Malayalam movie Parole In Sharrath Sandith's directorial debut, Parole, Mammootty plays with ease yet another family man who keeps on making sacrifices for his dear ones even as fate throws at him ordeals one after another.
Set in the wide green hillocks of a high-range village and the crammed confines of a central jail, Parole tells the story of Alex, a comrade who lands behind the bars for no mistake of his.
Alex is a committed political activist as well as a lovable husband and brother -- the latter role having been made memorable umpteen times before by the versatile star. With his acting prowess alone, Mammootty keeps the narrative moving even as a set of stock characters and sequences often slow it down.
The realistic aspects of the film -- the sad plight of the protagonist who can't escape the clutches of fate despite being too good for a human being -- is something people all over the world could relate to. However, the director's attempts to make a mass entertainer out of it, especially in the first half, do not succeed well.
The most intriguing part of the film is its interval punch and the shot on which the first half ends offers great hopes of the ensuing parts. However, the second half, where Alex encounters more troubles from which he has to rescue himself and his son had to be more convincing.
The sequences portraying Alex's heroics as a young communist are aimed at eulogising the Marxist party and energising its followers and sympathisers. However, the Malayali audience have seen it all before, ever since the black and white era. But, a true story of the Communist movement and its deep-roots in the high ranges is yet to be made in Malayalam cinema.
Apart from Mammootty, Iniya who plays Alex's wife Annie, Suraj Venjaramood (Alex's brother-in-law), Miya (Kathreena, Alex's sister) and Siddique (comrade Abdu) have done a commendable job.
Suraj has convincingly played the irritating brother-in-law who keeps making lives of those around him miserable.
A tight editing of Ajith Poojappura's script as well as Loganathan Srinivasan's frames would have made the film more interesting. The track 'Chuvanna Pulari' is dense and deep and remains with the audience even after the film.
Rating: 2.5/5
