Twenty years on, Parineeta continues to enchant audiences with its nostalgic portrayal of 1962 Calcutta. While Vidya Balan , Saif Ali Khan , and Sanjay Dutt led the love triangle, Raima Sen ’s spirited performance as Lalita’s lively cousin Koel brought charm and lightness to the film, making her scenes unforgettable for fans.
A natural performance on screen
In conversation with NDTV, Raima recalled feeling completely natural in a scene where she opened the door for Girish, blushing as her character Koel was meant to have a crush on him. She revealed that her genuine childhood admiration for Sanjay Dutt made portraying those fluttering emotions effortless on screen.
Parineeta marked Vidya Balan’s big Bollywood debut, though she had already appeared in Bengali cinema with Gautam Halder’s Bhalo Theko in 2003. She had also been signed for a Malayalam film, Chakram, around 1999–2000, but it was shelved due to production issues.