Well, as I said, it is no masterpiece!
It is not lavish as Devdas.

supporting cast not strong at all.

Climax is like films like Raja etc..Dil, very melo dramatic but I could live with that!

first half and back to back songs picturized in music video style kinda throw you off!

Rekha's item number!

Devdas meets 1942 kinda plot/look and feel.

Imho, does lack on the street mass appeal, and younger people might not patronize it!

But this one and BNB has good message for teens! Bring your own maalas any where, make your own fire(BNB only) go around or even without, change your mala, if you have two, or just alternate(ek se bhi kaam chale ga) and get into it! we are making very very fast progress!

Ambience is not on your face!

I still feel 1942 was way better film in all perspectives!
if that was not classic then ofcourse this does not stand a chance!

But no doubt..Sahab Bibi, Pyaasa, Umrao jan, Pakeezah are classics!

For me!! Parineeta is ENOUGH one time!! and I did like it!

Pakeezah, 1942, umrao Jaan, sahab Bibi , I can watch any time!

Watched 1942 3X in theatre! Full first time, and just first half another 2X as we knew, what is going to happen next!
Film was more natural for me!

Saw "Parineeta" today. Although it certainly isn't a masterpiece, it's still a film worth your time. Melodrama pretty much plagues this film all thru an all too simplisitic screenplay coupled with a gaudy, cringe-worthy climax. What was Sarkar thinking? I have to agree with DVD Collector when he stated that Saif Ali Khan is clearly the best thing in "Parineeta". There isn't a single false moment in his performance. He completely engulfs everything and everyone in sight when he's on screen. A terrific, towering performance by Khan. Vidya Balan makes a solid debut. Sanjay Dutt is simply awful here not to mention looking terribly old as well. No one else is worth mentioning. Camerawork and music are very good and cover up the film's glaring faults to an extent. Direction by Sarkar pretty much meets the mark, that is until the laugh-inducing climax. Overall, this film gets a 6/10. Have to say that I'm a little disappointed with this film as I was looking forward to it but it's still better than the nauseating "Devdas"


DVDCollector, what did you think of the other actors in this film?

And the backlash begins...

It was bound to happen I suppose. Some of the comments are not totally unjustified and maybe Parineeta is no 'classic', but even then of all the negatives mentioned, none of them still take away from the fact that the film is still very entertaining and definately a cut above the Bollywood norm.

You are right, the film is definately a hit overseas. Most Hindi film collections drop atleast 50% on average in the second weekend of release but in the case of Parineeta the drop is only 19% and the film has already collected $424,940 in the US. Word of mouth seems to be working in favor of the film.

Here --> http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/jun/20mspec.htm is an article that might help in understanding the Director's motive behind certain scenes and characterizations. One must not forget that 'Parineeta' is after all based on a literary classic and therefore some of the characters are a given and not upto the director to take liberty with. Not without losing the very essence of the original classic, that is.

One line that stands out for me and which addresses the most common complaint about the film is, "Lolita of Parineeta may seem to be a figment of one's fantasy, but she also happens to be the woman a man dreams of."

I also specially like the ending of the article "Or in the present context, you could head for the next show of Parineeta. It will be like having a long and relaxing bath after a harrowing day."

I believe I've stated this before, but I'll say it again for the record to justify myself on my view of the cinema I believe worthy of applaud.

I think a lot of great art is simply ahead of its time, and I also think that artistic (not commercial) success is a highly personal matter. Parineeta did nothing at all for me personally and is, thus, as far as I'm concerned, an artistic failure. Parineeta adds nothing, really, to cinema as an art form. It just leaves me dry and sort of indifferent. For me, cinema has become a religious experience, a great film to me is one that expands the boundaries of cinematic language in order to communicate something new and interesting about life and our world. Parineeta fits neither criteria, for me, and is, thus, if not a Bad Film, certainly not a Good one either.

Given Parineeta is a literary work and that too a very "classy" one, a director must take extra care in handling it in the new medium. As easy as it sounds, adapting a literary work on to the film medium is not easy - pages don’t directly transfer over to frames of a film. I have a feeling the director and/or the script writer never actually read and/or thought about the novel, perhaps they just "got" the translation and put their own spin.

