It’s a cute opening scene when close buddies Irshad (Amal Shah), better known as Ichappi, and Haseeb (Govind Pai) retrieve their stolen pet fish from a stranger’s house; the modus operandi will keep you smiling.
With that, Malayalam actor-director Soubin Shahir braces you up for a flight into the skies as you follow the lives of these two boys punctuated with moments at school, Ichappi’s little crush, their discovery of porn, and more importantly, their love for pigeons as they gear up for a pigeon racing event.
Riding on the splendid frames of cinematographer Little Swayamp, you get a pigeon eye’s view of Mattanchery town, while he races through its little alleys and climbs onto terraces of houses, stopping frequently to zoom into the happenings in the two boys’ lives.
However, Parava is not only about the two teenagers. Juxtaposed is the adult world casting a pall of gloom into the otherwise sunny world of the boys. Writers Muneer Ali and Shahir takes viewers into the past to reveal the pain behind Shane’s (Shane Nigam) silence. Shane is Ichappi’s older brother.
And we meet more characters — Imran (Dulquer Salmaan), who is Shane’s friend and a mature young man who keeps his peers on the right track, Shane’s cricket team mates and a few drug addicts.
What gives the story a lived in texture are the small incidents: be it the first day of school after holidays, where a diffident Ichappi is made the class leader; the sports event when Ichappi finally gets his somersault flip right and meets the gaze of the new girl in class; the conversation between Ichappi and his father on his return home after watching a porn film and quiet moments exchanged between Shane and his lover.
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Neatly etched characters are lovingly brought to the screen by every actor. Nigam goes through a range of emotions emphasising again the performer in him. Salmaan’s Imran is perfect, the chettan (big brother) everyone adores and looks up to. Clearly, the real stars are child actors Shah and Pai. They keep the story bubbling with life.
Rex Vijayan’s music is the wind beneath the wings of Parava.
MEET THE CHILD STARS OF ‘PARAVA’
Child actors Amal Shah and Govind Pai are enjoying their moment of fame. Malayalam film Parava has found them a perch in the hearts of viewers.
If falling off his bicycle got Pai the role of Haseeb; in the case of Shah, his acrobatic stunts on the cycle stopped director Soubin Shahir on the road to ask for his number. Shah a little taken aback thought probably, “this guy wants to complain to my parents.”
He was surprised when Shahir visited home with a role in Parava.
Pai, whose mother runs a tea-stall in Fort Kochi, remembers Shahir visiting the place a couple of times. Like Shah, his unbelievable moment happened when Shahir spoke to his mother about his role.
If Shah and Pai were unsure about their acting abilities, their director’s assurance pushed them to take the plunge.
Shah and Pai got along with each other at once. Bonding with pigeons was easy too, being residents of Mattanchery, a neighbourhood known for its pigeon fanciers.
They spent time with pigeons at Shahir’s house for over a year, feeding and letting them out to fly. Shahir also exposed them to world cinema.
And now we hear that post Parava, Shah and Pai are filming in Lakshadweep for Geethu Mohandas’s upcoming film, Moothon.
Don’t miss it
Parava releases in the UAE on October 12.
