For the past few weeks,just like most of you, I have been coming to terms with the exits of two integral characters- Rathore and Shree. And I have been trying to convince myself that it will not matter. But I must admit that I have failed. Yes, the show must go on. But there is a difference between just 'going on' and 'going on well'.
I have realized that Arjun as a show can never be the same again-even if cases are improved and tracks pick momentum. For Arjun,for me was never about cases. It was never a 'who dun it'. It was always about the equation which the broken hero shared with his first hostile,then accepting,then appreciating and then adoring team. It was always about the inner battles of the man who served justice to the citizens,while his own thirst for it tore him apart. It was about a bitter friend unable to support him and masking this helplessness with a cruel rage. It was about a happy-go-lucky team who could not help being pulled into Arjun's world even if he never let them in.
So,it is obvious that the people who have left mattered. Not only as investigative officers but as people who were a part of Arjun's journey. Yes, Rahore was definitely more integral,especially with their pasts connected. But Shree was no less. He was not just a super cool gadget guy. He seemed like one who Arjun was beginning to grow fond of. There was something in their interactions which had a very elder brotherly feel to it. His rebuking Shree,then appreciating him,uttering the 'thank you', being concerned about his health and finally killing the one who endangered it. And Shree's character also had a definite graph to it-from the casual,joking and grumbling junior to someone in awe of Arjun so much so that he managed to attempt stopping the raging tiger even as he groaned in pain himself. This was one of the most layered relationship in the show.
And we all know that a few days from now the finale would begin. Sikander would be back and Roshini avenged. But something would be glaringly missing even then. For I would have loved to see these two characters being involved in the quest of the man they have spent over a year with. And I would have also loved to see Arjun's conflict- his friend's reputation as a chief,his team's security on one hand and his revenge on the other. What a massive internal battle that would have been. Truly worthy of the best written character on Indian screen.
But what exactly should we be expecting in the coming episodes? Poignant scenes being replaced with 'cute' ones. Scenes which would once choke us would be replaced by a chuckle. Lines which once made us think would be replaced by ones which make us cringe.Relationships which were so rare would be replaced by the cliched ones.
Are characters really so dispensable?. I am not one of those who will cling on to characters after their departure. But then these exits are changing the look,feel and direction of the story. Hence the outburst.
I had a friend who put his very simply and blatantly- "Oh,so now Arjun with the help of his girlfriend will avenge his wife's murder? Or is it ex-wife?"
Sounds offending? Sounds funny? Sounds true?
The worst of all is that the show reached this deplorable state at a time when the lead is at the peak of his performance.
Mangal Lakshmi
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
