age ones which deals with a lot of misery and boredom, ‘Parava’ strikes the right chord from the word go. The opening story with Haseeb (Govind V. Pai) and Irshad a.k.a. “Ichappi” (Amal Shah) was done so well that it could have been a standalone film. Good that I looked at the poster which had Salman in it, I was waiting for his entry sooner or later. If I had not known it, I would have been disappointed when the track changed from the kids to the adults. Because the kids’ story was so good.
Amal Shah is a treasure trove. He had acted so well, especially by keeping his emotions in check. Also, his character was superbly written. This is closest to how I was at that age, in real life. Master everything which is unimportant in life. It also reminded me of Calvin strip. To see how passionately they follow with their interest. Their friendship was superbly written, so much so that Haseeb wishes to fail to be in Ichappi’s class so that he can be Vice Captain. Note that even if he fails, he wishes to be second fiddle and not the captain. That was so sweet of him.
Being so involved in the kids’ story, it was a moment of distraught when the story jumps to the seniors but the director keeps us glued to the screen with an interesting screenplay. Though we know that Dulquer is eventually gonna die, it doesn’t hurt us much and moves the film out of ‘feel good’ zone because his screen space is limited. He comes as a savior for all and does the role reasonably well. Amongst the friends Shane (Shane Nigam) scores the best. Even though all he does is to stay in a balcony and stare, he does it so well that we get a feel of being struck to a balcony. Such lovely acting.
Wish Soubin had not acted in this movie. He was so not made for this role. This is a first film which felt like he was over acting. Films like ‘Sudani from Nigeria’ and ‘Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25’ works best for him where it feels like he’s very much part of the environment. There is so much practicality and earthiness in his acting which makes us fall in love with his character. Even though he has to be the opposite here, it doesn’t work at all. Whereas another drug addict Sreenath Bhasi does wonders. What an actor he is. I’ve become a big fan of his recently. He has a discreet charm like Joseph Gordon Levitt, where he couldn’t be hated. Especially it feels good to not see in full length roles. He always appears in films where we want to see more of him and the film ends whenever we are with that feel. Here too he has minimal screen space but does wonders with it.
The climax with the pigeon race works reasonably well, but it’s the kids who steal the show, the romance twist was the best scene of the film. The film ends on a high with an action sequence but that’s the only thing which felt forced in an otherwise superbly made practical film.
constantscribbles 