Film: 'Parthan Kanda Paralokam'; Director: Anil; Cast: Jayaram, Mukesh, Sreedevika, Jagathy Sreekumar; Music: M. Jaychandran; Rating: *

Jayaram has yet again tried his hand at playing a bumbling comic hero in 'Parthan Kanda Paralokam', but doesn't succeed this time.

Jayaram plays the protagonist Parthasarathy, popularly called Parthan, who lives in Krishnapuram village. The story revolves around Parthan and his continuing fight with uncle Falgunan (Jagathy Sreekumar). While Falgunan is the panchayat president, his nephew is his staunch opponent and their war soon spills over to the village temple that has been locked for many years over an ownership dispute.

Meanwhile, Parthan has had many near-death experiences due to which villagers call him 'Paralokam Kanda Parthan' meaning 'Parthan, who has seen the other world'.

The main actress is Sreedevika, who plays Falgunan's daughter. The panchayat chief tries his best to keep her away from his nephew, known as the silly do-gooder. The film takes an interesting turn with the entry of Madhav, played by Mukesh, who claims to be Parthan's old college friend. But the strange part is the protagonist does not remember his 'friend' at all.

There is nothing unusual or new in this flick and its script is so weak that it seems to have been written at the last minute.

Jayaram has given many hits with director Anil, who earlier made films jointly with Babu as Anil-Babu. The hits they have given include 'Pattabhishekam', 'Uttaman' and 'Njaan Salpperu Ramankutty'.

But in this film, their combination doesn't work. Jayaram hams beyond belief, while Jagathy and Mukesh are convincing. Sreedevika merely adds glamour to this farce.