User reviews

Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda is one of the first Hindi films dealing with life in the Mumbai underworld and one of the most realistic of its kind. Stylishly presented, the film is excellently directed and is aided by fantastic cinematography, great editing, beautiful music and natural acting. As opposed to most of the Hindi movies of that time, the story of Parinda is devoid of clichés, and the screenplay as well as the dialogues are well written. There are neither the typical courageous action heroes nor the exaggerated fantasy action sequences one gets to see so much in Hindi films, though at some points you do feel its loyalty to the general Hindi film style (that's called commercial pressure). Chopra portrays the relationship between the two brothers authentically, as he does with practically every other relationship in the film.

The narrative is very focused and taut, letting the director create the required mood for a gripping drama of its sort. The film's emotional impact is thus strong, though it does get a bit too slow and dark at places. The acting is for the most part excellent. This is one of Jackie Shroff's finest performances, powerful and heartfelt, strong and restrained. Nana Patekar plays the psychologically disturbed fire-phobic Anna with intensity and conviction, portraying every negative shade of his character in his well-known inimitable style. Madhuri Dixit is lovely in a role that is not very substantial. However, Anil Kapoor is just okay and his often childish and overly naive on-screen persona gets on your nerves from time to time. His character's transformation was also too quick to be believable. This is of course not entirely his fault.

Which brings me to the next point. Parinda, though compelling and innovative for its time, is not without its flaws. While RD Burman's music is stupendous as always and managed to relieve the film's raw tension, as it was done with the soulful and memorable "Tum Se Mil Ke", the other melodious songs seemed inappropriate in such a dark thriller and often distracted from the seriousness of the situation. The marriage song, for one, was completely redundant. Additionally, some of the scenes towards the end were quite implausible and went a bit over-the-top, though I really liked the film's final scene, which was overwhelming. Overall, Parinda is an enjoyable and impressive gangster movie known today as a favourite cult movie among lovers of Indian cinema. It's easy to see why. It was different and entertaining, but its intentions were stronger than its actual quality.

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!!!

This is a rare, genuine Bollywood mafia movie. In fact, it was made before Bollywoodising of the Hindi film industry. The characters are disturbing and portrayed in such a manner that they haunt you long after the movie has stopped rolling. There have been many mafia/gangster movies in Bollywood, prior to and since Parinda but none capture the dynamics of the lifestyle as realistically as it. The story of brothers on either side of the law lends this movie a Deeware-esquire background to play with but the presence of Nana Patekar in a villainous role gives this movie a much darker appeal. It is horrifying and at times disgusting but at the same time it is sometimes sublime and fragile in order to emerge at the end with a message of affection.

This movie could have been bad. Really, really, bad. But thanks to a great director, a great actor (Patekar), and great performances by the usual bollywood actors, this movie is a groundbreaker in Indian Cinema. Has to be one of my favorite movies from india along with Masoom and Prahaar

Late 70s and 80s were a time when alternate or parallel cinema entered the Hindi film industry. Shyam Benegal, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Govind Nihalani, Mahesh Bhatt gave soul to some heart-wrenching narrative and created a cinema which was a long-call from the rosy, sanitized feature bollywood movies. Instead what we saw was dirt within the society, issues like Labour rights, Dowry deaths, Prostitution, Communal violence were dealt with openly and our favorite protagonists had to wrestle not against the stereotypical Bollywood Evil Banker or Industrialist but against the 'system' itself.

In this time period came along Vidhu Vinod Chopra with two feature movies, 'Sazaye Maut' (1981) and 'Khamosh'(1986). Made without a star-cast to speak of, the movies did not find many takers and despite being a brilliant start to his career they remained largely forgotten, till the internet era introduced them to a larger audience. The experience of making these movies perhaps led to some of the decisions which were reflected in Parinda. This movie which can be called as Realism's Gateway to Bollywood is a weird mix, feeling like a brilliant art-movie at times and a decent Bollywood feature at others. There are sequences of Anil Kapoor-Madhuri Dixit which are filled with rosy, romantic scenarios, while there are scenes between the two brothers or the ones featuring the impeccable Nana Patekar as Anna, which are filled with grim realism usually not present in the other features of the era. Take the plot for example, Prakash's death at the start to Brothers' fate towards the end are not your usual run-of-the mill scenarios in a Bollywood feature of the time. Besides having seen Jackie-Anil in Ram-Lakhan, Karma etc. I was expecting a movie where the heroes eventually trump all odds and win the day in the end.

It all was too unexpected for me until it dawned that this movie could be called the first place where Vidhu Vinod Chopra started using his own formula of movie-making which show-cased so well in Munnabhai MBBS, 3 Idiots etc.

