Hellooo Ishqbaaazians!
I'm Riah š This is my first post here on this forum, and actually... a sort of come back on IF in general. I rarely come on, let alone make any posts, so I myself am quite surprised to find myself here. But, I guess its all for good reason - I'm officially hooked to Ishqbaaaz! This is a show that is highly underrated in my opinion, and I think it deserves attention. I thought, why not make my own effort by at least trying to be more active here on IF, so I can do my part in helping the show's rating go up in some capacity.
Anyway, I thought I'd introduce myself since I'm new here! If any of you have been on the YHM forum, you might know me :) But for those that don't, I always give a sort of disclaimer just to get it out of the way - I don't particularly like to entertain "haters". So, let me just say: I'm a very honest, open, and uncensored viewer. When I love and appreciate celebs... when I really become a fan - I love them beyond their onscreen persona. I'm very critical, and I will not hesitate to say what's on my mind or censor my thoughts in any way. When I praise or "fangirl" - I go hard, and when I dislike something or have a constructive criticism to make - I go just as hard.
Just because I love a particular actor/actress, does not mean I will blindly love everything they do. I say it like it is, and as a fan I believe I have the right to do so. Celebs we love deserve our praise, but they also deserve constructive critiques that can help them improve. As their audience and their fans, I think we are the best people to give them good advice and we shouldn't hesitate to do so. SOOO... if you don't like what I have to say, its fine. It just my personal opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree with me. If you don't, I respect that. There is no need for hate. If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Thank you.
OKAYYY. Sorry for that huge disclaimer, but it was necessary. LETS GET TO THE POST :)
I'm writing this after having seen tonight's IB - the much awaited and significant #ShivIka confrontation. I won't be talking about anything else here, except them and #NaRbhi. This post is strictly for and about them!
OK. We all know: It's imperative for Shivaay to get out of his "khoon-khaandan-lineage" zone, before he can ever start to fall in love with Annika. I have been DYING for this moment, when Annika finally walks off. FOR GOOD. And hopefully, this time she will stand her ground and won't go back... because an apology is just not good enough. There needs to be change, and SSO needs to fix himself. I really hope this track is the beginning!
There are two things worth noting in this particular scene that I thought were really, really well done:
1. Annika's strength
the best aspect of this woman's character is her self-respect and dignity, that she refuses to let down in any situation. She never lets her guard down, no matter how much she may be hurting inside - and that is so inspiring. Surbhi has portrayed her character to absolute perfection from the moment she stepped into Annika's shoes. Be it her talkative and overtly expressive nature, her empowered independence, protective sisterhood, or her emotional fight with destiny - SC nails every single shade of Annika, and it is a gift to watch her perform.
In this particular scene, Annika is visibly hurt: she thought she was building a relationship with Shivaay, because she thought he was beginning to understand her, and because she thought she had found acceptance in the Oberoi family. She is hurt by his words, but even more hurt by his perspective - by his unwavering stance on judging people by their bloodline. She's in pain, but she knows that she is right and he is wrong - and she will not allow him to insult her without knowing that she's too strong to take it face down.
SC is brilliant in all her scenes, without fail. But this was definitely one of her best. She was able to showcase the pain Annika was feeling, while at the same time never letting go of her characteristic dignity and self-respect. This is not easy to do at all, and from an audience point of view, I think this is the most challenging part of the role. She's a woman that sustains emotional wounds with utmost respect and honor - and to be able to perform this onscreen requires impeccable detail in expressions and dialogue delivery. SC SLAYS it every single time, leaving me completely floored.
We could see Annika holding back her tears. She speaks with pauses, catching her breath after every few words, as she tries to exude confidence without breaking down. I love... LOVE the way SC does this. We can literally FEEL Annika holding in all her pain-stricken emotions as she speaks, because SC delivers her dialogues so flawlessly. And her eyes... my god, her eyes! How SC emotes so well is beyond me. I'm sure she learnt a lot from Haya, since she was deaf and mute. But the way she uses her skills as Annika is honestly applause worthy. Her eyes have slight redness, with just a rim of welled up tears... perfectly depicting how broken she is inside, but how strong she is as she fights back. Never anything more than a lone tear will shed, that dries up making its mark... only to reveal itself later, when Annika is alone and has no need to hide her vulnerability. Her eyes speak her pain, but show only her self-respect. It's like her eyes are telling us she is hurt, but we can't hear it... because they're gleaming to strongly with a permanent sense of pride, confidence, and dignity. How SC is able to maintain both emotions in her eyes is honestly amazing.
In this scene we saw more than that, however. We saw restlessness - restlessness in Annika to make Shivaay understand that she hasn't done anything wrong. She wanted him to believe. In her... in what she was trying to do. She wanted him to believe in humane relationships... there was a slight hope that maybe he would still give this a chance... maybe he would see that people are people, no matter what their family name. There was a need to not let go.
But once he let loose, she realized... he would never understand. And she was not going to wait around fro him to see the truth. Because she was done. She didn't deserve to be treated like this, even if it was by him.
Surbhi Chandna. You slayed. Thank you for performing so well, that we are able to literally feel Annika's pain and turmoil. You're a queen. And you're also the most beautiful woman in the world. I love you.
