‘Prakashan Parakkatte’ movie review: Coming-of-age drama failed by an unimaginative script

Filmmaker Shahad has a safe template with a local flavour to work on in his debut film, but much of it seems forced

All through while watching Prakashan Parakkatte, one is reminded of Dhyan Sreenivasan's previous scripting venture Love Action Drama, for the ghost of that movie is very much present here too in the form of the protagonist. Das (Mathew Thomas), a loafer with hardly any redeeming quality, looks like a younger version of Dineshan, the protagonist from the latter film.

The similarities do not end there. Just like in the other film, a girl falls in love with him, although the 'how' remains a mystery. Not many would find a guy who constantly stalks you and slyly clicks your photograph without your permission to be worth loving. But then, that is how the script views all such acts. The movie even creates an intolerable joke out of a tuition teacher's attempt to sexually assault his student. All of this is wrapped in a "feel good" exterior that fails to cover all of the movie's many failings.

Filmmaker Shahad has a safe template of a coming-of-age drama with a local flavour to work on in his debut work. But, much of it seems forced, like the slang of the characters which is uneven throughout. Das, the protagonist, and his friend prefer to spend their time in shopping malls and beaches, rather than attend classes. His father Prakashan (Dileesh Pothan), who runs a small shop in the village and is struggling to run the household, is tolerant of his son's ways, while the mother (Nisha Sarang) tries hard to make him mend his ways. Then there is Das' studious younger brother (Rithunjay Sreejith), who is made to utter lines which are way beyond his age.

For a film that is supposedly centred on the young guy's transformation, the event that the script creates for this purpose seems forced. The reaction of the other family members to Das, for what was clearly an accident, is also confounding. Since there is not much of a transformation to show, the script makes up for with some preachy lines from the father to the son and statements of resolve from the youngster.

Even the significance of the title is explained in a voice over at the climax, because the entire movie had failed to convey that point. As if to make a connection with the title, Das is shown guessing the time of random flights and telling his father that he does not have enough money to make him a pilot, even if he studies well. These seem like random scenes written into the script, without any connection to the larger story.

Despite being written around a familiar, easy template, Prakashan Parakkatte is failed by an unimaginative script.

Prakashan Parakkatte is currently running in theatres