Bergorks
If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Quiet Muffin
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Suman Shakya
Although the movies have evolved a lot in terms of technicality, good stories are still in a dearth. Especially the literary quality has been a missing gem in the modern cinema. In the B/W era, the film makers like Bimal Roy adapted stories from novels of distinguished writers like Rabindranath Tagore and Saratchandra Chattopadhya and brought the essence of the novels on the screen.In the term, "Parineeta" fills the void to some extent. Well, you'll miss the literary essence of the novel in this film as it is set more into a modern day setting though the story is claimed to be of '60s. Based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya's novel, "Parineeta" (literally meaning a married woman) tells the story of womanhood, friendship, commitment, and humanity and has been given a backdrop of three Bengali families living in a neighborhood of Calcutta. The story perpetuates a kind of interest throughout but the climax looks a bit bizarre. The period details and dialogues could have been better, Despite its shortcomings, the film is still welcome for the piece of rich literary work it recites. Besides, it notes a remarkable entry of one of the better actresses in Hindi Cinema, Vidya Balan.Rating: 2 stars out of 4
Sherazade
Compared to Paheli, India should probably have sent Parineeta as their Oscar selection but all is well. Parineeta is more visually stunning than the former and involves one of the most daringly dangerous tests of any film industry, which is the casting of the lead heroine as virtually unknown actress Vidya Balan. But Balan manages to hold her own and make a mountain of her film debut by turning Lolita into a force to be reckoned with. The tale revolves around a guy named Shekhar (played by a very fine and in his element Saif Ali Khan) who falls in love with Lolita from the moment she arrives in the colony as a young orphan next door. They do everything together and he even steps in to provide her with money whenever she needed it. Time goes by and they grow into young adults. Shekhar gets Lolita a job with his father's company, and one day while at work she discovers an unusual folder which she is quickly chastised for coming across. She briefly ignores this, thinking nothing of the folder and continues on with her life. She begins to think of ways to let Shekhar know that she is in love with him but even though he feels the same way, he chooses to keep his feelings under-wraps. One day, while alone with a trusted worker at the office, Lolita comes across that rare folder one more time and this time opens it to see it contents. She is bewildered to discover that it contained classified information about the secret selling of the home she lives in with her relatives behind their back. Distraught but glad that she has now come to terms with the true motives behind Shekhar's father's insincere smiles, she goes home to ask Shekhar for help. But when he ignores her pleas, she turns to a stranger (played by Sanjay Dutt) who has come to visit with their neighbours and also has feelings for Lolita. Girish(Dutt) becomes like an angel for Lolita's family and this angers Shekhar who begins to make a mountain out of a molehill about things. Several misunderstandings prolong the otherwise stellar film, and that's the advantage that Paheli has over Parineeta. Paheli doesn't insult the intelligence of its audience. The most upsetting thing to me was the premise of creating excuses for the two sex scenes in the film. I don't want to be rude, but the audience is not stupid you know? That's something I would love to have told the director.The ending is so crappy that you might want to slap yourself if you sit through it. I found very many elements of Devdas (2002) in this film, it wasn't even subtle. Don't miss Rekha's cameo as the Moulin Rouge singer which adds a much needed pizazz, style and energy to the film. The Parineeta theme is also an instant classic. Raima Sen, Sabyasachi Chakravarthy, Diya Mirza among others add light as co-stars.
vrbass-1
This has to be one of the best (perhaps the very best?) Hindi romance film. The plot is a venerable old yarn from the 1950s, many elements of which are now clichés in these romances. But this remake gives them new life, with fabulous photography, great songs and terrific acting. The chemistry between Vidya Balan and Saif Ali Kahn is tender and touching. Saif's long road to choosing between loyalty to his demanding father and to the woman he loves it skillfully portrayed. And the final sequence will have you laughing and cheering and crying with joy.There is not one thing to pick at as the "weak point". This one is shorter than usual for a Hindi film, just over two hours, but that's precisely what is called for to make the story unfold, no more or less. (That would make it a good first Hindi film for those who aren't excited about sitting for three or four hours.) In short, it's just brilliant.
Mr. Bug
Parineeta is one of the best Bollywood films this year. The story is nothing new with its familiar basic building blocks centering around such melodramatic stock items as a father-son-conflict, a greedy bad guy trying to lay his hands on what is not his and one of these contrived misunderstandings with final twist involving a badly suffering heroine and her out of line and abusive lover. Sounds familiar? Sure, it's in every other Bollywood film. The reason that Parineeta is nonetheless one of the finest Hindi films in 2005 is the execution which is most of the time very tasteful and does not resort to the formula masala shenanigans (over the top humor, fights, sound effects etc.) that may please the masses but are poison to any serious work of cinema. The cast is very good. Newcomer Vidya Balan is a discovery and Saif Ali Khan competent. Technical standards are high. The occasional slip such as the piano playing scene(s) (Khan is faking unconvincingly when in the picture while a professional's hands and arms during close-ups are correct and obviously someone else's) can not change the overall verdict: very good. The DVD is a technical milestone for Bollywood with its (almost) flawless picture quality and a DTS track. Well done. Stay away from rip off pirate discs! The original deserves to be purchased.
