“Paramasivan Fathima” Film Review

The oddly titled Paramasivan Fathima is the fourth directorial of Esakki Karvannan and the 34^th feature film of actor Vimal. The female lead is played by Chaya Devi, with M.S. Bhaskar, Sriranjini, Cool Suresh, Aruldoss, Veerasamar, Kadhal Sukumar and the film’s writer and director, Esakki Karvannan playing a police inspector.

Paramasivan Fathima is a brave variation of a supernatural murder thriller where the murders soon take a backseat to the sensitive issue of coercive or deceptive religious conversion.

Two successive murders using similar modus operandi rock a small town already beset by communal and religious unrest. The local police inspector (Essaki Karvannan) is under pressure to produce results, but their investigation leads to a few surprises. As the narrative unfolds, the reasons for the murders become clear, unveiling a more disturbing aspect of the three adjacent towns and their collective history.

There are very few films that touched on the sensitive and highly-charged topic of religious conversion, especially forced or deceptive conversion. While this film does touch a raw nerve, it does not in any way malign or denigrate Christianity or its followers, skilfully separating the issue of conversion from the religion itself. It does not quite walk the path of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi but does try to encourage some kind of religious tolerance and mutual respect.

Esakki Karvanannan’s screenplay has a very slow start, sweetened somewhat by comedy, not all of which is organic. The pace picks up considerably prior to interval and maintains a clipped pace throughout the second half. What augments the impact of the film is the strong characterisation, not only of the main characters, but of all the secondary characters as well.

The depth of characterisation directly influences the depth of acting reached by most of the cast. It is an impressive comeback for Vimal who is given an opportunity to show his wide range of acting. Chaya Devi totally absorbs the character of Fathima, including in her portrayal many subtle nuances in facial expression, body language and modulation.

The star of the film, however, is a magnificent performance from M.S. Bhaskar as the Christian Priest, Father Oswald, who is lovably flawed in his thinking and actions. Despite the grey and black in his character, his performance still remains as the most memorable of the film.

Sriranjani does an excellent job of her role as Paramasivan’s mother while Cool Suresh excels in his portrayal of Dubai Raja. Mani Kumar as Robert also does an excellent job as is M.Sukumar in the role of Felix. VR Vimalraj as Salim and Seshvitha as Jennifer are also impressive while Kadhal Sukumar as the police constable combines character elements with comedy. Child stars Deehan, Deesha and Saiu Prakash as the young Paramasivan, Fathima and Felix respectively are also impressive.

Playback singer Deepan Chakravarthy, in only his third film as music composer, does an outstanding job of the songs, but is more impressive in his background score.

This is by far the best work of cinematographer, M Sukumar whose experiments of lighting techniques and light usage is almost a masterclass in the subject. The viewer is treated to dozens of truly artistic shots that enthral and delight.

Writer-director Esakki Karvannan has done well to portray the sensitive topic without crossing sensitive boundaries. However, his screenplay needs a lot of work, as it lagged in the first half and lacked credibility just prior to the climax scene. Despite these flaws, Paramasivan Fathima, is an impressive attempt of a very difficult subject.

Paramasivan Fathima scores 7 points out of 10.