My dear (what is your name, if you don't mind?)
What sheer pleasure to find a fellow Star Wars aficionada! I loved the first three to bits, right from the breathtaking opening,
A New Hope, in 1977, and I remember standing in roughly 1000 strong queues in a Washington DC theatre in 1996, with my 12 year old son, to watch all the three remastered releases -
A New Hope, The Empire strikes back and
the Return of the Jedi, which George Lucas released for the benefit of the generation which would not have been able to see them in the theaters, and to whip up enthusiasm for the 3 prequels.
So I thought of this title first thing, even before I started the post, for it was a perfect fit. It goes without saying that I loved all the Star Wars references scattered across your post. Harry Potter fans abound these days, but it is not often that one finds true blue Star Wars fan. So,🤗.
Thanks a million for liking this one so much. I had a ball writing it, wrapping up the edited version only past 2 am, and it gladdens my heart when it gets across to others and is liked so genuinely.
Your point about Jalal's little exercise in diplomacy vis a vis Bharmal is spot on. He does it with such offhand grace that it does not sound insincere, which is of course what it is, and so one is amused to see Bharmal smile weakly in grateful relief. Jalal is learning the ropes of being a ruler very fast, and then he has always had it in him, it was only a matter of having the chance to use those innate skills. Now he will be so kind and condescending to Jodha's brother and cousins that they too will be singing his praises.
Layered is just the right word for summing up Rajat's take on Jalal yesterday, and you would have seen that I had used the same term in the opening para of this post.
The other adjective that is a perfect fit is 'controlled' .In this
tour de force of a performance, what impressed me most of all was the
tehraav, the deliberate controlled take on every line he spoke, every body movement, every glance from his eyes. He never raised his voice, even for the harshest threats he uttered, whereas Bharmal's voice became shrill and cracked under the strain.
The lines were perfect and the direction was excellent too, but it was the actor who raised the whole well above even the best one could have expected. The boy is a marvel, and I am sure he will go places very soon, and to the big screen, as I commented to Jenny above. He is still far younger than even star sons in their debut films,and with this superlative role to showcase his talents, he is bound to he noticed very soon. Then the sky will be the limit for Rajat Skywalker!
I too have had my hopes for the quality of the Jalal-Jodha scenes to come raised after yesterday. Fingers crossed, and may the Force be with us all!
Shyamala B.Cowsik
PS: Your job is obviously a literary one, and sounds interesting, though I suppose there can be too much even of a good thing!
Originally posted by: smiletherapy
First, let me say, I LOVE the title!!! I too am a huge Star Wars fan!!!
I enjoyed this post so much I read it twice. It was like a salted dark chocolate caramel--that's how much I savored it! And likewise, Rajat's performance and the episode as a whole. So much so that I had to come out and comment, though I don't have the time with thesis deadlines looming and a one-year old down with a cold. But sleep be damned, this time, i just couldn't help it!
As you nailed it in your post, I was just floored by that amazing performance! Rajat was in the flow with this character!
I'm so glad you made that point about Jalal's diplomatic praising of Bharmal (to the effect of "you have shown good decision making as a king" or such), b/c to me that was the supreme moment of acting: We could actually see that Jalal is being diplomatic, we the audience KNOW he doesn't really think that highly of the Bharmal, that in fact, he's almost at that fine line of sarcasm--but Jalal presents those lines such that only the audience can realize that; for all others, he seems like a forgiving, diplomatic emporer there. That Rajat could portray his Jalal in such a layered way--I was just in awe. I had to watch the scenes again.
And I agree with your amazing assessment of all the scenes as well. Superb acting!!! Superb character. Great scene and writing. I can only gush. It was so pleasing to watch. AND for sure, Rajat's acting gives me 'A New Hope,' that the Rajat and Jodha interactions won't be Taming of the Shrew-like. I think Rajat is so commanding and has that rare skill of understanding the entire scene (as well as his character) so well that he can mold the scene into something more meaningful and complex, even when there might not have been enough material (or talent) to work with. So, I think Rajat Scenewalker will hopefully be able to prevent the scenes from deteriorating into shrewishness. The force is strong with that one!
Anyways, I better stop here and get back to work. I am certainly looking forward to the next few episodes and the Return of (the) Jodha!!! (And your potential posts on those episodes as well!)
Thanks again for such wonderful posts--I've been reading all of them even though I haven't been able to make the time to reply--they really do make a wonderful break for me in otherwise arduous days of writing, writing and editing, editing!
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