Tonight I am going to see Vidya Balan’s ‘Parineeta’. It’s on Amazon Prime Video. And today’s the 20th anniversary of this classic romantic musical. It was released on June 10, 2005. To rah-rah reviews and award-winning recognition. I remember seeing it at the Metro. My, how time flies when you’re having fun at the movies. It is also Saif Ali Khan’s and Sanjay Dutt’s film. They are the male leads in ‘Parineeta’ who share a common but complex love for Vidya’s character. All three were that year nominated for Filmfare Awards in the acting category for ‘Parineeta’. Vidya was the only one who got it. I was not surprised. This was her debut film. And she gave a performance that ‘Variety’ in describing ‘Parineeta’ as high-end Bollywood at its best, said was “an acting revelation and a treat for the eyes”.

That Vidya was. Her gorgeous, expressive face made up to resemble a Bengali beauty of the 1960s lighting up the screen with wide-eyed innocence. ‘Parineeta’ won Filmfare Awards for Art and Sound, too. Which was also not a surprise because what was shown in the film was vintage Calcutta, the costumes, props, outdoors and automobiles of a timeless, sepia-tone era. ‘Parineeta’ also won Filmfare’s Choreography Award. It went to young Howard Meyer for what he did with Sunidhi Chauhan’s slow and teasing number ‘Kaisi Paheli Zindagani’. And what he did was pure magic. He put Rekha in the song. Kohl-eyed, red-lipped, sinuous and seductive in her avatar of an Anglo Indian night club entertainer of Calcutta back then. Moulin Rouge would be wiped clear of your mind. I am looking forward to seeing ‘Parineeta’ again.

Since its release and over 20 years, I have got to know Vidya as a friend, and admire her as an actress. She is one of those rare artistes of Bollywood it is entirely possible to engage in a normal conversation. She puts on no airs. Gives no attitude. Doesn’t allow her PR manager to orchestrate the talk. And she is a scintillating conversationalist. Vivacious and sparkling. Like a bottle of exquisite champagne demanding to be respected at a party. Yet, she is disarmingly dismissive about her work.

After having done some headstrong and challenging roles in several women-centric commercially successful films like ‘Sherni’, ‘Begum Jaan’, ‘Kahaani’, ‘The Dirty Picture’, ‘Te3n’, ‘Tumhari Sulu’ and ‘No One Killed Jessica’, that had New York Times saying Vidya had “redefined the Hindi film heroine”. I think the best recognition of her craft came when ‘India Today’ featured Vidya one year in its list of most powerful women in the nation by deservedly saying “… she toppled the all dominating hero, reducing him to a supporting role in a male dominated film industry…” True that, but off screen a different person altogether. I remember making her my guest editor at Times for the Women’s International Day issue after ‘Parineeta’ and inviting her to take my chair. That morning, I waited for her car to arrive outside the iconic Times building opposite CST. And suddenly spotted her sauntering outside the railway station in the peak morning hour commuter rush. She had been a St. Xavier’s College student and this was familiar territory. “I just wanted to walk down memory lane,” Vidya told me airily. People going to work didn’t recognize the lovely actress who recently debuted in Bollywood with the biggest hit of 2005.’