Movie Title: “PARINEETA”
RATING: (OUT OF )
Review by Ranju Anthony
India, 2005
Running Length: 130 Mins
Censor Board Certification: U
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama
(Wide Release)
Director: Pradeep Sarkar
Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Screenplay: Vishu Vinod Chopra (Based on a novel by ‘Saratchandra Chatterjee’
Cinematography: Amit Roy
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Dalan, Raima Sen, Dia Mirza, Sabyasachi Chakravarthy,
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Midway through the movie, I gave up what was going on and at that very moment, I decided to turn off my brain and evaluate the film on its own merits, targeted mainly at the archetypal audience armed with mushy songs, an attractive and talented star cast and a plot of no consequence. In fact ‘Parineeta’ is so unintelligible that the raison d’être behind this cinematic revulsion is not comprehensible. Why do these Bengali novels always have to be a classic? So what’s so exceptional in a yet again triangular love khichdi.
Plot (If it can be called that is)? Well a certain Lolita (Vidya Balan) is orphaned and is moved to her uncle’s place where she develops this fondness towards Shekhar(Saif Ali Khan). Circumstances demand that she needs to arrange an astronomical amount to be paid to Shekhar’s father (Sabyasachi Chakravarthy) to ward off an age old debt owed by her uncle. Enter a good samaritan Girish(Sanjay Dutt), who arranges this amount out of an admiration for Lolita. So the chemical reaction forms like: Girish- Lolita Shekhar. Any further guesses?
The problem with such projects is that even a five year old can predict the outcome of the whole principle; which further belies the entire exercise of sitting through the protracted couple of hours (as long as one wants to sleep though) in a closed auditorium and that too after spending a fortune.
Parineeta is intended to be a dramatic venture with appeal for those who lapped up the silliness of Devdas (yet another ‘yawn’ Bengali classic). It looks like a platform for Vidya Balan to make transition from small screen advertisements to the big screen, but the role of Lolita – a stereotypical middle class softie – doesn’t gives her much span to display wide ranges of emotions but it does provides her an ample opportunity to showcase her charisma. Established actors like Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan are wasted in their respective uninteresting and oh so cyclic characters. The only character on which some endeavor has been made is the character of Shekhar’s father. But nevertheless, all the lead actors have played their parts effectively notwithstanding the writer’s fiasco.
If nothing else, what ‘Parineeta’ proves is that all those Govinda potboilers are meant for the family audience. This is one of those nearly unwatchable movies that become an endurance contest for any thinking adult. In the place of a legitimate storyline, Parineeta relies on an overdose of sweetness and candy floss exuberance. The less we talk about the music the better. In their zeal to provide a positive, life affirming message, the filmmakers fail to realize that doing so forces them to venture over the line that divides wholesome from inept. It really takes a strong stomach to hold down this kind of stuff. Steer Clear!