2. Shivaay's frustration
We all knew this was going to happen. SSO was going to misunderstand Annika, and he was going to unleash his usual rant on khoon-khandaan without really knowing how harsh his words are. We knew his anger would cloud his judgment, and he would hurt Annika. We were all expecting this. But turns out... we aren't the only ones with expectations. Shivaay, surprisingly... this time around... was also, expecting.
He was expecting Annika to be right. He had the hope somewhere that she would say she didn't do this. He had hope that he would ask her if she brought him inside the house, and she would say no. He had hope, because he felt like there was this unexplainable bond between him and her... a bond where there was belief. He unconsciously, believed in her. He believed that she would do no wrong - that there must be an explanation. But when he asked her and heard her say Yes... it broke. The invisible bond broke. He steps back in shock... and his heart fills up with resentment and frustration for having thought... even for a millisecond, that she could have had his trust. She couldn't have it... because she was a middle-class, low life woman with no name. And he knew people like her had no value. How could he even try to think otherwise? How could he forget his own ideals? How could she be the reason for him even daring to think his perspective could change? Who was she? Nothing. She was, is, and will always be nothing. And he was wrong for ever even trying to start thinking otherwise.
He was angry... fuming that this illegitimate undeserving kid dared to come into Oberoi mansion to meet his sister without his consent. He was angry that Annika was there, somehow caught in all this mess as always, when he had just told her to stay out of it. He was pissed off at everything. He slams Annika against the pillar demanding for an explanation, screaming at her to please for gods' sake say that she is not responsible for any of this. Only to be pinched with the pain of hearing that she was, in fact... the reason. His blood boils... and he looses it. He wants her out of his life. He wants that piece of her he's been hanging on to... that belief in her... to be gone. For good. He was frustrated with himself, for ever thinking she could be... more than what her class really was. He was frustrated for wanting to ever believe things could be different. He was frustrated because somewhere he didn't want to be angry with her, he didn't want to have to say any harsh words. He was frustrated that he wanted to not want this. He was frustrated and angry, because no matter how many things she could have done right... no matter how much good she did for his family... she would always be, wrong.
----
I'm going to be really honest. I always felt that playing the "angry young man" was not Nakuul's strong point. I haven't seen him in his last show, so I'm not judging off much. But from the first episode, I always felt that he was just... "Ok" at the whole angry, arrogant SSO. I don't know what it is... maybe his dialogue delivery... the way he says his lines, especially in the scenes where he's SSO, it's always just felt very unnatural to me. It feels like he's just reciting lines. Its hard for me to connect to the emotion of anger or ego behind what he's saying. So I tend to lose connect with SSO because I can't really feel it. I think Nakuul is far, far better in other scenes - scenes with the Obros or the little hints of romantic ShivIka scenes we've been getting. He does a much better job playing the loving elder brother or the lost-in-her-eyes Shivaay. His SSO scenes, I've always felt something lacking.
But today, I feel so much pride and happiness in saying that Nakuul is finding a lover in me too for SSO. Because for the first time ever, I actually felt his emotions - and Nakuul actually conveyed them really well in his performance. This, by far is hands down Nakuul's best scene. It was an immensely challenging one, for sure. Because we needed to see Shivaay's initial anger with the situation, and his initial feeling of Annika maintaining his little inkling of trust. We needed to see that he somewhere believed in her. And then, once that was broken... we not only needed to see a furious SSO, but also a frustrated Shivaay - who felt a stab of pain from wanting to trust Annika. There were a lot of emotions that needed to be conveyed in a very small span of lines... and Nakuul performed it really, really well. I was so, so pleasantly surprised!
Nakuul, you're slowly but steadily making your place in my heart as an actor... and I'm so happy that it's finally happening. Because honestly, I see and hear people rave about your perfect performance, as Shivaay... and I feel bad because for some reason I can't agree. I would re-watch scenes again, trying to see if I was missing something... or trying to understand why was it that I didn't think you were that great. I wanted to love you, as Shivaay, and I just didn't understand why I thought you were just average. Why wasn't I obsessed too?
But I have come to terms with the fact that I am just not particularly a fan of your dialogue delivery, and that's ok. I never actually said this - because I follow what I preach. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. So I never really spoke about your performance too much. But today, it's different. Because I have good things to say, and you deserve the praise. I'm really happy to see such a huge improvement in your work - today you really shone bright, and I could finally feel the anger and frustration in Shivaay. From the phone throw, to the pillar slam, to the slow backward steps away from Annika - I connected with Shivaay. You actually nailed it, Nakuul. I loved it!
I might never really be a fan of your dialogue delivery... I still think you can do better, and I still don't think you've perfected the natural tone in your work as an actor. But the fact that you're slowly growing on me says a lot. And, I just want you to know that. I want you to know that although I might not be "gung-ho" about you as an actor, or all-praise about your performance... I appreciate your improvement and I'm proud to see you do better. I look forward to seeing you grow, and loving you even more as Shivaay.
I had a lot of expectations for this confrontation scene, and I have a lot of hopes for this track. I loved every bit of how the scene was done, and NaRbhi performed it so, so well!! š You guys killed it! I'm a proud fan of you and the show...
here's to much more success and many more flawless performances! āļø
xx Riah
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