Well, my dear Piu, I have not only survived but am luxuriating in your post - such a rarely perceptive, sensitive and articulate analysis of the Jalal-Jodha equation. I was most struck by the parts @blue, and as you see, by the time I finished marking them, your post looked like one of those blue-washed walls in Jaipur!
Really, it is a superb analysis, and I simply loved it. Including the response to my earlier post (which I had then expanded slightly and posted as a stand alone piece). You can obviously look beneath the surface, and what you see and describe makes perfect sense to me.As it should to everyone who reads it.
About the significance of the extreme risks that Jalal runs to save a servitor, you are spot on.
As I wrote above to a young friend, it is not that Jalal has no softness within him at all, that he is, as she put it " A man who till now does not even what it like to have a heart. He does not know how to be compassionate, loving and caring:"
If that was so, he would never have risked this life, and the destruction of all his hopes of victory over Rajasthan, to come right into the heart of the enemy's citadel to rescue a servitor, for he sees Abdul as his friend. Bairam Khan would have let Abdul die under torture. That is the difference that is there already between him and Jalal.
See the kind and understanding way in which Jalal's waves away Zaheer's objections to his leaving the camp. That is not the way most absolute kings would have treated a servitor in such a case, they would have shouted at him or hit him for daring to raise any objections. So the seeds are already there in Jalal, they only need nurturing.
His mother cannot do that as she has lost all her hold over him because, as you have noted, since he feels , and has very likely been told by Mahaam Anga, that her leaving him with a nurse was a total and cynical abandonment of her son to save her own life.So it will have to be someone else, Jodha. But for that to have effect, she will also have to show that she cares for him, and that is not going to be easy.Let us see.
As for Jalal's being very seriously emotionally deprived, I agree 111%, and so I wrote in that recast post:
One of the best scenes so far, as Disha has pointed out elsewhere, which showcases the actor's ability to project a complex, emotionally deprived character, was the one between Jalal and his mother Hamida Banu Begum. The bitterness in Jalal's voice, as he talks of when and how he remembers her, sears the screen.
He badly needs someone who will love him for himself and care for him. It should be a fascinating watch for all of us, as Jalal finds himself, and he and Jodha find each other.
Shyamala
Originally posted by manzilmukul
Shyamala,An engaging read *CLAPS* *HUGS*⭐️🤗
Somehow the title of your post fits the whole process of Revelation as you called it a double bill. However I would like to say it was more a multi-pronged approach to the revelation of lot of things and aspect in the characters and their mind sets.
The astuteness as you refer to Jalaal is his forte , somehow like his skin woven with him. What is intriguing in this matter is the fact that this revelation adds a complete new dimension to his character. Though he claims to be the one who is emotionally deprived and does not have a heart, but we do see the limits he transcends in his pursuit to save a mere sentinel Abdul. Like Abdul has this mark of belief in his eyes that the emperor would surely come to save him, Jalaal seems to fulfill all the expectations Abdul has from him.
So on a different level altogether,we do see beneath the layers of a hardened soul and claims of brutality of a POWER 'STARVED emperor, there exists a tender soul ,a soul which understands and values emotions like loyalty .So at this point someone needs to PEEL those layers to UNLEASH the HUMAN inside him. Like we see how Jodha's certain words did make him ponder for even a split second.SO THEY KIND OF FIT TOGETHER LIKE THE BROKEN PIECES OF PUZZLE where she would be the ULTIMATE cause for LEAVENING the hard fibers of his heart.
It brings me to a very different yet interesting concept known as EMOTIONAL HUNGER. Proven by researches, it brings me to contemplate on the troubled past of Jalaal.Being an emperor at the tender age ,losing his father and above all devoid from the warmth of his mother's bosom ,he had been left in the hands of his GUIDE. A GUIDE - who moulded him , hardened him in the fires of TIME ,BLOOD AND WAR, making him the MAN he is now. When we actually delve into this sordid background when the softness of a velvet pillow was replaced by thorns and WAR ,one can totally understand his failure to relate to any kind of emotions be it love .However at the back of his mind ,buried deep inside subconsciously ,it's his EMOTIONAL HUNGER due to being deprived for years which makes him cynical ,driven by strong desires. People with extreme EMOTIONAL HUNGER are the ones who actually fail to open their heart or understand that they INDEED HAVE A HEART TOO.
I see Jodha and Jalaal as BORN EQUALS more as COUNTERPARTS. It was fun to see their astuteness together. If Jalaal is shrewd enough to understand all the minor details of disguise and plays with his words and smile in his confrontation, similarly we see Jodha who doesn't even think twice before conjuring the bits and her action is swift.
This is what they are EQUALS ,they are COUNTERPARTS. The only DIFFERENCE lies in their PAST . While Jodha has a definitely less tumultuous life ,his has been NOTHING LESS THAN A HURRICANE. Driven by Bairam Khan 'a man who infused to cravings and aspirations for POWER in him ,Jalaal stands out as a "JALLAD"
Though the narrative tries to portray them as ANGEL AND DEMON but IMHO they are more like Destructor and HEALER. This symbolism had been there in the Gangaur rituals too , where Gana and Gauri (Shiva and Parvati) unite at the culmination of the festival. Similarly their meeting was supposed to be a hint at their BASIC instincts.
Well I had read another post of yours regarding the RIGID ACTING OF RAJAT.So replying here cumulatively due to the shortage of time. An extremely well-articulated and logical post.
Here I am just adding my two cents.
The term RIGID is a highly SUBJECTIVE term . Like you said perception of rigidness IS ACTUALLY DIFFERENT FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE. But lets' not forget some points before jumping to conclusions how Akbar should be behaving.
1.The story itself is set in medieval era .
2. He is an emperor and not some love struck teenager ,an emperor had a certain body language given to the kind of respect and lavishness which comes as a privilege with the title .The pride ,pomp and RIGIDNESS comes NATURALLY as a part of his UPBRINGING .
3.It's INEVITABLE 'the comparison as People have been fine tuned to a softer and milder version of Akbar in the movie adaptation of their romance. So given to the prejudice ,Rajat may come across far too RIGID .But then again let's not forget his CHARCTER SKETCH is a complete FOIL to what had been portrayed or projected in the movie.
4.His lack of being MOONY EYED also does stems from the kind of era he belonged to. In the 16th century the role of women in the society was mere objects of pleasure or as a source for heirs to the throne, so its almost impossible for an EMPEROR to show such soft emotions RIGHT from the word GO. So his rolling of eyes , cynical smirk and even his RANDOM dream of taking her away on a horse while she is SPOOKED out is in sync with his character. For an emperor in those times CLAIMING the enemies women was a Mark of VICTORY- his very own TRPHY to provide the much needed BOOST for his EGO .
So JUST TO SUM UP'The acting does have scope of IMPROVEMENT because nothing is ABSOLUTE and PERFECTION is always RELATIVE , yet at this moment Rajat is doing complete JUSTICE to his character.
Regards,
Piu
P.S-LOL😆😆😆 I hope you survived this as BREVITY is unknown terrain for me.
Edited by sashashyam - 12 years ago
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