Dreams…
Virtues…
Soul…
Love…
REALITY!
Childhood fantasies gleam through
Magical eyes of innocence,
A child smiles at comfort,
From another being radiating trust.
A hope grows into a fondness of likes,
Days and nights seems engulfed,
In the bliss of melodic notes around,
With an everlasting adoration abound.
Then strikes a sinister lightening,
Where jealousy and malevolence flourish,
A state where dreams remain mere child play,
A world called reality thriving on betray.
The trick of time measures the depth,
And the intensity of a woman’s will,
To keep the childhood fantasies alive,
And love beyond existence and till end arrive.
…In my words, that’s the essence of Parineeta
Based on Sharad Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, this movie is about a girl and a boy (Lolita and Shekhar) who’s love and trust started from a very vulnerable and young age, and was bound together by the magical glue of music. Set in 1960s Calcutta, the story radiates romance…
Lolita (Vidya Balan) is an orphan who lives with her aunt and uncle since childhood, after having lost her parents in an accident. She’s a determined girl, who’s dependable and sincere to one and all. Talented and balanced, intelligent and breathtakingly charming, she’s the quintessential image of an angel-on-earth! Too good to be true!
Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan)- A dreamy musician, son of a wealthy aristocrat, whose life revolves around the sound of music. His sole pillar of support is Lolita, who not only understands and helps with his music, but also offers an understanding of his personality…something that no one else has truly been able to do. Although his father pushes him into the formalities of business, he isn’t cut out to be a real businessman and prefers to live in his world of fantasy with his music and Lolita. Possessive by nature, he doesn’t particularly like to get divided attention from Lolita…that later burns into the “Main Pain” of the plot…
Jealousy, Attraction and Passion
Those are the three components of the major rift created between relationships of love. The bond between Lolita and Shekhar was as pure as a child’s smile, and as is always seen in the brutality of life, it becomes the target of malicious intent and conspiracy woven by those existing in a world of materialistic power. Shekhar’s father, who lends Lolita’s uncle the money in his time of need, does not do it with the intention of doing good, but with a sinister plan of taking over the mansion which his neighbour has inherited from his ancestors. In this gruelling time, Girish ( Sunjay Dutt) , intervenes and at the same time taps Shekhar’s possessive nature initiating a tale of love and hate…Lolita struggles to strike a balance between what she owes to her relatives and what her love demands of her, and finds it difficult to prove her faith and loyalty as…Parineeta ( a married woman)…
The Men and Women behind the Characters
Saif Ali Khan - First time ever cast in a character much unlike his usual metro sexual male roles, Saif excels as he portrays the possessive dreamer and musician. He succeeds in delivering a spectrum of emotions including passion, anger, jealousy, contentment, love, pleasure, etc. As Shekhar grows from a dreamer to a responsible lover and husband, Saif himself grows incredibly as an actor! A definite ace up his sleeve!
Vidya Balan- I personally believe the role of Parineeta could not have been portrayed better than how Balan did it. Not only does she look stunning in the typical Bengali attire, for a debut, her performance is totally commendable! Every expression, every scene, every dialogue has been presented so beautifully and with so much maturity by this Keralite beauty, that she just leaves an impact on the viewers’ minds. Just Perfect!
Sunjay Dutt - Scenes with Sunjay as Girish provide some of the lighter moments in the movie. Although he seems just a tad bit old for the character, he completely camouflages this aspect by his flawless acting! His character adds the triangle to the love story and Dutt is able to capture this complex situation very well. It wouldn’t have been hard to give this character negative shades, but Sunjay Dutt very swiftly avoids that from happening. Another commendable performance!
Although the entire supporting cast lends able support to the plot, some who outshine are Raima Sen ( as Koel, Lolita’s jovial cousin), the actor who portrays Shekhar’s father and Diya Mirza ( Shekhar’s fiancé) who’s performance was short, yet sweet.
The Men behind the Scenes
Making a movie based on a classic was sure to be a taxing job, but a special pat on the back for all the technicians who really revived 1960s Calcutta in 2005! Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the producer of this endeavour, is known to put his money where quality is, and sure enough, quality is what Parineeta is!
Pradeep Sarkar, the first timer who fathered this venture deserves a resounding applaud for creating a movie so visually pleasing! The story of the classic is so well handled and presented that the viewer is transported back to the 1960s and can actually live with Lolita and Shekhar. As a director, he has been able to derive the best performances from all this actors and as a writer he has achieved what every writer strives for…A respect from his audience!
A special mention to the departments of Cinematography by N.Nataraja Subramanian (Calcutta has never looked more beautiful!), Costumes by Subarna Ray Chaudhury ( flawless is the word!) and Art Direction by Keshto Mondal, Tanushree Sarkar and Pradeep Sarkar ( presenting realism so wonderfully!).
The Soul of Parineeta…
…Is the Music! The melodies re-create the 60s era and saying that they are pleasing to the ears is, well, an understatement!! Another debutante, Shantanu Moitra, gives such a melodious score that one wonders where this man was hidden for so long! Shreya Ghoshal, Chitra and Sonu Nigam’s voices add the extra exquisiteness to the music. Among the songs, some personal favourites are Piya Bole, Raat Hamaari Toh and Soona Mann ka Aangan.
Thus, is born another gem in the sparkling world of the Hindi Film Industry…