Parineeta, Communism
"History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second as farce."
Bertie to Devdas
From Wodehousian lotus-eaters at the Drones in pre-war Victorian England, to a hedonist aristocracy in 60's Calcutta, the order of history repeating itself seems to have reversed. The first, Wodehousian instance, as farce, and the second, 60's Calcutta, as a quasi tragedy.
Sarat Chandra's Parineeta plot seems remarkably similar to his Devdas - Childhood sweethearts, breakups, and a crumbling Zamindari set in timeless Calcutta.
However, this movie spares us the blatant, sickening sentimentality of Sanjay Bhansali's farcical Devdas, and that's something. If not for the ludicrous climax, this movie could have been good. And therein, I suppose, lies the tragedy (A second instance of history's inverted repetition). The brilliant cinematography and sets recreate the illusion of a lost Calcutta, a vision that probably exists in reality only in the minds of Calcuttans today.
What remains of the City to an outsider, however, is something of a tragedy. When I visited Calcutta a few months back, I only saw the dank stagnation of failed Communist policy. The moss covered buildings, the dilapidated buses, the broken down trams, the blinding power-cuts, all speak of the stranglehold of an outdated and infeasible ideology.
The buses of Parineeta still parade the streets of Calcutta.
What is it that holds Bengalis in the thrall of Communism? Is it a fallout of an aristocratic past?
Ironically, that was Karl Marx's quote.
Bertie to Devdas
From Wodehousian lotus-eaters at the Drones in pre-war Victorian England, to a hedonist aristocracy in 60's Calcutta, the order of history repeating itself seems to have reversed. The first, Wodehousian instance, as farce, and the second, 60's Calcutta, as a quasi tragedy.
Sarat Chandra's Parineeta plot seems remarkably similar to his Devdas - Childhood sweethearts, breakups, and a crumbling Zamindari set in timeless Calcutta.
However, this movie spares us the blatant, sickening sentimentality of Sanjay Bhansali's farcical Devdas, and that's something. If not for the ludicrous climax, this movie could have been good. And therein, I suppose, lies the tragedy (A second instance of history's inverted repetition). The brilliant cinematography and sets recreate the illusion of a lost Calcutta, a vision that probably exists in reality only in the minds of Calcuttans today.
What remains of the City to an outsider, however, is something of a tragedy. When I visited Calcutta a few months back, I only saw the dank stagnation of failed Communist policy. The moss covered buildings, the dilapidated buses, the broken down trams, the blinding power-cuts, all speak of the stranglehold of an outdated and infeasible ideology.
The buses of Parineeta still parade the streets of Calcutta.
What is it that holds Bengalis in the thrall of Communism? Is it a fallout of an aristocratic past?
Ironically, that was Karl Marx's quote.
posted by Venkat at 11:29 AM
4 Comments:
thanks bro!
Someone told me that Parineeta was Devadas Part 2 and your review seems to reflect the same. But, the Bhansali movie was as you have so succinctly put it - farcical!
Unfortunately, I've never gotten a chance to visit calcutta. But my friends who've been there during recent times felt that it really is starting to rot down there and the traffic is supposed to be hell. Maybe the Mckinsey consultants can try and wipe out some of the "red" down there!
At the end of my course, I wish I end up as one of those consultants, so wish me luck!:)
Wish you all the luck! You have the skill and the will. So, there is always a way :-)
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