Parineeta

The English translation means —The married woman.It is a 2005 Indian Musical drama in Hindi that hit the screens .It is based on a novella by Sarat chandra Chattopadhyay of 1914.Childhood sweethearts Lalita & shekhar wish to get married someday.But Shekhar’s growing suspicions & his conniving father’s antics threaten to tear them apart.

A 1953 movie of the same name with Meenakumari & Ashok kumar was directed by Bimal Roy is a classic. It had bagged Filmfare best Director & best actress awards then.The black & white movies had a greater impact due to their simplicity.It was made in Bengali in 1969.It had Bengali stars like Soumitra chatterjee,Moushumi Chatterji & others.

Director Pradeep Sarkar opted for the lead pair only after testing their chemistry.(Why this pair wasn’t repeated remains a mystery.They looked so good on screen!) Saif Ali was a known name so was Sanjay Dutt but Vidya ,a newcomer matched them step for step & moved ahead,as they say never looked back.

The songs were an asset– Piyu bole–has that sweetness that makes the song evergreen.Vidya & Saif make it simply memorable.The train journey in -“Kasto Mazza He Relaima…” makes it more vivid.Saif visualising Vidya everywhere,in the fields,on the train gives it an age old feel”.Soona Mann Ka Aangan”……has the sorrow of parting in Sonu Nigam’s voice.Rekha in her original diva avatar in the song….Kaisi paheli zindagani….the younger actresses look naive here.

In an interview Vidya confided that after a few advertisements she was looking forward to a full length feature film when a director told her she wasn’t ..That nice looking….I mean if Vidya is not nice looking who is ? I seriously wonder…& after the success of “Parineeta” I would love to see his face! & seriously it is never about looks.Has anyone called David handsome or given him a role just because of looks? but his input in “Abhiman” & also a father to Rekha in “Khubsurat” cannot be forgotten!

I appreciate her more because she has no airs & has no hard feelings towards who have wronged her.Her portrayal of Silk in” Dirty picture “earned her name,fame,acclaim & later marriage with Siddharth Roy Kapur.This movie was a surprise move for her fans,but it fetched her Filmfare best actress award followed by national award. She wasn’t the first choice but she played the role very well.Imran Hashmi was again paired with her in Hamari adhuri kahani in 2015 but it did not go well with the audience.

Her “Kahani”,1&2 were appreciated,”Tumhari Sulu”…a housewife ventering & finding a place of her own,Ishqiya…with Nasser,”PA” with Abhishek & Amitabh…a small but good role,Lage raho Munna Bhai with Sanjay Dutt…a mainstream film done with style,recent “Mission Mangal ” had her “Bhool Bhulaiya” star Akshay Kumar with her.In the long list of films she has come across as an intelligent actor never worried about her box office hits or flops.She maintains a unique place in the hindi film industry. Hope to see more of her work in coming years.Till then happy viewing!