Parineeta (2005)

Overrated

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This movie was so totally interesting and full of good storyline Good screenplay good editing good direction Saif was doing a good job Sanjay is remarkable vidya was superb in her debut performance Songs are really impressive 5 star Don't miss

The modern adaptation of a 1914 novella of reputed writer Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Parineeta tells the love story of Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan), son of ruthless businessman and developer Navinchandra Roy (Sabyasachi Chakraborty), and Lolita (Vidya Balan), his much poorer neighbour, who know each other since childhood and marry secretly on an auspicious day by simply exchanging garlands. To prevent Navinchandra's cunning schemes to evict Lolita's family from their stately home, newly arrived Girish (Sanjay Dutt) takes them under his wing, providing financial support and entertainment. In a rage of jealousy, Shekhar agrees to marry Gayetri (Dyia Mirza), but on finding the truth, defies his father and brings Lolita home, acknowledging their relationship to the world. Fine-tuned performances of newcomer Vidya Balan and veteran Saif Ali Khan, superb cinematography and costumes, painstaking attention to recreating Calcutta of the 1960s, touching and engaging music, and the talented hand of first-time director Pradeep Sarkar make Parineeta one of the best Bollywood movies of all times, despite an overcooked ending that has very little credibility and sits somewhat awkwardly with the rest of the film. For any Westerner wishing to delve in the world of Bollywood without getting burnt by silly melodrama, superficial acting and over-the-top tearjerkers, this critically acclaimed period movie is an excellent starting point.

This is a classy period drama, a rarity for the Hindi film industry. Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, it's basically a love triangle based in sixties Kolkata. Vidya Balan shines as the beautiful Lolita. Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt both play second fiddle as Vidya hogs the limelight. Sanjay in fact is slightly miscast as he appears too old for the part. The period recreation is done well on a limited budget. The music is effective and goes well with the style of the film. One drawback: the melodramatic climax that weakens the film. Still, its quite watchable.Overall 7/10

This is a badly made, poor remake of Bimalda's classic Parineeta. The story is based on Sarat Chandra's book of the same name and it is a distortion of the original. Well one can appreciate some degree of creativity but not sham creativity. The acting by everyone is affected and the entire movie is a sham. Shekar's father's choice of words in abusing Lolita ( Balan ) sounds cheap and morbid and destroys the spirit of the original story. Again the scene where Shekhar ( Saif ) slaps Lolita is quite out of place with the flow of the movie and the characters, is quite jarring to the senses, and could have been easily avoided. Similarly the sex scene between Saif and Balan is quite unbecoming the movie and a cheap gimmick to attract the audience. When a creative work is not faithful to the original and destroys it's spirit, the work falls apart. The song "piyu bole" is quite OK. Another silver lining in the dark cloud of this movie is the scene where Saif stands up for himself and rebels against his father. This is a positive departure from the original and deserves credit. On these counts this movie deserves 3 stars. The song and dance by Rekha smacks of artifice and it is a put on. The song is tuneful but I remember having heard it somewhere before and if Iam not mistaken the tune appears to have been plagiarized. Well, agreed the times have changed from then to now. But then this movie is not even reflective of the modern times.This is what happens when the modern Bollywood film makers get increasingly obsessed with impressing the NRIs and grabbing the lucrative NRI entertainment market. Such movies end up neither belonging to India nor to any other part of the world.