We can only guess as to whether the failure of his brilliant Khamosh was the reason behind this approach, but this allowed him to tell his audience otherwise complicated stories in a crisp manner, where songs and some lighthearted sequences keep the story moving on forward, while he tells a tale dealing with issues in the Indian education system (Munnabhai 1, 3 Idiots) or the need for Gandhi's values in today's society. (Munnabhai 2) Here he does the same in a gangster saga of two brothers, where an otherwise decent tale is given both the formulaic Bollywood approach to keep the mainstream audience engrossed, while the gritty sequences dealing with Gang-violence, Anna's troubles and the rift between brothers provide a deeper understanding to the movie.

Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor were brilliant as usual while Jackie Shroff also provides a good support. But it is Nana Patekar's madness which lifts the movie to another level. His genius is scenes during a 'Shraad' scene, where he loses it after seeing fire being lighted. There are also other undercurrents visible within the movie, such as fate of turncoats, Musa's eventual victory over Anna due to his habit of making friends out of enemies. The music in the movie was done well with songs of the movie going on to become some of the popular songs of 90s.

"The Most Powerful Film Ever Made" indeed! As if! I was so disappointed with this offering, having seen both Chopra penned delights "Munnabhai M.B.B.S." and "Khamosh," the later of which he directed as well, like this movie. This movie felt like a badly made combination of both, in style. Whereas the songs and the placement of such in "Munnabhai M.B.B.S." set a certain tone to the film and assisted in carrying the story along. In this film, they felt inappropriate to story's the flow, added absolutely nothing to the telling, and stretched it to an almost unbearable length.

There was a similarly tense style of dramatization in both this film and "Kamosh," but whereas "Kamosh" moved along at an appropriate speed, developed the characters and their motivations well, and was a novel tale with a constant barrage of twists, after a half hour of watching "Parinda," I started to get the feeling I was watching a badly made Bollywood version of "On the Waterfront," with no actor having the skill of a Malden, much less Brando. Oh, granted there were a few differences between the stories, but not enough to make a difference. The ending had been forecast so early that by the time the finale arrived, it was relief to see we had reached to end of this disappointing film The actors were flat, the characters were flat, all save Iqbal, who was the real hero of the movie ... Paro looked cute in her sari, but her character flipped and flopped without visible signs of whatever kind of conflict she had to have going on inside her. I wanted to like this movie, I really did. I searched it out having become convinced that Chopra was a cinematic genius and found his "Istar."

Parinda is an excellent movie.

Unlike most crime dramas, this one is not as predictable as others. In Satya and Vastav, there is one principal character. Parinda , on the other hand, forces one to see that an individual's actions have a significant effect upon others. There is no one main character, the story revolves around 3 principals: Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, and Nana Patekar. Madhuri plays a smaller, but significant role.

I can only recall 5 songs. Two of them are VERY good: Tumse Milkar and Pyar ke mod pe. The others were forgettable.

Cinematography and editing are among the best of Indian Cinema.

If there is one minor quibble, it is that Jackie can tend to over act in certain scenes. Otherwise it is fine movie, but Nana's performance is by far the best. Madhuri looks and acts great as well. Anil is Anil good.

I rated it a 10, but a more realistic vote is a 9.6 or 9.7.

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.

Although it can't touch the level of Sholay but it does stands in it's own league. The story, the cast, the emotions, fits in all so beautifully. I do doubt that bollywood will be able to ever produce such a movie again. Even though more than 20 years old, it still has not lost it charm, mainly because it is such a brilliant and original idea. Parinda is a benchmark for the gangster/mafia movies.

Parinda is the first Professionally directed Indian gangster movie. Vidhu Vinod Chopra has directed a Excellent Powerful realistically made gangster film with Class. The film was nominated and won several awards including Best Actor Jackie Shroff and Best Supporting Actor Nana patekar. Jackie Shroff gives a Powerhouse performance and deserved the Only Best Actor Award he has won. I wasn't much fan of Jackie films apart from Hero and Allah Rakha. After watching this movie I was very impressed. Anil Kapoor gives us a Great performance. Nana Patekar in another Powerhouse performance as the crazy Gangster in one of his Best roles ever. Parinda has the in famous sex scene with Anil and Madhuri Dixit looking Hot as ever. Bollywood rarely had Love making scenes but it didn't stop this movie from becoming one of the Best Indian Gangster films of all time. Must See

I was a 10 year old back then and a huge anil kapoor/jackie shroff fan at the time....

