Parineeta

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 | MP
Parineeta is a romantic drama, based on Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s novel. Pradeep Sarkar in his debutant film brings in a certain elegance and old world charm to the narrative. The film covers the very aspect of love, loyalty, jealousy, trust, distrust, compatibility and dependence that exists in a relationship between a man and a woman. Saif Ali Khan, as Sekhar Babu is in his best performance to date. Debutante actress Vidya Balan has performed brilliantly. Sanjay Dutt though looks a little old for his character, gets the tone of the period right. The director rebuilds the bustle and social life of the culture rich, Kolkata with the help of an excellent crew team. Editor Hemanti Sarkar, art director Keshto Mandal, Tanushree Sarkar, Pradeep Sarkar and most of all cinematographer N. Nataraja Subramaniam. But the film has its flaws; the film begins with a slow pace and few of the dialogues make it a bit unreal. But this classic film is bliss to watch for the colour, charm, splendor & realism, and some excellent work of art by those involved in it.

VIR CHOPRA presents PARINEETA
a VIDHU VINOD CHOPRA adaptation
SARAT CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY’S original classic
a PRADEEP SARKAR film

THE LOOK & FEEL
The world of Parineeta is the Calcutta of the 60’s – a cauldron of cultural influences, political aspirations and contradictory influences. Parineeta – the movie – captures glimpses of this kaleidoscope.
Within these exciting worlds, several smaller worlds are spinning in their own orbits. There’s Lolita’s home- the abode of a middle class genteel family. A magnificent haveli, now past it’s prime, it is home to a loving family that’s desperately trying to defy the passage of time. There’s Shekhar’s home, resplendent with the beauty that wealth accompanied by good taste can create. There’s Girish’s home, a warm cozy sunlit haven, the perfect setting for languorous afternoons of card-playing, chatting or delicious flirting. Of course, when there is a wedding, Puja or an
occasion, these homes are transformed by fairy-lights, marigold garlands, gorgeous young girls and women wrapped in yards of silks, and by the delighted squeals of little children.
Outside the confines of these homes is the magnificent Calcutta of the 60’s…. the city of rickshaws and trams, of coffeehouses and Kalibari
( the famed temple of Goddess Kali), the city of doubt and faith, of love and longing. The Calcutta of exotic Park-street nights, echoing with the melodious voices of crooners in Moulin Rouge and Trincas, the roads sporting vintage cars…and the Hooghly running through it.
This then is the world of Parineeta...

SYNOPSIS
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s poetic prose comes to life in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s cinematic adaptation of PARINEETA - The Married Woman.
The city of Calcutta – 1962. A city so vibrant, so alive, so stylish, it was referred to as ‘The Paris of the East.’ This exotic backdrop serves as the perfect locale for the tender, immortal love story about to unfold.
A young girl: Lolita, orphaned at an early age, is sent to live with her uncle’s family, where destiny introduces her to…
A young boy: Shekhar, a budding musician, the son of an affluent businessman.
Together, through childhood and adolescence, Shekhar and Lolita share joys and sorrows, fond memories and bittersweet experiences... and unknown to them, a relationship of deep friendship and trust takes place. It is an unspoken right they hold over each other that metamorphoses into a love so intense, they do not even see it coming.
It takes the arrival of an outsider, Girish, for them to discover their true feelings for each other. The chemistry between Lolita and Shekhar sizzles and sparkles, till it explodes. But fate has something else in store for them.
Greed, deception and malicious intent are waiting to plague Lolita and Shekhar’s innocent love. Events twist and turn beyond their control, spin around them in a maze of suspicion, misunderstandings and high tempers…till even their love cannot stop them from being torn apart.
Can true love conquer these insurmountable obstacles, or will it succumb to them? Will Lolita and Shekhar be forever swept apart by these tumultuous events or can they fulfill their destiny and come back together?
Watch the contemporary retelling of this engaging and timeless tale rich with human emotion and universal drama, enhanced by a brilliant musical score, and accented by unforgettable performances by Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Raima Sen, Diya Mirza and debutante Vidya Balan.
Come. Be captivated by the intensity and depth of relationships. Come immerse yourself in the sheer passion of love and the harsh anguish of separation.

CAST
Sanjay Dutt
Every woman’s dream-man. Exuberant, fun–loving, gallant, sensitive and a self-made man. Girish falls head-over-heels in love, but does not lose his head. His success, surprisingly, has made him humble and compassionate rather than arrogant. Inside this wealthy and world-wise young man resides the spirit of a mischievous child, and Girish is constantly playing pranks to bring a smile on others’ faces.

Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan plays Lolita- Strong yet resilient; innocent but blessed with an intuitive wisdom; precocious yet endowed with the hallmark dignity of all of Sarat Babu’s female characters. The heroine every young girl wants to be. Her faith is unshakeable; her determination rock-solid; her love immortal.

Raima Sen
Raima Sen plays Koel - free spirited and carefree, she sparkles with mischief and ebullience. Her laughter is infectious. Koel has no complexes. Life is full of forbidden fruit that must be tasted under all circumstances! Forever ready to jump into any situation for a lark, Koel’s guileless energy sparks up the situation each time.

Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan plays Shekhar- the hero every young man will identify with. Shekhar is flawed, yet real... A businessman by birth, but a musician by temperament, he is wounded to the core by his father’s refusal to accept him for what he is. Lolita’s unconditional love is balm to his soul. His transformation from boy to man in every sense of the word is a journey that is as riveting as it is credible.

Diya Mirza
Gayatri Tantia has everything money can buy, and what it can’t, she aims to get with her charm and beauty. As the daughter of socialite and tycoon Shyam Kumar Tantia, she is used to having her own way. Pretty, spoilt and a go-getter, she stops at nothing to get what she wants. And right now it’s Shekhar she wants!

Sabyasachi Chakraborty
Navin Rai is a wealthy businessman, authoritarian and used to getting his own way. Fiercely ambitious, he wants to keep moving up the social hierarchy by any means and at any cost. There are no morals, ethics nor compassion in his vocabulary. Only ego and profit.

MEN BEHIND THE SCENE
The Maker
Vidhu Vinod Chopra was raised in Srinagar, Kashmir. He studied direction at the Film and Television Institute of India. He made his mark early with his student diploma film, ‘Murder at Monkey Hill’ which won the National Award for the best short experimental film. His next film, ‘An Encounter with Faces’, was nominated for an Oscar in the short, non-fiction film category, the first Indian film to be so honoured. A substantial body of work followed-’Saza-e-Maut’, ‘Khamosh’, ‘Parinda’, ‘1942-A Love Story’, ‘Kareeb’, ‘Mission Kashmir’. He turned writer-producer with ‘Munnabhai MBBS’, which apart from winning numerous popular awards was also honoured with the National Award for the best entertaining film of 2003. There are series of films lined up by Vinod Chopra Films. The first of the lot being ‘Parineeta’, the screenplay for which is co-written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and the director of the film, Pradeep Sarkar. ‘Parineeta’ will be followed by ‘Munnabhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi’ (starring Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani and Vidya Balan) and ‘Yagna’ (starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan and others).

The Director
Pradeep Sarkar was born and brought up in Calcutta. After graduating from the Delhi College of Arts, he started a career in advertising. After 17 years of mainstream advertising, he jumped into ad filmmaking. Soon he carved a niche in the highly competitive advertising film industry. His ad films are greatly appreciated and have bagged many prestigious advertising awards. After seven years and over 1000 television commercials, about 15 music videos and a few feature film songs, he is taking the big leap into feature films. ‘Parineeta’, his directorial debut is an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya’s original classic. It promises to be an emotional, visual and musical extravaganza.

ADAPTATION OF A CLASSIC
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay is a legend in Indian literature. His home state, Bengal, virtually worships him, and deservedly so, for his novels resonate with deep and universal emotions and are populated by unforgettable characters. Sarat babu, as he is popularly called, belongs to the rare breed of male writers who are gifted with an almost psychic insight into the female heart. His ability to see the essential woman, veiled as she was, in thick layers of social conditioning, in the confirmatory nods to custom and tradition, and in a cloak of self-deception that females wore out of habit, was novel for its time. In fact, Sarat babu was often able to articulate female wants and desires that even the women of his era, themselves, did not know they possessed.
Parineeta, one of his most beloved novels, is a story rich with characters and ripe with emotions. It weaves together a compelling tale so utterly believable, so identifiable and universal in its impact. The story never ages. Just matures with time.
This is the reason Vidhu Vinod Chopra placed the story in the vibrant Calcutta of 1960’s even though Sarat Babu’s novel was placed in 1914. Vidhu Vinod Chopra and his team read between lines to enhance all characters and give them a life of their own, thus creating a rare narrative that transcends the boundaries of time, space and locales.
PARINEETA (The Married Woman), Pradeep Sarkar’s debut film, is a classic in every sense of the word. This powerful love story resonates with eager audiences as much today as when it was first published in the early 20th Century, thanks to the meticulous cinematic adaptation by Vinod Chopra.

OTHER CREDITS
Creative Producers VIR CHOPRA, RAJKUMAR HIRANI
Story Adaptation & Screenplay VIDHU VINOD CHOPRA, PRADEEP SARKAR
Music Director SHANTANU MOITRA
Lyrics SWANAND KIRKIRE
Dialogues REKHA NIGAM & VIDHU VINOD CHOPRA
Sound Design BISHWADEEP CHATTERJEE
Editor HEMANTI SARKAR
Art Director KESHTO MONDAL, TANUSHREE SARKAR & PRADEEP SARKAR
Costumes SUBARNA RAY CHAUDHURI
Stills JOY DATTA
Publicity Designers HIMANSHU NANDA, RAHUL NANDA
Choreography HOWARD ROSEMEYER
Chief of Production ANIL DAVDA
Executive Producer PANCHALI SARKAR
Cinematographer N. NATARAJA SUBRAMANIAN
Co-Written & Produced by VIDHU VINOD CHOPRA
Co-Written & Directed by PRADEEP SARKAR

The official film website is here: http://www.parineetathefilm.com

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