The Married Woman) is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1914 Bengali novella of the same name.

Parineeta was released on 10 June 2005, and despite pre-release inhibitions, it proved to be a commercial success at the box office, grossing ₹32.63 crore worldwide.

On the night of his arranged marriage to Gayatri Tantiya, (the daughter of one of his father's business connections), Shekhar has images of his childhood friend, Lalita, calling him by his name flashing through his mind.

Meanwhile, downstairs, musical celebrations begin as Shekhar meets Vasundhara, a widow from his neighbourhood, who is thankful to her son-in-law, Girish (Sanjay Dutt), for supporting their family after the death of her husband, Gurcharan.

Part of this rebellion involves resistance to meeting Gayatri Tantiya, the beautiful but devious daughter of a wealthy industrialist, whom his father would like Shekhar to marry.

One day, a shocked Lalita, who is employed at Rai’s office, stumbles upon a project to refurbish and sell Gurcharan’s ancestral haveli (palatial house) as hotel.

Gurcharan repays the debt and the turn of events prompts Shekhar to think why Lalita chose to ask Girish for money instead of him.

While Shekhar is off to Darjeeling on a business trip, Navin Rai violently thunders at Lalita about the loss of his hotel project, embarrassing and humiliating her.

The film returns to the night of Shekhar's marriage when Girish hands him the ownership papers of Gurcharan's haveli.

When speaking about cinematic adaptation, Chopra gave due credit to Sarkar, and Natty Subramaniam (the film's cinematographer), for providing the vintage visuals.

[5] Chopra said in an interview that Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan were not the first choices for the lead roles in Parineeta.

[8] Getting an opportunity to debut with big names from the industry along with a lovely character to portray made Vidya accept the role of Lalita.

For instance, Chopra said that it cost them money and difficulty to procure the green coloured car which was driven by Shekhar in the film.

[12] The song "Kaisi Paheli Zindagani" was based on the tune to Louis Armstrong's "A Kiss to Build a Dream on".

[15] Shantanu Moitra, Parineeta's music director composed hundreds of tunes before six of them got finalised after a year's effort.

After finalizing the soundtrack, Chopra was appreciative of the musician's abilities when he said that Moitra has the potential to become another R. D. Burman, a yesteryear Bollywood music director.

Citing comparisons with the 1953 version, the preview suggested that debutant director, Sarkar's inexperience in film-making, the probable inability of debutant actress, Balan to portray Lalita's character appropriately, suitable 1960s depiction by contemporary actors and musician, Shantanu Moitra's until-then unimpressive soundtracks, could be impediments to a successful adaptation.

[18] Post-release, the same critic said "Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "Parineeta" – a remake of an old classic of the same name...(had) the love story (which) was received well by the younger generation and it went on to become the biggest hit of the year.

"[21] A reviewer from About.com said that it is "contemporary retelling of...(an) engaging and timeless tale rich with human emotion and universal drama".

The reviewer appreciates the film in most of the nuances of film making saying that this is "enhanced by a brilliant musical score, and accentuated by superb performances by Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Raima Sen, Diya Mirza and debutante Vidya Balan in the lead role of Lalita".

[23] Derek Elley from Variety said "A character-driven meller that's a treat for the eyes, with performances to match, "Parineeta" is high-end Bollywood near its best".

"[24] A mixed review from Mid-Day says "Pradeep Sarkar weaves the story like magic, especially in the first half ... excelling in the detailing ... the vintage look of the film (that stood out) with authentic costumes, props and the roads of Kolkata".

[25] Another such review came from The Hindu which begins by saying "A simple enough story, but Sarkar tells it well, with some great shots of Shekhar and Lalita together."

"[26] The issue of piracy cropped up when a news article published in The Indian Express exposed the dark side of the film market.

[27] Another blemish was that Soumitra Dasgupta, a writer and close associate of Sarkar alleged that the film's story had a striking resemblance to his parallel work on the novella.

Expecting an audience of about 100 Westerners, a critic visiting the festival was surprised to see the cinema hall full and people jostling for seats even on the steps.