Parinda - The Peace Dove

Vidhu Vinod Chopra is my favorite directors of all times. I cherish almost every movie of his but Parinda holds a special place among all his gems. The movie was way ahead of its time. He was able to make a realistic movie in commercial set-up. The movie was released in 1989 which were turbulent times in Mumbai with Underworld rising and taking control of the city. It was also the time when the likes of Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Madhuri Dixit were on top of their career graph. Parinda gave them all the chance of their lives to showcase their talent at its very raw best. It also introduced Nana Patekar to masses with a once-in-a-lifetime role.

The story of the movie revolved around underworld gang run by Nana Patekar and Jackie Shroff who becomes one of his right hand men. The scene where Anupam Kher in killed in the arms of Anil Kapoor on his return from US is itched in my mind unlike any other scene in Hindi cinema. Rest of the movie revolved around Anil Kapoor and his dilemma in face of revenge for the murder of his best friend and love for his brother. The boat scene where Anil confronts Jackie is one of the highlights of the movie. The movie is realistically violent esp the pre-climax scene where Anil and Madhuri are killed on their honeymoon night. The climax scene shows Nana at his best. Its one of the most torturous killing of villain in Hindi cinema.


Of all the characters my favorite was Anil Kapoor and he proved that he was the best actor of his time. Madhuri also took the risk of working in most part of the movie without any make-up. Jackie did the role of his life. His character invoked the most sympathy in the movie.

The actual hero of the movie was Vidhu Vinod Chopra. His direction was immaculate. Most part of the movie was shot in dark which went well with the theme of the movie. The tension built up in the movie and surprises it sprang were a genius of Chopra. Another highlight of Vinod Chopra's career has been his team which he has remained loyal till this date, which includes Binod Pradhan, one of the best cinematographer (who also happens to be my Mom's best friend's brother) in India. The music was given by R.D Burman and never intrudes in the proceedings of the movie. "Tumse Milke..." is one of my all-time favorite love songs.

The dialouges of the movie were one of the best pinned ever. Dialouges like, "Jo aadmi 1 lakh main bik sakta hain, woh 5 lakh main tere ko bhi bech sakta hain" and when Tom Alter tells Nana who killed Suresh Oberoi, without saying the name from his mouth, was a mark of a genius.

Another highlight of the movie and that goes with name of the movie was the use of parindas as a background music for anything bad. It was an ironic statement because parindas that were mostly shown were peace doves and they symbolized all the violence in the city. According to me it symbolized that a city or few of its bad elements, can make a peaceful man like Anil's character, into a murderer.

The movie was India's nominee for Oscar's and rightly so. Nana Patekar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Jackie Shroff won Filmfare for their respective roles.

The movie set the standards for directors like RGV to follow. Its amazing though unlike RGV, Chopra never tried a movie of this genre again even though the movie was a decent hit among the masses. The versatility of movies made by Chopra makes him one of the best directors/story-tellers to have come out from India. Parinda will remain one movie that introduced a new genre into Hindi cinema.