PremiumWatch on OTT: What makes Parking tick!
In Parking, debut director Ramkumar Balakrishnan gives a microscopic view of several global issues that have befallen the human race.
Last Updated: 08.32 PM, Jan 03, 2024
Some anthropologists believe that the sufferings of modern-day humans began with the invention of agriculture. In the pre-agrarian world, the hunting and gathering societies didn't entertain the concept of ownership and that led to little to no motivation for humans to wage war against each other. But, following the dawn of agriculture, a social structure came into effect causing countless self-implicated sufferings, which continues to haunt our lives in one form or another till date. Debunat filmmaker Ramkumar Balakrishnan may not have harnessed these findings while crafting his humble movie Parking but it gives a microscopic view of several global issues that have befallen the human race.
Entitlement, arrogance, lack of compassion and gratitude and the eroding spiritual health of society have led us to be constantly at war with each other, destroying the very things that we claim to protect. This is the story of Parking in a nutshell.
In Parking, Harish Kalyan's Eshwar and his pregnant wife Aadhika (Indhuja), move into a well-ventilated home in Chennai. And they find their neighbours living downstairs in the same compound very helpful, kind and trustworthy. In the very first meeting, Ilamparuthi (M. S. Bhaskar) tells Eshwar to feel free to ask for any help, while the former's wife Paruthi (Rama Rajendra) shows no hesitance in sharing her deepest regrets about her husband's stinginess with Aadhika. They seem like perfect neighbours, making the concept of "loving thy neighbour" as easy as Ilamparuthi makes it seem.
However, the idyllic neighbourly relations begin to sour when jealousy creeps in. Eshwar buys a new car to make hospital trips for his pregnant wife easy and safe, which for some reason hurts Ilamparuthi's ego. And one thing leads to another, eventually leading to a full-fledged war between Eshwar and Ilamparuthi over the only available car parking in their compound.
What makes Parking click is its simplicity. The main problem that feeds the story engines of this film is so mundane that it will resonate deeply with you. After a point, you stop simply watching the events unfolding in the narrative, and start engaging with the film. "Why can't he simply stop taking the car out of the parking?" "Dude, he's going to frame him for bribery!" You chime in with your predictions and expectations as the warning neighbours escalate a simple conflict to a degree that destroys everything they hold dear.
Parking is streaming on Disney+Hotstar.