This movie just shook me up and scared the hell out of me. It was the sheer horror of reality sinking in... what life can do to the underprivileged and how circumstances can sometimes test relationships...relationships between brothers...

Nana Patekar was terrifying as the gangster with his own personal demons...yet if we see him...he is the mentor we see in todays corporate world or any world should i say...

There is not one but many memorable set pieces that can be called cinematic brilliance from Mr. Vinod Chopra in his true element....

The songs were beautifully shot, stirred the soul, yet you could feel the darkness lurking around.. somewhere ...in the sequence of events to come..

I always felt and still feel that this movie was way ahead of its time....I am a bit surprised to see an average rating of 8 for such a movie considering the background of Indian cinema at the time, the kind of crap Indian audience is fed in present times... this movie still holds true in modern day era....

wish we had more such movies....

Parinda review :

THE MOST POWERFUL FILM EVER MADE!

Screamed the posters of this film directed by then relatively unknown Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The poster had a huge pigeon with mugshots of its impressive cast comprising Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Nana Patekar.

The poster with its tagline attracted me and I walked in to Mahim's Citylight Cinema to catch the first day evening show of Parinda. The movie was supposedly adults only but nobody bothered about checking age proof in those good old days.

As I came out three hours later, the film had engulfed me completely. Just like the flames which engulf Nana in its spellbinding climax. Chopra was right indeed. This was a super powerful film merging realism with popular cinema to create a never before experience.

The story is simple and clichèd if I may call it that. Two brothers grow up on opposite side of law. One becomes a gangster. The other is honest and clean till he gets embroiled in to a crime commited by his brothers boss. The victim is his childhood friend while the perpetrators belong to his brothers company.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra's direction was extraordinary with so many standout scenes. The shootout at Kabutarkhana for instance. Or the identification sequence at the police station. And of course, the tragic end to a honeymoon. Every scene registers a solid impact!!

Parinda would be incomplete without RD Burman's melodious score. The songs come as a fresh breather in the otherwise grim narrative. Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit romancing to "Tumse Milke" redefines a love duet. By the way, Madhuri wears the same salwaar kameez throughout the film. Only her dupatta changes perhaps reflecting her modest school teacher character.

Anil is believable as the good guy turning bad due to circumstances. Nana Patekar is outstanding as the main villain Anna who is only afraid of fire. The maniacal twist he lends to his character is truly awesome.

Having said that, Parinda belongs to Jackie Shroff, apun ka Jaggu, who pitches in his career best performance. Note the intensity in his eyes during the climactic scene where he crashes beer bottles in a room without uttering a word. Thats called acting bhiddu!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

This should be considered as an epitome of cult films in Bollywood, Apart from Agneepath in the 80s, Vastav in the late 90s, and Parinda being in the late 80s.. This was a very very impactful movie, Dark, Cult, realistic and action pact. The cinematography was excellent , every scene had an impact while watching. Acting was par excellence, and this film was best in every aspect that i have no words to describe.. Its a beautifully made dark film which shows the dark sides of Underworld and their lavish life.

The story was interesting that how one sibling cares for the other one, and keeps him apart from the dark world, but by the end he coincides with this world and then gets acquainted with the reality and crime thats been happening and he becomes as the collateral for the foes in terms of revenge and rivalries between the gangs, which leads to his indulgence as well, causing lives ..

But thats the story part which you have to see it for yourself, here i've come only to praise the way this film has been made, the emotions, there are many similar stories on which films has been made, but this is a masterpiece.. The direction, Music, score, most importantly the intensity of the film is so much, that it impacts your mind and soul. A must must must watch!!

With so many good reviews here and a rating of 7.5, one must think that it should be a path-breaking bollywood gangster movie, but though it is different from the high action pitched movies of the same genre in bollywood, still lacks the basic features of a good movie.

The overall plot is so simple that the length of movie is too long to present, as a result you found yourself losing interest at many points. I could skip through all songs (except 'Tumse Milke' which is quite melodious but still is awkwardly placed in movie) and many scenes involving kabutars, sulking Anil Kapoor, and hyper Jackie Shroff.

Though the cast is remarkable, but Vidhu Vinod Chopra couldn't get their best performances out. Anil Kapoor is too excited on his return from America, Jackie Shroff tried too hard to look sad with quick gulp of glass of whiskey, and Nana Patekar funny when trying to be fanatic on sight of fire.

I found Nana and gang too stupid to run such a large illegal business (controlling police,politicians and city), lacking basic intelligence and vigilance. And all characters challenge your knowledge about human psychology.

Overall the whole experience was very disappointing, if you are thinking of watching it, save your precious time and instead watch Agnipath (original one) again.

