Paranthu Po movie review: Director Ram crafts a delightful and whimsical road trip drama that makes you pause and smile

Paranthu Po plot:

Anbu (Mithul Ryan), an 8-year-old, city-bred boy is notorious, sporty, and energetic, rightfully to his age, as his parents Gokul (Shiva) and Glory (Grace Antony) strive to give the best to him. They are your average upper-middle class family who wants to make their big ends meet with their EMIs, strive hard day and night so their children can afford a life of comfort, and have their own quirks and shortcomings. But a day of adventure waits for Gokul and Anbu as the latter antics and childishness land the duo in a path that is filled with sunflowers, good hearts, and some healthy portions of lies and hill climbing.

Paranthu Po review:

Anbu scribbles his wishes on the copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and one of them includes sleeping in between his parents. It can be called any average eight-year-old’s want, and rightfully so for Anbu, as his parents are trying to offer the best for him but forgot what he really wants. What Anbu learns through the journey of Paranthu Po is from the simplicity of being amused by a top toy over his costly skateboard, to conquering the braveness of facing the world, of course with the help of the Emperor and Dharma- The Great (watch the film to catch the references). But Paranthu Po teaches a lot more to the grown-ups who are tempted to slide their childishness when the world seems to be a little kinder place to live in. After all, isn’t that the wish for all of us?

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Essentially a road-trip drama, in director Ram’s world of Paranthu Po, the simplicity and goodness weigh over the evil and luxury. For every doubtful biker who looms over a lonely woman taking the road less travelled during night, there is an auto-driver who seeks to offer her a ride without a bargain. For every rich and privileged parent who could afford a massage chair at a farmhouse amid the nature, there are humble ones who seem to provide happiness to their son by just being together, surrounded by sunflowers, trees, and ponds. Paranthu Po is that film which makes you think to be as yellow and bright as sunflowers even as life may give lemons. It is that film which tells even learning to go downhill is a new learning, and when a child does that on his own, the parents can be proud and smiling. There are so many such nudges, and Paranthu Po brings together such little instances to not only release Anbu from being caged in his urban apartment home, but also puts back a big grin on our faces by asking us to relive in the nature once in a while.

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A major plus for Paranthu Po is its indispensable casting. Shiva as a father, who has his quirks, lies, care, affection, protectiveness, and his own mistakes to unlearn from, undoubtedly gets the role of his lifetime with Ram’s film. It almost feels Shiva fits in perfectly as a jigsaw puzzle. The same goes for Master Mithul Ryan, who like any other 8-year-old is an handful (delightfully), and asks the hard questions that need deserving answers. With Grace Antony, one of the few actors of today’s generation with an impeccable comic timing, her forte comes to the forefront towards the end, and her performance as a woman who has faced the brunt of discriminating society, makes it live up to her name in such a strong manner. Anjali and Aju Varghese who play the couple with humble background, Balaji Sakthivel as Gokul’s father, Vijay Yesudas as Anbu classmate’s father, and lot others, are beautiful additions to Paranthu Po, which is poignant, feather-light, and immensely enjoyable.

Paranthu Po is a film which you would not guess to have comedy, but it does give you a lot of laughs as a pleasant surprise. They are birthed out of innocence and Shiva adapts to it by bringing in his brand of comedy. It doesn’t feel out of place, but just as right, as we are getting the best of both worlds; a Shiva’s humour in Ram’s sensibilities.

The film is whimsically beautiful which talks about worldly topics in a child’s language. The barebones could be a child’s stubbornness, but when Paranthu Po unravels that the stubbornness is birthed out of the complexities of today’s life where one has to keep running without having the time to look at the present, it lays down a truthful and humble reminder to enjoy life with the little moments it comes with.

Paranthu Po verdict:

There is a lot to like in the film, which is light, interesting, adventurous, beautiful, has food for thought, but moreover brims with innocence. The film, much like its title, wants you to fly away for a moment, to shed the manmade constraints built by the society, and take a breather to feel life. But if that sounds a little more tedious, then watch Paranthu Po and taste life once again.