‘Parachute’ Recap And Ending Explained: Were Varun And Rudra Reunited With Their Parents?

Good family dramas are a rarity these days. Any movie or show that discusses the flaws in the familial system is always a good story. There is scope for exploring layers behind human behavior, and family dramas allow that if the screenplay is competently written. Piku, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Kapoor & Sons are some examples from Hindi cinema that explore family dynamics as a theme and how families function on a daily basis. Parachute, the new Disney+ Hotstar show, is about two young children and the relationship they have with their father, who seems to have a temper.

Spoiler Alert

Why was Lakshmi at a police station?

The show began with a distraught Varun looking for Rudra on a crowded road. He is hit by an oncoming vehicle that renders him injured. Moving on to nightfall later that day, Lakshmi visits the local police station to file a missing persons case as her children Varun and Rudra had not come back home. Initially the police were uninterested as they had been assigned to focus on bubbling regional tension, as in Karnataka there were cases of Tamilians being assaulted. As a result, the Tamil Nadu police had to make sure the Karnataka residents living in Chennai remained alert and safe. Since Lakshmi did not have pictures of her children, she asked her temperamental husband, Shanmugham to bring them along. Shanmugham, a brooding middle-aged man who was known for his temper had somehow convinced himself that the police existed only to help those who had money. Shanmugham and his family, which included his wife and two children, were living off his salary he earned as an employee of a gas cylinder agency. Lakshmi was sure Shanmugham would not be happy if he learned she’d gone to the police.  

Was Kiruba in trouble with his colleagues at the police station?

Kiruba was in traffic police, and had gotten into trouble with a relative of the state minister. Kiruba had impounded the young man’s expensive bike, and he was under pressure from his seniors to let the vehicle go. As Kiruba agreed to do that, two men walked into the parking lot where seized vehicles were kept, and they stole the expensive bike, hurting the security guard Rangasamy in that process. This further put Kiruba in trouble as he was under pressure to catch the culprit that stole the expensive bike. The local police station had the CCTV footage of the truck in which the bike was kept, and Kiruba needed to track the truck and the person who stole it. 

Why was Varun scared of his father?

The story goes into flashback mode when it is revealed that Shanmugham regularly beat up his son Varun if he made any mistake. Varun, as a result, was scared of his father and would pee wherever he stood if he sensed his father was angry at him. Varun and Rudra were fond of their father’s two-wheeler and affectionately named it ‘Parachute.’ Unbeknownst to anyone in the family, Varun had taught himself to ride his father’s bike,  

What happened on Rudra’s birthday?

The story moves to Rudra’s birthday as she wants to celebrate like a normal kid. Varun was also a kind hearted brother who wanted his sister to be happy. As Shanmugham left for a funeral with a colleague, Varun in his bid to make Rudra happy, took his father’s bike and gave her a ride around the town. Rudra was happy, but she was scared as well and tried to find a familiar person that would help them take the bike home. They parked the bike in a NO PARKING spot, and within minutes the vehicle was picked up by a towing company working for the police. This sent the kids into a panic, especially Varun, as he was sure his father would beat him up. Rudra was by his side, hoping her presence would help him. 

Around the same time, Lakshmi realized that Varun and Rudra had taken the bike for a spin. This also sent Lakshmi into a panic, as she knew Shanmugham would be livid. Shanmugham got back home only to find out the truth from his wife. His anger had no limits at this point, and he began to blame Lakshmi for losing their kids in his absence. Lakshmi approached the police station to file a missing persons complaint. Shanmugham eventually presented the pictures of Varun and Rudra as the police demanded it as a part of the procedure of filing a missing complaint. 

What did traffic police Kandeepan and Kiruba know about the kids?

Kandeepan was a traffic police officer who was with Kiruba when the bike incident happened. Kandeepan was pushed away by the drunk boy, which led to the vehicle being seized. He was at the station till nighttime when he came across Varun and Rudra’s pictures placed on the table. Kiruba also recognized the picture of the kids and revealed that Varun and Rudra had come by the station hoping the police would help them find their ‘Parachute.’ Kandeepan and Kiruba were sympathetic towards the children, but they had to follow the rules of filing the complaint and calling their father to pick them up. Rudra and Varun wanted to get the bike without their father getting involved. The kids soon left the station premises soon after learning the police wouldn’t help them. 

What did security guard Rangasamy know about the kids?

Rangasamy was the security guard who was injured when two men attacked him to steal the expensive bike in the impound lot near the police station. Rangasamy was also asked about Varun and Rudra, and he revealed he shooed them away from the impound lot for trying to steal a bike they claimed was theirs. Rangasamy also added that the kids returned at night and attempted again to get the bike. Rangasamy was forced to fasten their bike to the expensive two-wheeler that was about to be returned. He revealed that the kids were around when two men stole the expensive bike and took Parachute with them as well. Varun and Rudra tried to stop the men from taking their father’s bike but were overpowered by the thieves. The police also found the CCTV footage of the children getting into the truck to get Parachute back. Lakshmi and Shanmugham were now aware that the kids were alive. The police needed to stop the truck to get hold of Varun and Rudra and retrieve the bikes stolen from the lot. 

What was Varun and Rudra’s plan of action?

