Parineeta Director: Pradeep Sarkar Starring: Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay DuttWhatBunty aur Babli could not do to Uttar Pradesh,Parineetahas done for Bengal. Taken it out of its musty, fusty dhakai wrapping and made it chic. Adman Pradeep Sarkar's debut film is an accomplished retelling of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's classic, without Sanjay Leela Bhansali'sDevdasexcesses.This is designer Bengal at its best - the light streams just right through the stained glass windows, the detachable collar of a formal shirt is perfectly white and the mosquito net is draped exactly as it should be on the four poster teak bed.Breakfast at Flury's, dinner at Moulin Rouge, a game of flash around the dining table, could 1962 Kolkata be better evoked (add to it an ode by Amitabh Bachchan's flawless voice at the beginning of the movie)? As in a Merchant-Ivory period film, the performances blend into the props, but in a nice way.Saif Ali Khan, as the weakkneed Elvisloving young man, is good, as is Sanjay Dutt, who has mastered the art of looking woebegone. N. Nataraja Subramanian's sepia tinted lens and some ruthless editing make the movie seem like Rituparno Ghosh after a protein fix. Pity about the Bhansalilike ending though, complete with a fist-waving chorus and some scattered cement.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Jun 27, 2005 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---
