There is glimmer of hope in most depressing of conditions is the feeling we have as we venture to see Decent Parties because it has Jagadeesh as the main lead, the actor who was indispensable part of Malayalam films once upon a time.
The fact that it is a low budget fare hardly bothers us. Directed by Abraham Lincoln, the movie has the film industry as the backdrop mixed up with family drama that works to some extent without being cumbersome or overly layered. But, over simplification too has its own drawbacks.
The film tells the story of Sudheendran (Jagadeesh), a videographer who runs a studio. He wishes to make it as a cameraman in the film industry one day. In between he has to get married to a girl whose marriage was blocked because one of his employees morphed her picture with another man to make some extra money.
Sreeja (Meera Vasudev), whom he marries, is an understanding female and supports Sudheendran in his effort to fulfil his dreams. One day his friend Rafeeque (Salim Kumar), who is a production controller, calls him up saying that there is an opening for an assistant cameraman in his unit and advises him to reach the location at the earliest. The director of the film is in discussion with his team about the climax when Rafeeque takes Sudheedran to meet him. Sudheendran makes a suggestion, which is approved and accepted by everyone. The director tells Sudheendran to try his hand at script writing instead of being a cameraman.
The next thing we know, Rafeeque has swindled Rs four lakh from Sudheendran and disappeared. He was always considered to be irresponsible by his mother and elder brother. This latest development further complicates matters as he has sold his wife's jewellery and even mortgaged his house.
The film goes on to show Sudheendran's experiences as a 'story in a story' format from a first person narrative. Still, we do not feel the desired intimacy as the proceedings feel like contrived. The intensity of a film crazy person does not come across very well. It is more like a family drama.
Jagadeesh's performance does bring an old world charm to the proceedings. And, it is really refreshing to see him behaving normally without depending on his trademark buffoonery to extract humour. The same can also be said for Salim Kumar, as he has got a serious character after a long while.
Meera Vasudev in a comeback of sorts does make an impact even though her characterisation is similar to her debut film Tanmathra.
Decent Parties is a decent effort by director Abraham Lincoln and veteran writer Kaloor Dennis. But, it is not involving enough.
Rediff Rating: 
