Parasakthi movie review: Sivakarthikeyan-starrer deserved stronger writing, Ravi Mohan steals the show

The leader of the Purananooru Padai, a student organisation with members from various states fighting against the imposition of Hindi, Chezhiyan’s (Che) life changes when he comes face to face with the KGB-trained, cold-blooded officer Thirunaadan (Ravi Mohan). While Che loses a dear friend during the confrontation, Thirunaadan aka Thiru ends up losing his right index finger, leaving permanent scars in their hearts. Years later, Che makes a living as a railway employee, while Thiru is still on the hunt for the masked, unidentified man (Che) who snipped his finger. Marked by inherent rage against Tamils, stemming from a disgust towards his father, Thiru is determined to suppress both – the anti-Hindi movement and smoke out Che – no matter how violent the measures he must employ. In Che’s place now is his younger brother, the college-going Chinnadurai (Atharvaa), who leads the protests with the help of Ratnamala (Sreeleela), who is also Che’s girlfriend, much against the former’s warnings. As time passes, the agitations intensify, and Che is forced to confront his past and his mortal enemy. But it’s not just a battle between two individuals; it’s also a struggle between the all-powerful few and the powerless millions — a resistance against oligarchy, against attempts to usher in an unfair homogeneity, and against a state-sponsored initiative to undermine India’s core principle of “unity in diversity.”

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Parasakthi is, without doubt, an extremely important and pertinent movie in the current sociopolitical environment, offering a reminder that history has a tendency to repeat itself, and the makers deserve credit for even considering making this film. The sheer number of dialogue mutings imposed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on it, thus effectively butchering the film to an extent, stands as a testament to how even an intensely cinematic portrayal of the subject can rattle the ruling class. However, had it been at least a slightly better movie, the themes Parasakthi attempts to address would have resonated more. Instead, they are drowned out by the overall lack of flair, primarily caused by mediocre writing.

The major shortcoming in the script is its lack of flow, with each scene feeling disjointed from the ones before and after, almost as if each scene exists to serve a single purpose rather than contribute meaningfully to the overall narrative. The lack of emotional impact in moments that clearly deserved it also hinders the movie from striking a chord. For instance, in the opening sequence, we see that Che is a beloved and fearless leader. However, he soon gives up the revolution after his friend is killed during a protest. While Sudha and co-writer Arjun Nadesan stick to minimalism and use only a few creative tools to convey the impact of this incident on Che, which prompted him to back off, these elements do not land as intended, leaving the character somewhat undercooked. This issue persists across the film. From Thiru’s contempt for the Tamil and servility towards authority to the Che-Ratnamala romance, we are shown only certain aspects of these, never their vital roots. While these issues could have been fixed with impactful filmmaking, Sudha Kongara manages to achieve this only rarely. The handling of the emotional moments, in particular, is too unimpressive.

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However, where the writing does not play a massive role, such as in action sequences and protest scenes, Sudha elevates Parasakthi to impressive heights, offering a glimpse of what the movie could have been had it been backed by better writing. The agitation sequence leading up to the interval is supremely impressive, with almost every technical aspect reaching its peak, providing an experience we were denied for well over an hour. The same holds true for a couple of scenes in the second half. But it is the dramatic moments in between that fall flat and pull us away from the movie. While Parasakthi attempts to present itself as a docu-fiction at times, the efforts to clarify that it is more fiction than documentary have, unfortunately, backfired, weakening its essence moment by moment. For instance, while naming the cameo character played by Rana Daggubati, Michael Reddy (reminiscent of the real-life George Reddy) is a good creative choice, the unnecessary watering down of such elements – perhaps to lessen the number of controversies – has done more harm than good.

Nonetheless, the movie is held together by the work of cinematographer Ravi K Chandran, production designer MR Karthik Rajkumar, and art director S Annadurai, who manage to evoke the era’s ethos and the events with extraordinary power, giving the audience a sense of witnessing everything in real time. Although the colour-grading can be overbearing at times, the technicians’ impressive work ensure that we don’t focus on that shortcoming for too long. While GV Prakash’s background score during the more mundane and romantic moments is below average, he shines in the adrenaline-fueled sequences, and his songs also deserve commendation.

Ravi Mohan steals the show as the draconian and ruthless Thiru, delivering his finest performance thus far. Although the character lacks layers and could have benefited from better development, Ravi astoundingly breathes a nefarious soul into Thiru, shining the most when he exudes and delivers a devilish aura in a calm manner, sending chills down the spines of both the characters opposite him and the audience. Although Sivakarthikeyan impresses as the revolutionary leader Che, his performance falters when he is just Chezhiyan – the sole earning member of his family, a caring brother, and a loving boyfriend.

One of the most disappointing and costly mistakes Sudha has made in Parasakthi is perhaps casting Sreeleela as Ratnamala, a Telugu-born woman raised in Tamil Nadu who lands a job at the National Radio with her MP father’s recommendation and is pro-anti-Hindi-imposition movement. There’s no denying that the character had enough potential at its core, as Ratnamala isn’t envisioned merely as the sole female presence in a young revolutionary man’s life, as is often the custom, but is instead an active participant in the protests, and goes above and beyond for her comrades. However, beyond these few occasions, the character is weakly developed, at times bordering on traits associated with the manic pixie dream girl (MPDG) archetype. What’s even worse is Sreeleela’s extremely amateurish performance, which fails to appear authentic in Ratnamala’s “cute” or intense moments. It is also disappointing on Sudha’s part that she forced a 24-year-old Sreeleela to romance a 40-year-old Sivakarthikeyan, thinking it wouldn’t appear extremely odd and awkward. It was painful to watch, compounded by their lack of chemistry together.

Parasakthi movie cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Ravi Mohan, Atharvaa, Sreeleela
Parasakthi movie director: Sudha Kongara
Parasakthi movie rating: 2.5 stars