Indus,
Like what you said about Shyam's character initially set up as "the other side" of ASR. For me, ASR was the perfect complicated Antihero...and "Byronic", as them the Eng Lit types often say for men that
wildly defiant and self possessed and fascinating. And Shyam...all of him...shudh bhaasha as you sharply bring up...and those white/muted shirts and trousers like a good middle class ghar ka ladka, the pleasant demeanor...was truly his antithesis. That dynamic was set up so well, had so much potential to propel the story to places truly fantastic, it got me going from word go...from the first time they had shyam enter frame. But alas, dil ke armaan aansuon mein beh gaye! It was not to be.
Shyam ended up worse than a caricature of himself...
Enjoyed your take, you bring solidity to the table... and the table we know is rickety right now to say the least.
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