Gokul (Siva), who dreams of starting a grocery store in Chennai, struggles with monthly EMIs. His wife, Glory (Grace Antony), manages the family through her saree-selling business. Amid this mechanical economic flow, their only son, Anbu (Mithul Ryan), spends lonely days in a locked house attending online classes. This isolation breeds detachment from parents and the yearning for the joy of childhood. When Glory visits Coimbatore for work, Gokul and Anbu embark on a small road trip. Directed by Ram, 'Paranthu Po' explores the positive transformations of the parents and their love for each other during this journey.
Shiva, with his usual naive mannerisms and comedic timing, approaches emotional moments with surprising maturity, strengthening his character. The director handles Shiva's comedy timing seamlessly without derailing the story. Grace Antony fits perfectly as Glory, navigating emotions of maternal affection, spousal love, financial pressure, and sisterly longing. Her final scene brings genuine laughter. Director Ram extracts a flawless performance from Mitul Rayan as Anbu, even when the character borders on overdose and repetition. Beyond comedy, this child wins our hearts in the emotional scenes as well! Anjali and Aju Varghese captivate despite minimal screen time. Vijay Yesudas and Balaji Sakthivel deliver their roles effectively.
Cinematographer NK Ekambaram elegantly captures the geography of the journey and the emotions of the characters without compromising the feel-good meter. Mathi VS's editing contributes seamlessly, while strategic drone shots give wings to this flight. Music by Santhosh Dayanidhi and lyrics by Madhan Karky speak authentically about children's world and perspective. Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score flows flawlessly alongside these songs.
The screenplay opens with emotional and comedic discourse about the contemporary children's world, their internal struggles and the problems in parenting. It discusses solutions through small supporting characters and sub-stories. Without sensationalism or twists, the screenplay travels slowly in a straight line, balancing comedy, emotion, and transformative pressure.
The boy's pranks and father's suffering unfold systematically. These scenes provide justifiable reasons and also entertainment. Director Ram's 'love and love only' world becomes the film's strength, but it also holds a sense of reality. The three-generation conversation between Gokul's father, Gokul and Anbu proves hilarious! Cuteness overloads through a little kid who introduces himself as Cockroach! Shiva running wildly with thirst, ironically with a handbag of water cans failing to open them, reflects the men's hurried nature.
However, some dialogues violate reality and could have been avoided. The climax exceeds excitement, as the repetition of climbing the mountain feels tiresome. The final scene asking Glory, who has asthma, to discard her inhaler seems problematic. Even though the film adds brownie points for the village lifestyle, it also criticises its shortcomings, which is commendable.
The burden of urbanisation and peer pressure imposed on parents also affects the children directly, and the movie addresses them effectively. Director Ram successfully transports us into the children's world with his non-Ram film `Paranthu Po'.