Mattanchery is the small part of Kochi which was earlier famous for trading spices and tea. The neighborhood has people who came and settled from different parts of India and abroad. Pigeon flying is an indispensable part of living there, where it is also conducted as a sport. In the tournament, a pair of pigeons belonging to each contestant has to fly without landing and the pair that flies the most wins.
'Parava' means pigeon and the movie significant by telling the story of Irshad and Haseeb, two pigeon flying kids who dream to win the tournament this year. The film is directed by an assistant director turned actor Soubin Shahir who is most known for his role in Premam. Parava is produced by Anwar Rasheed and Shyju Unni under the banners Anwar Rasheed Entertainment and The Movie Club.
The attractions of Parava are
1. Dulquer Salmaan in an extended cameo
2. Soubin Shahir's debut directorial
3. Anwar Rasheed production
In his debut directorial, Soubin Shahir has done a beautiful job as expected from one who has worked under big names in the industry like Santhosh Sivan, Rajeev Ravi, Amal Neerad, Fazil, Siddique, Rafi-Mecartin and P Sukumar. He has written the screenplay which tells the story in a nonlinear fashion. The treatment is the positive of the movie which has a decent story. Cinematography by Little Swayamp and music by Rex Vijayan gives the movie a unique feel. There are moments when they combine to produce a surreal feeling.
Performance is the magical touch that makes the simple story special. To be frank, even though Dulquer Salmaan is only there in the movie for a mere 25 minutes, Parava is truly his movie. The story of the film is deeply rooted on Imran, the character played by Dulquer who has effortlessly given his best, be it the body language or the accent of the local Mattanchery boy. Siddique and Shane Nigam has yet again delivered strong performances along with Soubin Shahir and Srinath Bhasi who essayed the roles of the antagonists to perfection. Actor Harisree Ashokan's son Arjun Ashokan and actor Zainudeen's son Zinil Zainudeen have performed neatly in important roles. The kids who played the pivotal roles of Irshad and Haseeb, the pigeon flyers also deserve a tap on their shoulders for their performances. Indrans, Harisree Ashokan, Shine Tom Chacko, Gregory, Jaffer Idukki and Srinda Arhaan have done a good job in their supporting roles.
Positives of Parava
Dulquer
Performances
Treatment and direction
The flipside is the absence of an exponentially superb story is what pulls it down from being a classic, even when the film is unique in itself. The level to which it will appeal to the family audiences is up for a debate.