DEBADURLLAV HARICHANDAN, OP
Bhubaneswar: Parab signifies festival or celebration, but more than that, it’s a part of culture and heritage in Odisha, the southern part of the state in particular, where this tribal festival is organised as a gala event to showcase the splendour of local traditions.
So, when a movie is made with this title that too by the makers of Daman, a 2022 blockbuster, expectations skyrocket. An ensemble cast comprising Sidhant Mohapatra, Anu Choudhury, Chaudhury Jayprakash Das, Dipanwit Das Mohapatra, and Suryamayee Mohapahatra should do the rest to get the crowd to the theatres even as the euphoria surrounding Pushpa 2 is yet to subside. The movie has somehow managed to achieve that to a certain extent.
Talking about positives, the movie, most importantly, is not a remake of films in other languages and is made in the backdrop of the ongoing border dispute between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. However, there is more to this fictional take by director Chinmaya Das than the warring administrations of the two states. Parab sheds light on the dispute between the Odia and Telugu communities, residing in a village bordering Odisha’s Gajapati with AP’s Srikakulam districts.
With chest-thumping pride of the local communities showing no signs of diminishing anytime soon, thus begins a never-ending saga of conflict between them. Sidhant and Anu, one of the most popular onscreen romantic couples a few years ago, are tasked with something different to do this time. Though playing husband and wife, their encounters as District Collectors of Gajapati and Srikakulam add momentum to the growing tension in the plot. Choudhury Jayprakash, the accomplished actor he is, has justified his character, wearing Odia pride on his sleeve. For instance, the sequence between Jayprakash and Anu over animosity between Odia and Telugu communities will surely be etched on viewers’ memory for a long time. These days, he is synonymous with all content-driven movies made in Odisha. Dipanwith, paired opposite Suryamayee, daughter of Jayprakash’s character, played his part effortlessly, especially the way he mouthed thick-Telugu-accented Odia. Distortion of Odia has been a concern in most of the mainstream movies in recent times. The makers of such movies have a lot to learn on this count from Parab. Anyone who truly aches to see the picturesque beauty of Odisha’s bordering district must watch Parab for Kartik Paramar’s cinematography. The splendid wide-angle shots, captured in particular in the valleys, must be commended for their breathtaking visual appeal, offering a rare sense of scale that enhances the film’s gripping narrative. Though the movie had a slow start at the box office till the filing of this report, positive word-of-mouth may bring a drastic turnaround.
On rooms for improvement, in the post-interval part, the plot fails to rescue itself from the trap of banality, as the actors, too, could not rise above the linear dialogues offered to them. However, this would register as a minor complaint, since Biswajit Paital’s splendid editing makes up for the flaws. Overall, a ‘thumbs up’ as the team has done a decent job at the end of the day.