Pariyerum Perumal review: It's an inherently sincere and deeply affecting film
Director
Mari Selvaraj
Star Cast
Kathir, Anandhi, Marimuthu
By Moviebuzz
Debutant filmmaker Mari Selvaraj’s Pariyerum Perumal is one of the best Tamil film made on caste discrimination and the pain of the oppressed people. It stands out, as it's not preachy and the filmmaker hasn’t trusted the message on your face. Mari Selvaraj has visually represented the cruel practice exists in the society and leaves it to the audiences to take the final call.
The film begins with a bunch of youngsters from the oppressed community moving around a village pond after another gang from upper caste coming near the same place. One guy from the oppressed community says that they should give a tough fight to the opposite camp but his friend says things will not change until they stop working under the upper caste. Then, we see a brutal murder of Karuppi (dog) of Pariyerum Perumal (Kathir) who belongs to the lower caste. Later we get to know that director Mari Selvaraj draws an analogy between Karuppu and Pariyerum Perumal.
Just like how the upper caste community treats the dog, they also can’t tolerate when Pariyerum Perumal develops friendship with the upper caste girl Jothi Lakshmi (Anandhi) in Law College. The upper caste students torture him to unbearable extend that they embarrass him in many situations and even attack his dad. Will Pariyerum Perumal overcome all these oppression?
Ranjith’s Madras and Attakathi authentically represented the working class community but with Kabali and Kaala, he became a propaganda filmmaker and lost his charm of telling poignant stories without forced messages. With Pariyerum Perumal, Ranjith is back to form not as a filmmaker but as a producer! Mari Selvaraj shows a lot of promise with his exemplary directorial skills. Despite having a great scope to preach audiences, he prefers a subtle approach.
If Kathir’s character has been represented as the face of all the youngsters from the oppressed community, there is an old man who executes honor killings as suicides and deaths, he has been portrayed as the face of the heartless animals in the society.
Kathir has given his heart and soul to the film, some of the scenes where he gets beat up look very real. There are scenes where Kathir addresses important topics on oppression but it doesn’t sound preachy mainly because of his realistic performance and solid writing of Mari Selvaraj.
Anandhi looks pretty and homely as a small town girl, there is a brilliant emotional scene in the pre-climax where she scores extremely well as a solid performer. The old man who comes as the pride upper caste guy who converts honor killings as murders and suicides is menacing and create shivering moments. There are many shock values in Pariyerum Perumal, the death of the dog, the scene where Kathir gets beaten up and the revelation of his dad.
Santosh Narayanan’s music is the film’s biggest strength, be it the background score and songs, the music composer is in tremendous form. Cinematographer Sridhar has not only provided rich values but also helped to visually narrate many hidden meanings in the script. The picturization of both Karuppi and Naan Yaar are on par with western videos depicting the pain of oppression.
Overall, Pariyerum Perumal is an artistic masterpiece from debutant filmmaker Mari Selvaraj and set the standards high for directors who have noble intentions but end up making preachy propaganda films.
Pariyerum Perumal review- Verdict: Brilliant
Reactions from Social Media
Rajasekar @sekartweets With #PariyerumPerumal, @mari_selvaraj set the standards high for directors who have noble intentions but end up making preachy propaganda films. My rating: 4/5
sridevi sreedhar @sridevisreedhar #PariyerumPerumal is Brilliant! It’s an inherently sincere movie @am_kathir has given his heart and soul to the film
riyazdeen @rdeen123485 #PariyerumPerumal will leave you thinkin and will strike the chord in ur heart. I’m sure the idiosyncrasy of the film will last for atleast a night #MustWatch
George Vijay @georgevijaymn #PariyerumPerumal "CONTENT IS KING"- Brilliantly staged emotional drama. @mari_selvaraj @am_kathir @anandhiactress @beemji @Music_Santhosh @officialneelam #PariyerumPerumalFromToday Rocking dont miss it
murale @muraleg Wonderful overall reviews pouring!! Congrats to team #PariyerumPerumal @aravinthsb93
