Parie

A fetid & fatuous fairy tale

Kannada (U/A)
Cast: Rakesh Adiga, Niveditha, Harshika Poonacha, Srinivas Prabhu, Mandya Ramesh, Sathya, Sharat Lohitashva
Director: Sudhier Attavar

Violent, vengeful and absolutely vacuous village vaudeville — that’s Sudhier Attavar’s Parie for you. Pathetically pedestrian, Attavar’s Parie just lacks logic and puts its viewer into a stupefying stupor. In fact, such is the non-sensical story-telling of Attavar that there is no rhyme or rationale for the ensemble of events trundling down trying to entice the viewers into its pitiful plot. 

Drawing its semblence of a story from the novel of Sampanna Muthalik’s Bharadwaj, Parie, centres around the trials and travails of an orthodox Brahmin boy Bharadwaj falling for the elfin charms of a lower-class lambani lass Parie and when cupid does strike, the angst and anxiety it brings in its wake given class and caste divide between the beau and the bewitching belle. Mainly drawing its sustenance from the tragic and troublesome romance played out against the backdrop of illicit liquor trade Parie’s family are in, the film turns out into potent potion of heady cocktail giving one heavy, head-banging hangover. 

At the other end of the spectrum, you have a distillery owner in Sumedha, who would go to any lengths to safeguard her father’s precious concern be it even bedding the very bitter bootlegger Chandrahasa without any qualms or quiver. That’s woman’s emancipation for you a la Attavar. How our village yokel comes to serve as cleaner thereafter rising to become chief distiller and wine maker at Sumedha’s fiefdom winning her confidence but disillusioned with her, backtracks to his village and a deserted demented dad forms the pointless saga of Parie.

In between you have item numbers where drunken lots, loll, jive and jig around the moll with her medley of sensuous shakes and shimmies. 

Needless to say Parie is simply the pits in terms of entertaining picture and best left for Attavar & his crew to rue and ruminate the dismal work they have dished out. Despite its lofty claims and call for cine buffs to celebrate cinema in its 100 year as also its even more shrill salespitch that erstwhile Puttana Kanagal’s dreams is being realised with Parie it’s best to shun it with the bargepole. Sad!