Parinda has always been my favorite because it was one of the first movies to break the stereotypical formula-based film making trend in India that relied heavily on larger-than-life heroes (and villains) and impossible fight sequences that defied both gravity and logic. Parinda was a breath of fresh air amid all this chaos. It showed the Mumbai(Bombay) underworld as it had never been shown before. The movie begins with a superb background score reminiscent of The Terminator theme. As one listens to the sombre yet striking music with visuals/shots of Mumbai high rises under a grey evening sky, one realizes it's going to be a dark and no-nonsense film. And who can forget Kishen's (Jackie Shroff's) entry as he walks up that huge tank to meet rival gang-leader Moosa? I always wished the scene was a little longer. If Tom Alter did full justice to the role of Moosa, the role of Anna seemed to have been written for (and only for)the immensely talented Nana Patekar. The cinematography of the film leaves all other films of its time way behind (with the exception of 'Raakh', another dark and gritty film released around the same time). Jackie Shroff's acting is simply fabulous, whereas Anil Kapoor is, well, loud as usual! I wish he had shaved off his mustache to fit the role of the younger brother better. Suresh Oberoi as the goon gives a superlative performance - one of the best in his career. In short, Parinda marks the beginning of realistic mainstream cinema in India. Indian art-house cinema had always been realistic, but mainstream commercial cinema used to be just escapist fares until Parinda happened.

Story depicts the harsh reality of poverty and helplessness ,when one brother make sacrifice for his younger brother.Jackie shroff himself indulge in illegal activities but doesn't want his(anil kapoor) brother do such things.all the characters palyed their role well.But nana patekar as a villion is something annoyed me.i think this is the first and last negative character played by nana in his bollywood career

Parinda is rated 7.8 ? I didn't understand.

Parinda is a masterpiece by Vidhu Vinod Sir. A masterpiece of Indian crime scenario. It tells the story of gangsters based on Mumbai, taking us on a journey to the dark world with dark characters. It's about two brothers one of whom belongs to Underworld tries hard to make his younger brother good. A series of events causes both of them to get involved in gang war where love, revenge, betrayal and others play their respective role. The climax is heartbreaking but obvious as one expects in the world of crime and darkness. The egoistic victory, the vengeful outcome, the bloody ending, the ending of trusts and friendships are all that is behind the film. Nana's performance as Anna is a bright spot in Parinda, a heartless goon. His statement 'No treatment for sadness' is makes him a fearful character, who has his own bitter filled life, having dark agendas, unforgiving natures and tragedies. He lived that character, the character of a pure heartless, selfish and ruthless leader of a gang. Jackie and Anil Kapoor are in hard hitting roles too. Anil Kapoor plays the role of a sympathetic person filled with fun and hope towards bright future. He tries to bring back his elder brother to righteousness. But that doesn't workso easily. The story doesn't go like 1970s deewar rather the opposite. Due to certain circumstances both brothers had to confront the evil goon in one way or the other. Though one was innocent and was looking for a good future but the dark world grasps them, changing their lives forever.

Acting from all casts are classy and convincing. Madhuri Dixit looks as the innocent girl with lots of promises in character. Anupam kher also plays a non corrupt policeman who is dutiful but was persecuted by Anna and his men. That set the balls rolling which breaks his friend's heart (Anil Kapoor) and takes steps in his defense. Jackie Shroff is good as the elder brother sacrificing everything for his brother as well as equally ruthless as Anna. The narratives chosen was serene that worked well, slowly paced giving the time to comprehend the events.

Why is this movie at 7.8 ? I still don't get it. It's definitely an underrated film. These type of movies should be among the IMDb top list. It too was nominated for awards. It deserves to be atleast at 8.5 with atleast half a million votes. Watch it as a recommendation from Bollywood crime genre.

An 86/100.

A brilliant, dark movie which got full justice from the acting of the great Nana Patekar. A gripping plot, an eerie background score from the great R.D Burman and to top it off, Nana Patekar delivering one of his finest performances. Although Nana has given many memorable movies, this to me alongside Yugpurush is his finest acting effort. His dialogue delivery is immaculate and so is portrayal of narcissistic killer. Jackie Shroff, whom i feel is a brilliant actor himself also performs marvellously. Anil Kapoor was decent and this was by no means his finest performance. For that one will have to see "Saheb" or "Ram Lahkhan". But a satisfactory job nonetheless as was the case with Madhuri and Suresh Oberoi though someone like Danny Denzongpa may have been a better choice. There were some flaws but heck, nothing is perfect and this movie is a gem. Emotionally charged, eerie and gripping are all effective adjectives to convey the lore of Parinda