Parimala and Co

The reason the film feels more like a letdown and a wasted opportunity is the pedigree of its performers. When you have veterans like Jayaram and Urvashi, you expect them to do much more than what they did in, say, Madhuchandralekha (2006). They perform and react in an old-school style that isn’t quite charming here. They do get a few hilarious one-liners here and there, but largely, it is a forgettable outing. Sanjana comes out largely unscathed because her performance and timing are a couple of clicks ahead, and the pace is refreshing. Ananthika dials up the naivete, but is given a raw deal as a character that you don’t really root for. Mysskin is the only one who clearly had a lot of fun as the sketchy inspector, and more often than not, that gets translated.

If we can call Blast the action version of Drishyam, Parimala and Co had the scope to be that dark humor version of Drishyam, something that Mohiniyattam managed to crack. Unfortunately, a scattered script that runs out of fresh ideas and resorts to a familiar template makes this Pandiraaj movie just another film with some scattered humor and wasted potential. It is the kind of movie that OTT platforms can tease the audience to watch the full movie by sharing funny snippets of scenes. There are scattered moments of laughter, but the final result is forgettable.

Editing remains mostly crisp, although a few portions in the latter half could have been tighter. Nevertheless, the film manages to maintain audience interest until the end. Parimala and Co is an enjoyable dramedy that combines family emotions, comedy, and mystery in an engaging package. The film works best when it focuses on the family dynamics and the humorous interactions between its characters. While some dramatic stretches could have been more effective, the mystery angle and strong performances keep the narrative afloat. Pandiraj deserves credit for attempting something different from his usual template. Backed by a reliable ensemble cast and an entertaining screenplay, Parimala and Co delivers a satisfying theatrical experience with a socially relevant message at its core.

While Parimala and Co isn’t one of the worst Tamil movies to have come out in recent times, it gets under one’s skin throughout, as it feels like one of the most lazily written and conceived mainstream commercial Tamil films in recent memory. Despite its core being a tried-and-true (and even hackneyed, to be honest) whodunit, even its story has been developed in an unimpressive manner, let alone its script.

See, one might argue that one shouldn’t look for logic in such films. But the point is, Parimala and Co. is not a comic caper like Seena Thaana, where anything goes. It is designed as a smart whodunnit that explores multiple angles, ranging from stalking, drug dealing, murder, death, threats of gendered violence, and a lot more. It is almost like an Agatha Christie murder mystery, with a dysfunctional family at its center. But when the smarts don’t actually translate on screen, the only thing bright is the display on your mobile phone that you fiddle with because the film ends up being what it shouldn’t be in any circumstance... You know what.