NEW DELHI: Actor Vidya Balan walked down memory lane as she reminisced about working on her debut film Parineeta, which is set for a theatrical re-release on 29 August.
Directed by the late Pradeep Sarkar, the film originally hit cinemas on 10 June 2005. It also starred Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt alongside Balan, and was produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The story was adapted from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's iconic 1914 Bengali novel.
Balan fondly recalled meeting Khan’s mother, veteran Bollywood star Sharmila Tagore, during the film’s shoot.
"I remember during the shoot one day, Sharmila ji came to the set and I was so excited to see her. I absolutely love her—I was over the moon. We both greeted each other like we knew each other, and Saif—I’ll never forget his expression—turned around and said, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you knew each other.’ And I said, ‘I know her, she doesn’t know me.’ That moment still makes me smile. "Saif’s got a crazy sense of humour. He’d crack us up with his one-liners, and I love that about him," she said in a statement.
Reflecting on her experience working with director Sarkar, the 46-year-old actor described him as the "foundation of everything" she learned in her early years.
"Dada was the foundation of everything I learned in my early years. His attention to detail was unmatched—he could do a hundred takes, not just for performances, but even to get pigeons flying at the right moment or leaves falling outside the window at exactly the right time. He believed there was rhythm in everything."
She recalled how Sarkar's insistence on precision left a lasting impression on her craft.
"Once, I did 28 takes just to get a teardrop timed perfectly to a line in a song. That was the kind of precision he demanded. His guidance taught me to observe, to absorb, and to respect every detail in the craft. "Even my hair stylist, Shalaka, who’s been with me for 20 years, learned from Dada the importance of balance and detailing. That was his gift to all of us," she said.
Set in 1960s Kolkata, Parineeta tells the story of childhood friends Lalita and Shekhar, played by Balan and Khan, who gradually fall in love. Tensions arise when Shekhar’s father eyes the property of Lalita’s uncle to build a hotel. When Lalita discovers this, a family friend, Girish (played by Dutt), steps in to help—leading to a major misunderstanding between the lovers.
Parineeta has been restored by Prasad Film Labs for its upcoming re-release.
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