Director: Ramkumar Balakrishnan

Everyday issues of middle-class families are not discussed much in movies. Parking not only talks about the issue that arises between two men who fight over one parking spot; it also shows an alter ego, a grey area that is present in every one. Parking perfectly captures the essence of when one loses his cool and his dark side takes over, but how reality pulls them back. 

Ilamparuthi (M.S. Bhaskar) is a civil servant who is living in the same house with his family (a wife and a daughter) for 10 years. Whenever his wife or daughter asks for something, he is quick to shut them down and say he is saving his money for his daughter’s marriage. Eshwar (Harish Kalyan) and his pregnant wife Aathika (Indhuja Ravichandran) move into the same house on the first floor. As the movie progresses, you can understand the dynamics of two families. Eshwar tries to fulfill his wife’s wishes, whereas Ilamparuthi is stingy, and his family envies Eshwer’s lifestyle and house.

There is only one car parking space for the whole house, and Eshwar buys a car all of a sudden. Even though Ilamparuthi’s ego is hurt first, he is ok to adjust the parking space, but the issue starts when there is a scratch on the new car, and Eshwar blames Ilamparuthi. To challenge him, Ilamparuthi also buys a car. That’s when a cat-and-mouse game ensues between them. Ilamparuthi and Eshwar always try to one up each other, and how far they can go and what happens next form the rest of the movie.

Director Ramkumar Balakrishnan is a debutant and he did a really good job with the writing and the screenplay. We’ve seen a lot of movies where characters move according to the screenplay, but here, the characters form the screenplay, so the upcoming scenes are unexpected. The breaking point where both characters lose cool is not shown as something heroic or evil; it is just regular human emotion. Both the characters fight for something that is more than a parking space, so it is not who won or who lost. It is what is the end to it. 

We’ve seen M.S. Bhaskar in comic roles and character artist roles, but as a husband and a father who is full of himself and his pride, he shines in his role. He portrayed his character’s darkness and how he comes out of it convincingly. The wife and daughter, who are always submissive to Ilamparuthi, break it and question him. It gives you a sigh of relief and also makes you think they could do more than that. 

Harrish Kalyan, as a husband who struggles to find a middle ground between his ego and his sanity, made the role believable and played the part to perfection. Indhuja is pregnant throughout the movie, but scenes where she is struggling with her own issue made one wince, close their eyes, and pray for her.

Looking at the technicality of the movie, Sam CS’s music gives what is needed to the cat and mouse game, and the same for the cinematography. Everything adds to the storyline, and there are no unnecessary jumps and cuts to make it seem more interesting. The storyline takes care of that job.

2023 has been full of movies filled with big names, and the real winners are movies like these, where narratives are not complex, the story is relatable, which makes you instantly hooked, and it ends with a note that makes you think about yourself.

Rating- 3.5/ 5