But then who am I to judge/command what others can see/enjoy. I merely want to point out that its not "as good as it looks". If you ask me if its better than 99% of what bollywood produces - i would say 'maybe', for i don’t see that many. I just don’t want to be satisfied with mediocre films, we need to teach our directors how "good" we audience are and that my friend is the sole purpose of my criticism.

I for one applaud the making of Indian novels in to movies. It's so much better than taking a bad Hollwood movie and making a cheap remake. One spin-off from this movie being released is that a new translation of the original novel has been released. This will keep the works of Sarat Chandra alive for a new generation.

I started to watch the original Bimal Roy directed version of Parineeta. From what I can see so far the new version complements the old version very well. I also have a copy of the novel on order so I can read for myself what the original story was.

I wish that more Indian movies were based on original Indian novels. There are a wealth of stories out there that would make really good movies IMHO.

I enjoyed the movie for what it was ... now I am starting to do my homework to see how well the story was transferred to the screen.

Cannot agree more ..., I would like to hear your thoughts on how the movie ( old and new) carry over onto film. BTW can you ( so someone else) confirm that the girls name infact is Lolita and not Lalitha ?? - I know its nitpicking , but its been bothering me for sometime ....

In the original novel (and the Bimal Roy version of the film) the name used for the girl is Lalita NOT Lolita ... and Girish (Sanjay Dutt) is Girin Babu.

The synopsis on the back of the book (that I ordered from Amazon - published by Penguin India) is as follows:

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A timeless love story from the master storyteller of Bengal

Set in early twentieth century Kolkata, Parineeta (Espoused) is the unforgettable story of a child-woman’s intense and bittersweet romance. Lalita, an orphaned girl who lives with her uncle, considers herself betrothed to Shekhar, her benefactor and guardian. After several failed attempts, Lalita finally gets the egotistical Shekhar to admit that he reciprocates her feelings. However, tensions erupt between Shekhar’s prosperous father and Lalita’s poor but principled uncle, and the situation is further complicated by the arrival on the scene of Girin, a mild-mannered and eligible bachelor, who is attracted to Lalita. The lovers’ world is turned upside down, and Shekhar and Lalita find themselves estranged. Years later, they meet again, and the story takes another unexpected turn…

Parineeta is a classic that has captured the imagination of generations of readers. This new translation, published to coincide with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film, will delight Saratchandra’s fans, as well as those who are not familiar with the writer’s works.

----------------------------------------------------

I'm just 30 minutes in to the Bimal Roy version - have to find a free evening to watch it all ...

On a side note ... Sahab Bibu Aur Ghulam was written by a Bengali writer called Bimal Mitra. Does anlyone know what other famous/popular novels he has written? Trying to collect translations of noteable Indian novels ... so far I have tracked down Devdas, Umrao Jaan and Cracking India (1947 - Earth) and it is a real eye-opener reading these and comparing to the film versions!

In bengali...the 'a' is pronounced as 'o'...

so Sanjay becomes Sonjoy ! &
Lalitha becomes Lolitha ! (not Lolita which has a different meaning by itself..The press/reviewrs are silly..they print a phonetic spelling and not an actual spellling !)

You guys will never see any literary work transformed in essence at all in hindi cinema.

Recent examples are devdas, black, parineeta, are all heavily commercialized films and it will continue that way.
Tehzeeb was based on a novel too, and so did Maqbool.

Next film that will be slap on dedication to original theme will be Paheli!

Now with this VVC company I see downhill cinema from VVC too!

There will never be a film like Parinda or 1942, nor like MK either!

BTW! sanjay Dutt's role was written very strong in MK and had depth, while in Parineeta his role is shallow and superficial, so he could sleep walk through it!

I gave this film a fair chance of viewing!

I think, people who are giving it 6/10, should compare it with their ratings for devdas, hddcs, black, lakshya etc! and see how it measures with that spoon!

I thought 1942 was a fair comparison too, as it was from same film maker!

VVC company will give you guys now like ramu factory, Bhatt's factory, back to back creations created for market every/3 months!
Virrudh with AB is example of that!

I dont care whether a film succeeds overseas at home or not so I start crooning it a classic too!!

Whatever the fate was BNB was a sucky film, and Parineeta is better but both films are targeted to very different kind of audiences!

Bhatt factory = arshole factory!....Folks there should be sued and unka dhanda band kar dena chahiye...Bunch of Losers

I knew the media was upto something ..., How low can they get , so i take it that people in bengal call La-li-tha as Lo-li-tha ?