Panathinu meethe Parinthu parukkumo illayo ennu enikku ariyathilla. Athellam Parinthinte sowkariyam pole. Pakshe ente ee thalaikku meethe oru Parinthum parakkila. Paranaal.. chiraku arinju kalayum njaan.-[Madambi attacks Parinthu! ]
That was a line from Madambi and so we were all eager to see which movie had a worse story. Considering that Madambi was a rehash of various other movies, it was indeed tough to produce something worse than that. But M Padmakumar, whose pet theme is evil men attaining redemption, has managed to make a lackluster movie.
NowRunning.com says
Parunthu is a film that refuses to move beyond its kick-off point. Adamantly stuck to where it set off, it makes little progression and even lesser transition. There are a few trials to your patience as well, and there is no handsome reward at the end either.
The most laudable feature of Parunthu is that it doesn’t succumb to pave the way for a star warfare, which was eagerly anticipated by all and sundry, especially after its predecessor Madambi took an open dig at the film. As the credits roll, Parunthu has Purushothaman piercingly proclaiming that he would rather compete with himself, thereby pulling down the curtains on an imminent celebrity combat.
In Padma Kumar’s Parunthu, the regal bird is uncharacteristically passive. There is simply no ferocity in its eyes nor does it whoosh about with a lethal clinch. All it does is soar senselessly all around with neither a prey nor a perch in sight.
The trouble with the film is that in commercial cinema you have to show the hero with negative shades turning over a new leaf for the better to justify his early villainy. Here Parinthu in the first half is completely black, with no redeeming features.
But in the second half, writer T.A Razzak and director Padmakumar makes the character have a change of heart, and in the last scene he becomes too sentimental. Purushothaman tells Azeez in the climax fight- Nammal randuperum villain mara. Villain jayakuna charithrame illa….
The makers’ justification for turning a rock hard guy with no emotions suddenly into a emotional wreck is the film’s major flaw. The climax is jerky and loses the razor sharpness required of an action entertainer.
Paresh Palicha, for a change, makes some observations
That said, we do see a couple of directorial flourishes in a couple of scenes like Parunthu devouring chicken legs in the beginning while watching a news story about a family suicide (his victims as a result of his threats of eviction if they fail to repay the loan) all the while justifying his actions.
In the second half the same dining area is enveloped in darkness (after a change of heart), the food is untouched as a way of expressing his of guilt that money is the be all and end all in life.
Post Script: We never thought we’d see Mammootty and Mohanlal communicating to each other a la Rajni-Jayalalitha style. Now that Parunthu didn’t take the bait we are eagerly waiting to see how this will play out. Is it the beginning of a new phase of rivalry or beginning of the end of the rivalry?
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