Another Great Indian Film. Review on Parineeta

Debutante director Pradeep Sarkar seems to have done his homework pretty well. The marriage of form [technique] with substance [script] is worth noting. But how one wishes Sarkar and co-writer Vidhu Vinod Chopra would've given a solid culmination to this simple, yet complicated tale of emotional relationships. Had Sarkar worked doubly hard, PARINEETA could've proved to be a masterpiece. The culmination to the story [climax] is what actually proves a spoiler of sorts. But, overall, PARINEETA is still a cut above the average. Kolkata 1962. Lolita [Vidya Balan], orphaned at an early age, is sent to live with her uncle's family, where destiny introduces her to Shekhar [Saif Ali Khan]. Shekhar, a budding musician, is the son of an affluent businessman [Sabyasachi Chakraborty].

The story unfolds through a flashback where everyone discovers Lolita is an orphan who grew up in her uncle, Gurucharan (Achyut Potdar) house. Brought up in a typical bhadralok culture, she oozes ethics and etiquettes in her persona wherever she goes. In her neighborhood lives Shekhar, her childhood friend. The love between the two is unspoken and often expressed in metaphors. She means everything to him and does everything that a wife or girlfriend would, right from drawing the curtains of his room in the morning to finding the right shirt for him. But Shekhar’s scheming father has plans to usurp the property of Lolita’s uncle. Gurucharan, whose fortunes are on the downturn, has mortgaged the house to Navin. And when Navin Rai’s plans almost seem succeeding, comes in Girish (Sanjay Dutt), a London-based businessman who bails Lolita’s uncle out of financial crisis. The mortgage is paid by Lolita’s neighbor’s brother Girish (Sanjay Dutt), who has fallen for Lolita. Girish is a London-based businessman who compared to the impulsive and erratic Shekhar is a self-assured man of pragmatism and calm composure. Girish puts a spanner in Navin Rai’s plans and the latter feels stung and check-mated at his own game. Meanwhile the closeness between Girish and Lolita and her family makes Shekhar very jealous and insecure. That’s the point when he also realizes how madly in love he is with Lolita. Fueled by Navin Rai’s web of lies, greed and deception a maze of confusion, exploding tempers and mistrust comes to fore. Shekhar, convinced Lolita has sold herself to Girish, agrees to marry his father’s business partner’s daughter. But after a rough patch between the two things are sorted out.

Shantanu Moitra's music is a letdown. Cinematographer [N. Nataraja Subramanian] is first-rate. Saif Ali Khan takes colossal strides as an actor. The actor handles a complex role with dexterity and enacts his part with flourish. Sanjay Dutt is efficient in a smaller role comparatively, although the fire that one would've associated with the character in the climax is missing. A natural [not cosmetic] beauty, Vidya takes to the role like a fish takes to water and delivers, what can be rightly called, the most striking performance by a debutante this year. Dia Mirza doesn't really get much scope. Nevertheless, she makes her presence felt. Ditto for Raima Sen. Sabyasachi Chakraborty, as the scheming father, is superb.

It is not often that a new girl gets such a central and interesting role to play and Vidya Balan is absolutely superb at it. She speaks through her eyes, reaches out to the viewer and totally involves you in the film. Saif Ali Khan has matured as an actor and is perfect for the part. Raima Sen is lovely and acts very well. All the other characters bring the Bengali ethos alive. A must watch.

Deipak