Last week, I finally managed to catch ’’Parineeta’’ on TV. Yes, it was a pirated VCD, and I do understand that abetting a crime is just as wrong as perpetuating it. But thankfully, the guilt is not causing me sleepless nights. I guess that’s because I am used to watching almost every new movie on CD for the past few months, thanks to the local CD shop. I did feel some pangs of guilt when I watched my first movie on Pirated VCD. Musafir, I think the name of the movie was. And I certainly had a sleepless night or two after that. Although I initially attributed it to the guilt of aiding Piracy, I soon realized that wasn’t the case when I experienced similar withdrawal symptoms after watching ’’Mumbai Express’’ at the PVR Cinemas. Pangs of Guilt, yes. Sleepless nights, ofcourse. But they were due to the kind of movies that I had watched. Easily, Musafir and Mumbai Express rank as two of the worst movies I have ever seen.
Coming back to the original subject, I found Parineeta to be a very different movie. Different not just from the usual Bollywood movies, but also from other movies of the same genre, such as, Devdas. Although Parineeta and Devdas belong to the same Periodical, Bengali Classic genre, the handling of Parineeta differentiates it from Devdas, or any other movie of its kind.
The director Pradeep Sarkar does a commendable job in underplaying characters, despite the temptation to go over the top, a la Devdas. The characters are very believable and the acting rather delightful.
Debutante Vidya Balan deserves special mention for her impeccable performance. Her expressive eyes could have played Lolita’s character even without any dialogues. Although she looks a wee bit old for teeny-bopper romantic roles, she certainly looks like a real star in the making.
Saif Khan, playing the protagonist Shekhar, plays the role of the jealous lover to perfection. Almost uncharacteristically for a Bollywood hero, Saif portrays the jealousy and helplessness of Shekhar in an incredibly credible manner (oxymoron intended).
Sanjay Dutt, playing the rich, London-based industrialist Girish, performs well in his limited role, but looks too old to be propositioning Vidya, and even older to be marrying Raima Sen who looks like his daughter than his wife.
Scenes of Saif and Vidya in Saif’s room have been very thoughtfully used to depict the evolving relationship between Shekhar and Lolita, without ever depicting any romance explicitly. Until much later in the story, when Lolita becomes ’’Parineeta’’ or the complete woman.
If not for the overtly dramatic, and in-your-face climax where Shekhar literally breaks the wall separating Vidya’s and his house to announce their union, and some glaring anachronisms, the movie could have been a real classic. Nevertheless, Parineeta offers enough moments of pure cinematic excellence, and some soothing music, to demand at least one watch.
Preferably at a theatre near you.
If not, you know where to go!