There's Nothing Performative About Parvathy |
With Parvathy Thiruvothu's tour de force turn in 2024's Ullozhukku, Neelima Menon ranks the methodical actor's top six, unmissable performances |
PARVATHY THIRUVOTHU has never shied away from articulating her creative process: “I need to find the obvious questions and obvious answers and then read between the lines,” she once told this writer. Her performances increasingly lean towards method rather than spontaneity. In her nearly two-decade-long career, Parvathy’s filmography has not yet touched the half-century mark — but that has also never been a priority. Having made an imprint in Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil cinema, over the past 10 years, she has striven to pick projects with caution — projects that not only challenge her as an actor but also pass the scrutiny of her politically engaged lens. In 2024, Parvathy has had a tour de force turn in Ullozhukku, opposite the legendary Urvashi. With that in mind, we’re setting off on a ranking of her six best onscreen performances!. |
6. Bangalore Days(2014) In Anjali Menon’s rom-com — starring Dulquer Salman, Nivin Pauly, Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya — Parvathy, in retrospect, had the most empathetic role. RJ Sarah was in a wheelchair and resented being pitied. She viewed the world through a refreshingly positive lens and emitted sunshine all around. Even in her romance with the rebellious Arjun (Dulquer), Sarah calls the shots and doesn’t think she deserves any less because she is disabled. This can be counted as one of her earlier initiations into popular mainstream cinema, and Parvathy brought a distinctiveness and quiet strength to Sarah who could otherwise easily fall into the realm of a pitiable figure. The segments featuring Sarah and Arjun are very natural, and Parvathy emotes plenty through meaningful glances and pauses alone. |
5. Puzhu (2022) Bharathi is a quiet symbol of revolt in Ratheena PT’s scathing critique of a caste-ridden society. To her religious bigot of a brother (played by Mammootty), she is an outcast — having eloped with a Dalit man — and he can’t bring himself to ‘forgive’ her. Though Bharathi doesn’t have much screen time, it is what Parvathy conveys through her stillness and mere presence that adds heft to the conflicts. Even in those mute interactions with Mammootty, one can weigh the depth of Bharathi and her brother’s relationship. Her body language further bears testimony to the oppressive nature of their relationship. Stream Puzhu on SonyLIV. |
4. Uyare (2019) There are two Pallavis in Manu Asokan’s Uyare. The first is a young woman holding on to a love that has already corroded her sense of self. The second is a woman who has been physically scarred but is on her way to re-claiming her sense of purpose. Whenever Pallavi is with Govind (Asif Ali), her manipulative and controlling ex, you can witness her inner turmoil, and how caged and forlorn she feels. Parvathy handles Pallavi with a vulnerability that never comes across as laboured — one would think the actor is channelling the Pallavi inside her. Just watch that beautiful stretch in which she explains to her dad why Govind means so much to her, and you’ll know just how deeply she has absorbed Pallavi. And from the moment Govind throws acid on her, Pallavi is transitioning — slowly and steadily getting a hold of her life. Here, more than her emotional arc, it is how she embodies the strength and determination of a survivor that’s beautiful to watch. Stream Uyare on manoramaMAX. |
3. Aarkkariyam (2021) If there ever was a character Parvathy was born to play, then it had to be Shirley in Sanu Varghese’s mystery drama. Thirty-something Shirley is a picture of pragmatism and efficiency. She lives in Mumbai with her partner (Sharafudheen); it is the second marriage for both and perhaps that’s why they have managed to achieve a space of equality in their relationship. It’s meditative to watch Parvathy inhabit Shirley — her productivity for instance is so convincing, be it negotiating a real-estate deal or slicing jackfruits sitting in the dusty backyard of her ancestral home in Kerala. As for the emotional bits, these are stripped of drama with Parvathy’s very internal and assured portrayal. |
2. Take Off (2017) One look at Sameera in Mahesh Narayanan’s survival drama and the first thing you want to do is beg her to take a deep breath. Sameera walks with the air of someone carrying half the world’s problems. She plays a nurse, a single mother who is battling financial issues at home. Before her divorce, you can briefly witness her daily struggles in her husband’s orthodox Muslim family. Everything about her suggests stress and Parvathy is extremely methodical here (later she is shown to be taking pills for anxiety). You can sense that she has perhaps obsessed for days over Sameera’s predicament, or invoked a memory or experience from her life and reprocessed it to convey the character compellingly. That detailing is present in every fibre of her being, including her gestures, mannerisms, and eyes that always seem to be in pain. There is a diffidence in Sameera that’s consistently brought out — be it at work or in her relationships. You can’t take Parvathy out of Sameera, or vice versa. |
1. Ullozhukku (2024) The film opens with a quiet but endearing romantic moment between Anju (Parvathy) and Rajeev (Arjun Ramachandran). He tells Anju, who is a sales girl at a clothes store to show him a sari, and she cautiously smiles. We are left in no doubt about the nature of their relationship. And that’s perhaps the only moment of respite in this drama, directed by Christo Tomy, that turns darker as it unfolds. When Anju finds herself married against her wishes into a family that is financially and socially better off, she is eventually resigned to her fate. It starts on her wedding night when she reluctantly gives in to her husband’s conjugal demands and calmly fulfils her duties during the later days when he is terminally ill. Stream the best of Malayalam cinema with OTTplay Premium's Simply South monthly pack, for only Rs 249. What’s striking about Anju is her fortitude, and how she clings to a parallel world of hope amid adversity. It’s easier to see that a large part of her survival is solely dependent on her renewed affair with Rajeev. It is what keeps her sane, helping her wade through a draining marriage. |
It’s the kind of performance that makes you think that Parvathy has used “personal emotional memories” to process Anju’s dilemma. Her silences are so pregnant with profundity and sadness that they create an unusual heaviness in your heart. Take the sequence when she discovers that she is pregnant with Rajeev’s child, and the guilt that eats at her every time she faces her overjoyed mother-in-law (Urvashi). Her regret and helplessness are so tangible that one can feel an answering sadness within. And the determination with which she faces the family when the truth is revealed is Parvathy at her finest. She vacillates between relief, guilt and hope — yet you have this belief that justice will be delivered. ALSO READ | Ullozhukku Review: Urvashi & Parvathy Captivate In A Flawlessly Written Film It’s not easy to match wits with a spontaneous actor like Urvashi and yet Parvathy brilliantly holds her own, and on more than one occasion, turns out to be the scene stealer. My favourite has to be the last scene — no conversations, no drama, just two deeply scarred women finding peace with each other. Undoubtedly Parvathy’s career best! |
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