I honestly did not think it was possible to love Barun Sobti any more, until today...
I know there are so many topics praising Barun's acting today, but I feel the need to say that'well'WOW. Honestly, I did not know Sobit existed until Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon first aired. And from his introduction, I knew that I could definitely see myself growing to admire his acting. And by "growing", I mean that at first, yeah, Barun was fantastic at portraying the pain of Arnav's painful past being labeled so clearly on his face. And his ability to be more than an angry young man did shine through Arnav's serious demeanor at times, but it wasn't so often. But even then, I think Barun deserved kudos for being able to transform from angry Arnav, to sweet and caring Arnav in the blink of an eye, when it came to Anjali.
Then, the slow but sure evolving of Arnav' and Khushi's relationship started to progress. And here, Barun's acting abilities were once again beginning to shine through. Starting from the very scene where Arnav rescued Khushi from the guest house- I think Barun was able to pull off the perfect "love-hate" balance in his acting to portray what Arnav felt for Khushi. The next extreme for Arnav was his laughing at Khushi when she tried to apologize. Barun's acting there was amazing. From again, the angry Arnav, to a simple fun-loving person who can't resist a good laugh even when it was from someone you supposedly "hate". Once more, Barun was able to pull off that perfect balance of love-hate that the story line asked for.
Now Teri-Meri sequence till now, saw a total transformation in Arnav. Yes, the Arnav-Khushi love story should be long overdue, and most dramas would have advanced the relationship of the two main characters much more, this far into the run of the serial. However, we all know that Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon is no "typical" serial. Arnav was a man who didn't even believe in love. And this is why I would say the pace of Arnav and Khuhi's love story was set perfectly. As well, for the week long transformation, suited the story-line perfectly because this was long coming. And again, huge kudos to Barun for being able to portray Arnav's transformation so well. The angry young man, turned possessive and protective lover, I honestly do not think I can see any other telly star depicting as well as Barun has.
Finally, today's epi'left me speechless. It when from a lighthearted funny exchange between a brother and sister, to an emotional roller coaster for Arnav, which by all means, Barun did more than justice to. Starting with the worry that he couldn't find Khushi at her aunt's house, to hearing about the accident, that kick started the flow of emotions. Then hearing it was a girl, seeing the bangles and the slipper. Barun's sudden change from just being worried to being outright terrified for another person's life was to die for (no pun intended). In this sequence as well, I think Barun did something that a lot of actor's can't do- which was acting solely utilizing emotions through expressions and body language. This was what really got me in this episode. Without many words, I felt that Barun made it so possible to practically feel Arnav's pain. Just looking at his facial expressions, his eyes and the tenseness of his body frame, Barun beautifully portrayed Arnav's anguish, and I'm sure a lot of us wanted to cry along with him and reach into our computer / television screens and just hold him in our arms.
Barun wasn't only able to portray his character's pain in today's episode, but he was able to make the viewers feel the pain. And because of that, I would have to say Barun has wow-ed me even further, just when I thought that I just couldn't love his acting any more. There is no doubt that Barun Sobti has possibly the greatest potential in the pool of telly actors today.
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