Varun and Rudra followed the truck and eventually got into it as per the CCTV footage seen by the police. Their plan was to convince the robbers to give them the bike and possibly drive back home. The expensive bike was not stolen by henchmen hired by the owner. It was stolen by a regular police informant named Kola and his friend. Kola learned the bike was worth a lot from Kandeepan and decided to steal and sell it off. The police would never know it was Kola since he and his peer had covered their faces while robbing. Kola and his peer did not know Varun and Rudra were in the truck and might end up travelling with them across the state border.

Where did Varun and Rudra end up?

Varun and Rudra, on the other hand, were still in the truck driven by Kola. Kola was informed that the police were on the lookout for them; they would be caught on the state border. Kola and his peer were in trouble, and the only way to get out was to change the number plate. They eventually found Varun and Rudra but abandoned them. The children got into another vehicle and accidentally crossed the state border. 

What happened at the Karnataka border?

Kiruba, along with Shamugham, Lakshmi, and their neighbor Charles, decided to follow the truck that had the bikes and the children. Since the bike they were searching for was expensive, the vehicle had an inbuilt tracking system in case of incidents such as this robbery. Shanmugham was not keen, but on Lakshmi’s insistence, he joined the party to find Varun and Rudra. Kiruba could sense Shanmugham was still distrustful of their trip. Shamugham had blamed Kiruba, saying the police officer was trying to save his job as he wanted to retrieve the bike, and he was hardly concerned about the children. Shamugham was a skeptical man and angry as well, since things had not gone his way. Kiruba was the practical one who believed in carrying out every task patiently. Since he was the police officer, he knew procedures were slow and nothing was going to happen overnight. He agreed to the trip because he sensed Lakshmi really needed help, and saving the children would be good karma, as his wife was pregnant as well.

Kiruba, along with Shanmugham, Lakshmi, and Charles, reached the Karnataka border but were not allowed to cross the state border, on account of communal tensions. Since their car was of Tamil Nadu registration, the Karnataka border police could not afford to put them in danger. This made Shamnugham angry, and he ended up slapping his wife out of sheer annoyance and blamed her again. A tired Lakshmi let him know that Shamugham had some high expectations of himself and his children. Since he was unable to reach them, he tended to take out that anger on Varun, Rudra, and her. Lakshmi blamed her husband for creating a boundary between him and Varun, and that was the reason the children never approached him whenever they were in trouble. She also let him know Varun wetting his pants on seeing his father was an indication that he was a toxic father. Lakshmi had to let it all out as she was tired of Shanmugham grunting and festering over his anger. Instead of talking about it, he would get angry and resort to physical violence, thinking that was okay. It was bold of Shanmugham to have beaten his wife in front of the police, and the officers did not do anything to stop him. 

Were Varun and Rudra reunited with their parents?

Kiruba and Shanmugham had a conversation in which the former stated that as a father, he was just tired of taking the burden of being the breadwinner. Instead of enjoying his life with kids and children, he was constantly hovering over things he could not achieve for himself or the family. This was the case with every man who was raised to believe that they were supposed to bring in income and take care of the family. This forces men to be emotionally unavailable to their children as they are supposed to spend most of their time working and earning money. Shanmugham was a victim of this system. He was slowly trying to unlearn it after Lakshmi let him know his flaws. He finally heard what Kiruba had to say about being a man and how it does not constitute being physically abusive to their loved ones.

Varun and Rudra were now in a politically tense town, and they did not know about it. They found their father’s bike, but at the same time they were captured by the rioters. The same rioters burned Parachute, to their horror Varun and Rudra were paraded as Tamil kids in the face of the tension between two states. This was witnessed by Kiruba, Shanmugham, and Lakshmi on television when they crossed into Karnataka. It was easy to assume that the children and parents were going to reunite, but they would be faced with obstacles and poignant moments before the reunion happens. Shamugham and Lakshmi reached the riot-hit place. Both were unperturbed by the situation as they were keen on finding their children. Varun and Rudra too were stuck amidst chaos, and for the first time, as a brother, he was clueless on how to get out of the situation. Both were innocent as they only did what they thought was right, which was to get Parachute back. Since that was no longer possible, Varun and Rudra were petrified. Lakshmi was not wrong in stating that the kids were more afraid of their father than the rioters. At this point Varun was not even sure if he wanted to go back home empty-handed. 

Rudra spotted her mother amidst the chaos and called out to her. Varun was elated too until he saw his father amongst the crowd and ran in the opposite direction. Varun was an innocent kid whose thought process did not go beyond how his father would react. He was too young to understand that the chaos and the panic might change his father’s mind. Since Varun was raised on physical violence, he was expecting nothing less than that. Shanmugham ran after his son in a bid to save him and let him know he loved him. Shanmugham for the first time witnessed that his son was petrified because of his own doings. He wanted to correct things since the whole ordeal was an eye opener for him as a father and a husband. Shamugham was heartbroken to find Varun again wetting himself at the sight of his father. This broke Shanmugham, and in no time he hugged his son and apologized profusely. Shamugham had a cathartic moment when he realized his mistakes could alter his son forever and their relationship as well. He now had time to fix it so that Varun does not end up hating his father. Kiruba was a witness to Shanmugham having a heartfelt moment between father and son. Amidst all the chaos, he also caught Kola and the money got from selling the bike. This last-minute addition came out of nowhere, but Kiruba’s arc had to be ended since his job relied on retrieving the expensive two-wheeler. 

The show ended with Shamugham and his family reuniting. There was a hope Shamugham as a father would change himself and treat his family with some respect. Even though ‘Parachute’ could not be retrieved, everyone was just relieved that all of them were alive.