Parinda

Parinda is a mind blowing film about the underworld. In fact, Parinda is not only about the underworld. It's also about the human emotions and conflicts that rule their lives.

The story revolves around Kishan (Jackie Shroff) who takes to the path of crime in order to support his younger brother Karan (Anil Kapoor). Kishan works for Anna (Nana Patekar) who rules the underworld with an iron fist. He is a pure devil who has no regrets or remorse in killing people and whoever dares to cross his path will only meet with one fate- death. Things take a turn for the worse when Karan learns about Kishan's illegal activities and about his involvement with Anna. Karan proves a real threat to Anna and Anna is hell bent on eliminating Karan who dared to challenge him. However, Anna is also torn between Kishan and Karan as Kishan is his most loyal protégé. How Kishan tries to thwart Anna's plans and what happens to Karan and his ladylove Paro (Madhuri Dixit) forms the crux of the story.

Parinda is a brilliantly made film. Vidhu Vinod Chopra succeeds in keeping us hooked with the dramatics and what goes on in the underworld. Chopra definitely knows that people don't like movies made on the crime world. So, he perfectly balances both the underworld scenes and the emotional scenes. The dialogues are praiseworthy. No preaching or overused lines. In fact, this film is the most real picture of the underworld. In a nutshell, Parinda is a masterpiece.

In a film like this, performances have to be first-rate in order to captivate the audience's attention. Nana Patekar takes the cake here as he gives a brilliant performance as the hardheaded, merciless underworld leader. Nana gives the correct nuances of a don and his coldness is displayed with brilliance by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Jackie Shroff gives his career-best performance after Hero. He is very likable in the emotional scenes and his turmoil in trying to keep his brother away from his crime life is well etched by him. Anil Kapoor is good in a smaller role. In a film dominated by men, only an actress like Madhuri Dixit can hold her own. She is immensely likable in all her scenes with Anil Kapoor and her scenes more than provide a relief to the viewer after some heavy scenes in the film. Anupam Kher is okay in a shorter role. Suresh Oberoi is good.

There are only four songs in this movie and they are neatly placed. Neither do they hinder the progression of the story.

Overall, Parinda is a must watch for those who love realistic cinema. It's a breath of fresh air from the usual 80s Bollywood masala films.

My Rating : 8/10

Shocking, violent, brutal and mercilessly evil. Vidhu Vinod Chopra weaves a masterpiece with 'Parinda'.

Must-watch for any Hindi cinema lover.

This movie was the turning point in the fanciful world of Bollywood which had so far kept the remotest possible distance from reality in order to provide a fantasy escape to people amidst poverty and underdevelopment. Bollywood, in this respect had always feared compromising with colors, glycerin, scenic places, superman feats, dances and pomp and pageantry lest the movies would become insipid and turn off the masses.

Parinda dared to break the trend and brought the reel closer to real when Vidhu Vinod Chopra used the cinematography of the hitherto called 'art cinema' in the commercial mass cinema. But Parinda was not all about cinematography, it was a realistic take on the Bombay underworld and life of people in general. So far we had only seen mostly Ajit and Amjad Khan brand of opulent villains incredibly placed in their hi-tech, luxury castles. Parinda showed exactly how a real life gangster lives.

The movie is damn powerful and made such a wonderful blend of romance and violence that it is hard to categorize it into either genre. The characterization is so immaculate that the audience could connect and empathize even with the peripheral characters playing cameos. In a nutshell, the movie has a soul and is powerful enough to linger in the memory for long time.

It was a collective effort where the sensitive direction of V V Chpora was complimented by brilliant and soulful acting performances by master actors (all!) Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dikshit and Nana Patekar. What a dream cast that was! As mentioned before, the movie changed the age old and decadent trends in Bollywood and inspired the new generation filmmakers to stop insulting public intelligence. It set a benchmark for making realistic movies and blending them with drama. Ram Gopal Verma, for one,took the leaf from Parinda when he made Shiva in 1991 and later churned out a plethora of similar movies.

Before Ram Gopal Verma conquered the gangster genre with Satya and Company,before Mahesh Manjrekhar's Vaastav there was the ultimate gangster movie,Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda. Unfortunately whilst Parinda was a hit Satya and Vaastav were even bigger hits and Parinda got almost forgotten. Vidhu Vinod Chopra had made one or two offbeat movie before this but he really hit it big time with Parinda. It was released in 1989 to moderate success. What really works for this movie is it's restrained style, most Bollywood gangster movies I have seen are light on content and high on action. Parinda doesn't have many overly long drawn out action sequences but what it offers is a great story and subtlety. Parinda tells the story of four friends,Anil Kapoor, his elder brother Jackie Shroff, Anupum Kher and his sister Madhuri. Jackie Shroff sends Anil Kapoor abroad to study. Years later Jackie Shroff has started working for gangster(a phenomenal performance by Nana Patekar). Anupum Kher becomes a policeman and is intent on bringing Nana Patekar to justice. Anil Kapoor returns and witnesses Anupum Kher's murder by Nana Patekar's men. Anil Kapoor tries to go to the police but Jackie Shroff tries to encourage him not to. When Anil Kapoor does eventually go to the police his loved ones are threatened. Anil Kapoor decides to start working Nana Patekar so that he can avenge the death of his friend Anupum Kher. One by one Anil Kapoor kills them off but soon Nana Patekar realises what he is actually upto and decides to get even. The scene is set for a magnificent showdown. Another incredible quality is RD Burman's music which is simply outstanding with some wonderful tunes like Tumse Milke. Coincidentally RD Burman's last score before his demise was on Vidhu Vinod Chopra's next venture, 1942 A love story. Parinda is the best gangster movie to come out of Bollywood and deserves more appreciation from lovers of Indian cinema. Highly recommended by me.

Of the hundreds of films made on the Indian underworld this film, along with Ram Gopal Varma's Satya, is one of the most gripping and powerful. Nana Patekar (who won a national award for this film) and Jackie Shroff are brilliant. Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor excel in their small roles. The editing is also great...something that puts it in a league of its own. The film has none of the commen Hindi masala film aspects...I can only remember 2 songs!!!