When I first stumbled upon Laagi Tujhse Lagan, I had never imagined even in my wildest dreams that I would fall so hard for it. Not only for its unique, clean, and realistic style, but also for its beautifully complex characters, their deep and powerful relationships. I hadn't expected to become so intrigued by their development, their actions and thoughts and emotions, their stories and internal/external struggles. There was simply something in each one of them that pulled at something in me. If each character had been portrayed by any other actor/actress, I don't think that I would've been as fascinated as I am. It feels as if every character was skin-made for the actor that portrays him/her.
What took my breath away back then, and what continues to take my breath away even today, is one specific character and his relationship to everyone around him. You know of whom I speak.
Dutta Sriram Patil or Dutta Bhao.
I won't even begin to describe what a brilliant character he is, how beautiful and complex and haunting, how layered or beloved. I will only say that I am forever grateful to the ingenious mind behind his creation and to Mishal Raheja for personifying him with such finesse, such perfection that without him, the show simply lacks life.
Mishal's portrayal of Dutta is the reason that I came to fall in love with the show. He breathes so much life into not only Dutta and the show, but every single character that surrounds him. There's so much power and intensity in his performance, so much life and conviction and honesty.
Darn. I got away from the point of this post.
What I initially wanted to say was that upon watching the first episodes of this show again, I re-experienced Nakusha going through Morey's harassment and the ridicule thrust upon her by her townspeople. Throughout it all, I could only think of one thing: "Naku, you have no idea how much you will be loved and protected by a don."
I skipped to the episode in which Dutta gave her water for the first time. I watched as he pumped, unaware of the fact that this woman, this small and dark woman standing before him, would bring the brightest light into his life. That she would love him, unconditionally. That she had been through so much and now she had fallen irrevocably in love with him - an ignorant gangster.
But he wouldn't stay ignorant for long.
How could he? The moment that they met, there was an instant connection. He felt it, yet he couldn't decipher what it was, couldn't decode what it was about this non-beautiful, poor girl that caught his attention. He opened his home and his heart to her, loved listening to her, trusted her without a doubt, and still he couldn't decipher his own feelings for her. When she pushed him toward Supriya, he became bewildered, and confused those emotions for Nakusha as "love" for Supriya – when really he was falling for Nakusha. Why else would the hardest blow be that Nakusha had betrayed him rather than Supriya on his wedding day?
For me, Dutta and Nakusha's love story is epic. It's absolutely unique, pure, and just breathtaking. Every time I hear their music, watch those earlier scenes from when Dutta saved her the very first time – I keep thinking: "Dutta re Dutta, you don't know how much she's going to matter to you."
Their love story, their relationship, is the most beautiful that I have ever known. It feels as if The Beauty and the Beast was based on Dutta and Nakusha's story, not the other way around.
I guess that I just needed to express my love for this epic couple, for the actors who brought them to life in such a beautifully unique way.
I pray that the CVs and Colors won't ruin it 😊
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