Review – Parijatha Parvam

Parijatha Parvam has been promoted heavily in the last few days. The film, directed by Kambhampati Santosh and featuring Sunil, Chaitanya Rao, Viva Harsha, and Shraddha Das in key roles, has music by Ree. It was released today. Read our detailed review here.

Plot

Chaitanya(Chaitanya Rao) is a struggling director whose dream is to direct a feature film by having his friend Harsha(Viva Harsha) as the main lead. As he is rejected multiple times, Chaitanya makes a plan to kidnap a popular producer’s(Srikanth Iyengar) wife, demand a ransom, and make a movie with it. Things change upside down when a bar owner(Sunil) and Parvathy(Shraddha Das) get involved in the kidnapping. The rest of the story is about how Chaitanya and his gang hatch the kidnap plan and come out of their problems.

Performances

Chaitanya Rao is decent in his role and manages to do well. Viva Harsha gets a key role but he is loud as hell. There was absolutely no need to ham so much in the comedy caper. Maybe it was the director’s idea to make his character loud and evoke comedy. Harsha does not showcase anything new in the film. After a long gap, Shraddha Das gets a good role and does what is required. It is good to see Sunil in a meaty role after a gap. His presence brings a lot of depth to the film, but his role looks half-baked. Srikanth Iyengar and others act like there is no tomorrow. Surekha Vani is impressive in her small role.

Technical Aspects

The songs in Parijatha Parvam are dull and do not create any impact. Ree has composed the music, and his BGM is disappointing; well, it is irritating, to say the least. The usage of daily life ringtones and other sounds makes the audience uncomfortable. Bala Saraswathi’s cinematography is just about okay, and nothing great to rave about. The editing is the biggest minus in the film, as many scenes in the first half could have been edited out. There are so many repeated scenes in the initial part of the film which look dull and could have been chopped off. Kambhampati Santosh’s writing lacks novelty, and his narration is even more disappointing, to say the least.

Thumbs Up

Sunil’s screen presence

Thumbs Down

Routine story
Direction
Over the top comedy

Analysis

Kidnapping dramas are one and the same in every film. But things click only when the screenplay holds your attention. Despite having popular actors, Parijatha Parvam fails to click. The entire first half is a sham and tests your patience. There is not one episode that makes sense in this so-called comedy caper. The fun quotient hardly clicks, and the emotions behind each character are made to look silly.

The writing is so flawed that the director does not bring anything new to the table. The first half is filled with the same old kidnapping drama scenes, silly humor, and boring characters. However, a small twist related to the kidnap is executed well in the latter half. The characters of Sunil, Shraddha Das, and Surekha Vani are not developed properly and seem forced into the narrative.

Parijatha Parvam has so many filler scenes that have been added for no reason. This further complicates the scenes and brings boredom into the situation. While watching the film, one gets a feeling that there was so much scope for comedy but that is not utilized properly. A few scenes in the pre-climax and climax grab your attention, but the rest of the film is bland and over the top.

Finally, the trailer might look funny, and the end shot where Viva Harsha is shown screaming his lungs out about a film is the same way one feels about Parijatha Parvam but in a negative way. Barring a few laughs, this film fails to evoke any interest and ends as a dud this weekend.

Bottom Line – Unbearable Parvam

Rating: 1.5/5