30 years ago a film named Parinda shook the Bollywood as well as the enitre Indian cinema industry and changed it forever. Before I start with the review and analysis, I’d like to describe the film with Nana’s iconic dialogue – “Accha Hai, Bahut Accha Hai…”
Film – Parinda (1989)
Duration – 2h 35m
Director – Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Main Cast – Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Madhuri Dixit and Anupam Kher
Rating – 5/5
Parinda (1989) is a film which revolutionized the Indian cinema and bought immense fame to director Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Padma Shree Nana Patekar. Parinda is one of a kind film which relies heavily on realism and consequentiality. The tagline of the film reads “the most powerful film ever made” and I would be a fool to deny that! At the time when it was released Bollywood was experimenting a lot and many unique and excellent films were created like Angoor (1982), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Mr. India (1987) or Salaam Bombay (1988). Brilliant pieces of work were rising from every genre of cinema and then came Parinda.
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| (Image: © Vinod Chopra Films) |
Boasting an excellent cast ensemble, Parinda is a story of two brothers Karan and Kishan played by Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff who get trapped in the world of organized crime headed by Nana’s Anna. (Wow, that’s just a switch of alphabets xd) Also dragged in this hideous game are Paro (Madhuri Dixit) and her cop brother Prakash (Anupam Kher) who are Karan’s childhood friends. The plot becomes more and more enthralling and rousing as the film moves forward and keeps you wondering what’s gonna happen next! The brilliant direction by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and the passionate performances by the cast keep you on the edge of your seats.
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| (Image: © Vinod Chopra Films) |
I wont say that the film is totally unpredictable as modern audiences have seen a lot of such films and therefore may have certain ideas of what may happen but considering the time it was made, it is an undebatable masterpiece! It laid the foundations of the gangster genre in India and served as an inspiration for many modern filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap. Apart from the excellent direction and screenplay, much of the credit for the film’s success goes to the powerful performances by the cast.
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| (Image: © Vinod Chopra Films) |
Nana Patekar absolutely outshines everyone with what can still be considered his career best performance. His dialogue delivery, his expressions, his body language, everything’s top notch and his sheer passion and commitment towards his psychotic yet reasonable character is commendable! It is rightly said – “A film is only as good as its villain”. Jackie Shroff also delivered his career best performance in Parinda and would have been appreciated an awful lot more if Nana wasn’t in this film. Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit also delivered strong performances and because of all this Parinda excelled in conveying what it wanted to.
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| Accha hai… (Image: © Vinod Chopra Films) |
Parinda is also a technical triumph with masterclass cinematography and editing. The framing, composition and lighting used in the shots is par excellence and the editing is absolutely seemless which makes the film a visual delight. The soundtrack and score is jolly, romantic, thrilling and sad as and when required and succeeds in conveying the right emotions at the right time. Song album of Parinda is also quite decent but comprises of only 4 songs. Anyways, Asha Bhosle and Suresh Wadkar’s “Tumse Milke” alone is so melodious and soothing that it won’t disappoint you.
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| I mean just look at the composition! (Image: © Vinod Chopra Films) |
It is a story of destiny, karma, politics, love and deceit, all wrapped into one thrilling and nail-biting narrative which is supported by brilliant visuals and stellar performances. If you want to know where the modern web series like Mirzapur and films like Gangs of Wasseypur draw their roots from, Parinda is the film to watch. It is also a concrete example of how realistic cinema can be presented without stuffing every scene with unrequired profanity, nudity or too much violence. And because of all these reasons, Parinda becomes a thrill ride worth taking for everyone!
I sincerely thank my friend Harshit Rao for recommending this gem of a film. For me, one great Indian film is worth a ton of foreign films and now Parinda is one of them.
