Starcast: Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Anupam Kher, Suresh Oberoi, Tom Alter and Nana Patekar Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra ...
Starcast: Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Anupam Kher, Suresh Oberoi, Tom Alter and Nana Patekar
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Music: R.D.Burman
Parinda released on 3rd November, 1989, at a crucial juncture when Hindi cinema was again turning to romantic themes after the release of Chandni and Qayamat se Qayamat Tak. Although inspired by the cult Hollywood classic On The Waterfront (1954), Parinda was a pathbreaking film in many regards in terms of the way the script unfolds, the way it was shot, and the never-before-seen gruesome climax. And probably for these aforementioned reasons it was India’s official selection for the best “Foreign Film” Academy Awards, 1990.
Storyline:
Kishen (Jackie Shroff) and Karan (Anil Kapoor) are brothers. Orphaned at
a young age, Kishen takes to the path of crime early to give his brother a good
life. He works for Anna Shetty, a notorious gangster and pyrophobic (Nana
Patekar) who has a lot of illegal businesses. Inspector Prakash (Anupam Kher) who
is a childhood friend of Karan is hellbent on catching him red-handed. Prakash
gets killed by Anna’s goons and he dies in Karan’s arms. Prakash’s sister Paro
(Madhuri Dixit), Karan’s childhood sweetheart initially blames him for
Prakash’s death but later understands that he is not guilty.
Karan joins Anna’s gang to take revenge for Prakash’s death and
eliminates Anna’s aides one by one. What happens when Anna gets to know about
Karan’s plan? How will Kishen save Karan from the evil clutches of Anna forms the rest of the film?
Direction and other Technical Aspects:
Vidhu Vinod Chopra, a gold medalist from FTII, Pune started his career
with a crime thriller Sazaa e Maut, followed by a brilliant whodunit Khamosh,
but both were for a niche audience. Parinda, on the other hand, was a more
mainstream film in terms of its content and execution, yet Vidhu Vinod was
very comfortable in handling the emotional, romantic scenes and was also adept
in picturizing the songs. His biggest achievement in this film probably was
the way he captured the nuances of every scene so perfectly. His use of
different motifs such as flying pigeons, the number of latches in a door, and a meat
processing plant are amazing, to say the least. Of course, he was aided by the
wonderful cinematography by Binod Pradhan and crisp editing by Renu Saluja.
Performances:-
Anil Kapoor as Karan is a little
too loud at the beginning of the film since his entry but he gets into the
character slowly with utmost surety and gives a commendable performance.
Madhuri Dixit looks as fresh as the morning dew and gives a steady performance
as Paro. Suresh Oberoi and Tom Alter give amazing performances as Abdul and
Musa. Anupam Kher, however, was mediocre in this film. He somehow looked ill
at ease as Prakash. Nana Patekar as Anna is just superb in this film. His
reaction at the very sight of fire ( which, however, became repetitive in other
films), the menace in his eyes was seen to be believed. It's still one of
his best portrayals ever. Jackie Shroff as Kishen was easily the best among the
main leads. His entry scene is stellar, and from there he goes from strength to
strength along with the graph of the complex character of Kishen. It was not an
easy character to play and Jackie gave it a new dimension.
Music:
The great R.D. Burman scored some fabulous numbers for this film. Tumse
Milke, sung by Asha Bhsole and Suresh Wadkar was a chartbuster those days and is still a paean for people deeply in
love. Pyar ke Mod Pe, a personal favourite is rich in melody and has some
amazing lyrics by Khursheed Hallauri. Kitni Hai Pyari Pyari (Shailendra Singh,
Suresh Wadkar, Sadhna Sargam, Shaan, and Sagarika) is a lilting, cute song
about friendship. Both versions are pleasant in their own ways. However,
the male duet Sehre Mein Dulha Hoga sticks out like a sore thumb amidst such
melodious compositions.
Parinda, with its strong dramatic and technical quotient, still packs a
punch for its solid blending of the good things of Arthouse and Commercial
cinema. It is still shown in many film workshops across the country which
proves that this Parinda (Pigeon) took its flight late but has soared high
since then.
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By
Ayushmaan Mitra
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