Review of Parineeta (2005) by Afzal S — 20 Sep 2007

An Engaging Film, If a Little Fey.

Parineeta is an enjoyable, almost Chekovian tale about the age-old tensions between individuality and family. The plot of the film, set in the early 1960's, is based on the fateful consequences of a misunderstanding that spirals out of control between a young man, Saif Ali Khan's spoilt but earnest Shekhar, and a girl, Vidya Balan's spirited orphan Lolita, who live next to each other in Havelis(large Indian houses) which belong to connected Calcutta families.

The script is well written, with lively dialogue, three-dimensional characters and an intriguing plot. The splendour and beauty of the sets cannot be questioned, and Pradeep Sarkar's direction is assured. As a viewer should come to expect from Indian cinema, the music and songs are melodious and memorable, and half-justified in Parineeta as Shekhar is something of a songsmith.

The acting of the leads is very good. Saif Ali Khan gives a studied, understated performance, showing well the fraught circumstances his character feels himself in, and Vidya Balan brings out a good sense of pathos to her role while managing to show strength and avoid sentiment. The surrounding cast lends good support, especially Sanjay Dutt's wonderfully contained comic performance as a businessman returning from England.

The only problem with Parineeta is its smallness in scope. The story the film is based on has been updated to Calcutta in the 1960's, and not up to the present day, presumably to avoid it seem antediluvian. This is telling and, despite attempts to have the characters spend some time away from the narrow range of their lives in the Havelis, Calcutta, which at the beginning of the film is described as a vibrant, multitudinous city in foment, seems virtually absent. This makes Parineeta, an otherwise engaging film, seem a little fey.