Ever since I've started watching this show in bits and pieces, all I've been doing is criticizing acting. Because it's not like the plot is even worthy to warrant criticism. Anyway, watched the Bajaj/Prerna scenes. The way KSG had been "acting" lately, I figured Erica would be able to keep up with him. However, the reality is different. Erica is bad in every scene with him. It's not dialogue delivery or any such thing. It's screen presence. Put next to KSG, she has absolutely no screen presence at all. It's interesting because while Parth and her have contradictory strengths as actors- Parth's good diction and her lack of it, her emotional range and Parth's lack of it- they don't visibly overpower each other onscreen. That is to say, you could point out who is acting better or worse but it doesn't create a visible disconnection between the pair. However, this case is very different. KSG and Erica have similar strengths and weaknesses as performers in theory. Meh dialogue delivery and good emotional range. But KSG's screen presence (coupled with the character strength) is completely overpowering Erica's Prerna. She is reduced to being a teenager trying to make inconsequential points. KSG has his own dialogue delivery issues, I am tired of going over and over it. But he is picking up the calm-amused oscillation to a certain extent. Erica however, just looks disinterested, and worse, like a petulant teenager. It's a combination of the weak characterization and the mediocre acting. Her character is terribly written. She herself looks under-confident and shaken in every scene with Bajaj. She is acting and reacting how she is supposed to but there is no life to it. Every scene between them is being controlled by KSG's Bajaj, and no, it's not just because he has the better written character. For instance, the scene where she tells him "I feel hate for you", she had the stronger comeback on paper. But when executed, it again looked like she is a lifeless doll mouthing heavy lines. Where's the presence? To top it all off, KSG isn't even acting that well in this show.
I physically cringed at the precap, it was that bad. She is acting like a young adult throwing a childish tantrum. The contrast is especially bad because Bajaj appears to be perpetually calm. So this tantrum-throwing behavior is exceedingly intensified. It's unbearable to watch. She has to do better if this "pairing" is a go.
