Parimala and Co movie review: Jayaram, Urvashi’s comedy thriller is a lazy disaster

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Parimala (Jayaram) and Suthandhira (Urvashi) live in a rented house in Chennai with their two daughters, Parasakthi (Sanjana Krishnamoorthy) and Madhumitha (Ananthika Sanilkumar). Although they are a middle-class family who must employ all sorts of tactics to make ends meet each month, the four mostly live in peace, loving and fighting among themselves like any other family. However, their lives take a sudden turn when local criminal Varghese (Sandy), who had been pestering and harassing Madhumitha to fall in love with him, is found murdered.

Having had several public fights with Varghese over his actions towards Madhumitha, which the entire neighbourhood has witnessed on several occasions, the family assumes that the case will fall on their heads. Worse still, each of the four suspects the others of having committed the murder. With Inspector Emperuman’s (Mysskin) entrance, the scene becomes heated, leading to a cat-and-mouse game among them all.

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The sheer laziness in Parimala and Co is evident right from the outset, as it’s marred by familiar portrayals, instances, and characterisations. Parasakthi and Madhumitha are xerox copies of almost every middle-class young siblings to have existed in Indian commercial cinema, and their bond is established solely by showing them fighting among themselves and, in between, enjoying lighter moments together. The movie never explores them or their relationship beyond the surface level.

On the other hand, Parimala and Suthandhira’s characters and dialogues, in particular, seem to have been crafted with Jayaram and Urvashi’s exceptional on-screen chemistry — displayed several times over the years (but is completely absent here) — in mind. Most of their exchanges sound like playful bickering; however, they don’t come across as genuine or funny, but rather as quite desperate, as if the makers were trying to cash in on what worked for the actors previously.

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Even the setup, the conflicts that follow, and the rising stakes appear extremely artificial, giving the feeling that they were created solely to keep it a “light-hearted” crime thriller — a genre that has been working significantly well in regional industries in recent times. What remains are the ambitions, as Parimala and Co’s script is extremely hollow, with many scenes appearing to have been added solely to lengthen the film.

Although the movie is a whodunit at its core, the writer-director never manages to raise the stakes effectively, failing to generate tension for the audience or even the central characters. The narrative simply meanders from one point to another, unsure of how to proceed or where to go. What pulls it down further is the lack of organic humour, rendering Parimala and Co a dull ride devoid of comedy or thrills. Towards the end, it even takes a completely different route in terms of theme, making one wonder if Pandiraaj even gave his script a final read before going into production.

The absolute lack of creativity at Parimala and Co is also evident in the uninspired performances by the lead actors.

While it isn’t as problematic as Thalaivan Thalaivii, Parimala and Co features quite a few misogynistic portrayals and sick body-shaming “jokes.” Even after being called out umpteen times, the fact that Tamil filmmakers still shamelessly slip in tasteless “jokes” about Yogi Babu’s appearance is appalling, and director Pandiraaj is no different from his colleagues.

The first time we see Yogi, who plays Uyir Ulag (yes, that’s his name), the owner of Parimala’s rented house, his real-life hairstyle is mocked by comparing it to a flowerpot. Later, it is revealed that Uyir previously worked in Nigeria, and we have seen enough Indian movies by now to understand that this choice isn’t innocent. If filmmakers think this is what the audience wants, I can only say that it’s no wonder their films bomb one after the other because they really don’t know their audience.

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The absolute lack of creativity in Parimala and Co is also evident in the uninspired performances by the lead actors, who essentially repeat the same theatrics over and over, even though they weren’t funny the first time. From start to finish, Jayaram keeps gnashing his teeth in moments of frustration, almost as if that’s his stock expression for the movie.

Even Urvashi, despite having demonstrated her comedic brilliance several times over the decades, struggles here, seemingly because of the lack of notes from the director and the lack of depth in her character. Sanjana Krishnamoorthy and Ananthika Sanilkumar’s portrayals are also quite uninspired. Sandy, meanwhile, delivers what can only be described as an awful rehash of pretty much all his recent eccentric performances, pulling the movie further down.

If there’s anything that saves Parimala and Co even a bit, it’s Mysskin’s impressive performance, as he nails the stubborn, grey and humorous aspects of his character, Inspector Emperuman, well. His performance in the emotional sequence towards the end is especially touching, as he almost lifts an already-dead movie, even if just a bit.

In conclusion, I just want to say… Pandiraaj could have at least spoofed director Jeethu Joseph’s Papanasam/Drishyam, and it might still have worked out better for him.

Parimala and Co movie cast: Jayaram, Urvashi, Mysskin, Yogi Babu, Sandy
Parimala and Co movie director: Pandiraaj
Parimala and Co movie rating: 1 star