Sincere and enchanting. Review on Parineeta

They say that love is an unexplained emotion that is sometimes best felt by people who love without even knowing the name to the feeling they feel. Given a chance, everyone will compare this story to “Devdas”. Rightly so, considering that the story came from the same author who penned the novel “Devdas”. Sarat Chandra Chatterjee is a master storyteller, not only because of his beautiful poetic prose, but also because of the timeless appeal of his stories, the sincerity of his characters, and pureness of their love.

Vinod Chopra and the director, Pradeep Sarkar, did a commendable job in capturing all the essence of the master’s novel and I must say, this is the best onscreen interpretation to the novel I have seen thus far. “Parineeta”, unlike “Devdas” is a much simpler, straightforward love story. Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan) is not the tragic, angst-ridden lover that Devdas is and Lolita (Vidya Balan) is not the coy, proud woman whom Paro turned into.

“Parineeta” opens its story on the eve of Shekhar’s wedding to Gayatri (Diya Mirza). Shekhar is not the happy bridegroom that he should be, even though he was getting married to the beautiful and rich Gayatri, he constantly hears his name being called by another - Lolita, his childhood friend and love. Here, audience can easily establish that Shekhar is torn by his love for Lolita.

Even from the start of the movie, you are given a good scope at how much care has been given by the director in bringing this period drama to life. Set in Calcutta in the 1960s, this movie deviates in that sense, as the book narrates a time in the 1920s, just as “Devdas” has been, but in this case, I think it’s easier to bring 1960s Calcutta to life as oppose to the grand sets of “Devdas”. “Parineeta” has a very realistic feel of time to it, from the costumes to the slight sepia tinge of the film. All were well placed and worked with the story well.

Saif Ali Khan has made amazing progress as an actor. There was a time when Saif was only known because he is the son of famous actress Sharmila Tagore, but now he is, without a doubt, one of Bollywood’s most sought after leading man in his own right. Though his recent hits have all been mostly comedy roles, in “Parineeta” Saif proves that he can handle heavy melodrama just as well as any of the other three famous Khans can. Saif handled all the emotional scenes with flair and I applaud this man for a job well done.

Newcomer Vidya Balan is a gem of a find. Her face has the serenity of Tabu, yet her acting has the cheerful mischievousness of yesteryear actresses like Madhubala and Mumtaz. I think this woman will go far. Her Lolita is innocent as she is stubborn, playful as she is dignified, and mostly, passionate as she is adoring towards Shekhar. Her first scene when she calls to Shekhar at the staircase speaks of sensuality and when she weeps for him later into the movie at the same staircase, you would think her heart was breaking. The supporting cast did justice to their roles, even Raima Sen, whom I am not very fond of, did a good job.

As for the music, my favourite would be Kasto Mazaa and Piya Bole. Sonu Nigam shows strength in the vocals and Shreya Ghoshal, though no Lata or Asha or Alka even for that matter, her voice served sufficiently well. There’s no big dance number and what I liked best is that the song pieces didn’t drag. Still, one rather out of place song was Kasisi Paheli Zindagani. An item jazz number featuring… Rekha. Yup. Rekha looking like an old diva who still has it, and man, does that woman still have it. It’s a good song though, just a little out of place in the story.

The only grouse I have about “Parineeta” is the ending. A little asinine, you know – like how most Hindi movies can be. Glad to say though that this movie has a simple, satisfactory, happy ending. So though Girish (Sunjay Dutt) said to Shekhar “There’s nothing more unfortunate than the man who loses what is already his,” I believe that it’s always good to end with a message that you can fight to gain back what you have lost.