Sarat Chandra Chattopadhye's beloved novel is brought to the screen in this lavish adaptation, which moves the story to the heady days of 1962 in Calcutta. Lolita (Vidya Balan) is a beautiful young woman who is taken in by her uncle after the tragic death of her parents. She grows up in a household of love and support despite her unfortunate circumstances, and as a child she makes friends with Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan), a boy from the neighborhood. Shekhar wants to be a musician and has plenty of talent, but he lacks the courage to go against the wishes of his father, who wants Shekhar to go into business. Lolita and Shekhar remain close friends and confidantes over the years, but it isn't until Girish (Sanjay Dutt), a wealthy and charismatic man, comes into Lolita's life that Shekhar comes to realize that he's deeply in love with his childhood pal, and wants to have her as his own. Parineeta is the first feature film from director Pradeep Sarkar, who previously earned his reputation directing commercials and music videos.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide