Parinneta (2005)

Vidhu Vinod Chopra produced and Pradeep Sircar directed Parineeta  was a stylishly made film that captured the essence of the novel of the same name by the Bengali littérateur Sharat Chandra Chattopadhay. The film was a big hit for melodious songs, excellent cinematography and period costumes. The film captures the era of  60’s very well and takes you back memory lane through some idyllic locations.

Locations: Darjeeling and Kolkata

Darjeeling

The film captured the locales of scenic hill-station of Darjeeling very well.  One unique feature about the film is the famed toy train song. “Kasto mazaa hai relaima/ramailo ukali orali/yeh hawaein gungunayen pooche tu hai kahaan/tu hai phoolon mein kaliyon mein/ya mere khwaabon ki gailyon mein” The whole song was shot in the toy train passing by the tea gardens in the sleepy hills of Darjeeling.

The station where the train halts and the song ends is the Sukna Station one of the halts of the Darjeeling Toy train from NJP to Darjeeling.

Kolkata

Kolkata also makes a lot of appearance in Parineeta. The film gives a kaleidoscopic view of Kolkata -roads, people and the culture. Some of the places where the shooting took place include Lake Road, Bidhan Sarani  and Babu Ghat.

The Durga Puja sequence where the priest performed Aarti was during the Navami, day of the puja at the pandals of the Samajsebi Sangha Sarbojanin Durga Puja in south Kolkata’s Lake Road. The people shown in the puja sequence were the devotees who had assenmbled in the pandal. The scene where the idols after Puja were immersed was shot at Babughat.

The venue for the foreground of the Durga  Puja sequence is the famed Lahabari,  which now houses the office of the Pasteur Laboratories. The address is 2A, Bidhan Sarani in the northern part of Kolkata.

"Piu Bole" with Saif and Vidya was shot in the Prinsep Ghat  and the boat ride was in on a boat in the Hoogly River.

Capture moments of Parineeta in Darjeeling
 

Xtra SpotsThe toy train shot in Parineeta was the same one used in the 70’s superhit film Aradhana for the song “Mere Sapno Ki Rani kab Ayegi tu” on Sharmila Tagore. After a 30 years Sharmila Tagore`s Son Saif recreated the magic on this special celebrated train.