Expected very little from it - so was pleasantly surprised. Vidya Balan makes an impressive debut (she looks like a composite of Madhuri and Taboo) in spite of her mannered performance. Saif is good, as usual, and a much-improved Sanjay Dutt (he doesn't really have much to do so he can't spoil it) round out the main cast. The music is very hummable, without being particularly memorable. I was a bit puzzled about the decision to set the movie in the early 60s as opposed to the 20s (in which the novel was set)or the present day, but the sets and costumes do look great so no complaints. There is a welcome trend in Hindi movies to try and make period films look more authentic, and Parineeta continues it. A painless way to spend a couple of hours - although I've seen some websites that have the length at 170 min so they may have edited it for US release.