Helloo, Ash pardon me for the delayed response but here I go now with my humble thoughts beneath your indicators...
Did the creatives, while penning down dutta's part of script failed to realize the stature the actor playing dutta would fetch for the character, and that's why they prescribed a simple(unlike his character) heart break story to dutta's past, something which almost every broody male lead of Indian tv owns!
Now Ash , to comment on bold, the first thing that enters my mind is a clever declaration you have made towards the acting skills and abilities of the actor who embodies the role of Dutta ,in other words undisputedly the actor who breathes life into the character of Dutta and thus presents him so, that we hero worship this anti hero. I say anti hero ,that despite his epithets and appellatives of the don with the golden heart ,the godlike figure head amongst the masses of Patil Vadi, the man has blood stained hands , a law unto himself and to others who wrong him or other vulnerable in his precinct. You may be correct in pointing out that the creative team was unaware that this anti hero may become something of a hero ,especially if the story is originally gears towards the journey of a basti maid. Subsequently they also would rather not be seen as a channel glorifying an underworld don, which soon becomes evident by the hike of the TRPS , as soon as the actor makes his entry. However the creative team also want to add in the fairy tale element of the not so good looking simple girl falls for the lord of the manor, and he with her eventually; and for that the creative team have to bring in the man betrayed in love and eventually as a back lash turning to a life of crime. Also, if the creative team intend to show him in the light of having a mistrust issue, especially where emotional attachment was concerned then yes Seema's track was essential.
Now had Seema's shunned lover element is deleted and instead replaced with Dutta on a coldblooded carnage rampage, nothing short of a psychopath killer, the character will be devoid of the element of compassion ,understanding and a certain unexplained identification we feel towards him, in fact we would probably show disinterest and give him up as a man with a serious mental illness that requires specialist medical attention.. the story then will hinge on the hook of a crime thriller. But no the creative team recognise the pulse of viewers, that the love edition has to be part into the story to maintain audience interest, henceforth Seema has to be brought in to kick start this angle, which is more important than toning down the image of the don!. I think the creative team continued to promote the image of a don, cashing in as much as they could via Mishal's incredible rendition of the role. This fact is proved eventually as after his exit the TRPs plummeted and the show had to be brought to a hurried end which the faithful audiences of LTL never bought to this day...
So, did the creatives failed to predict that those pair of eyes, would someday emote toughest of the tough, probably some most complex emotion, and a heart break is nothing in front of the strom that brewed in those eyes!
I think Ash, the creative team knew what they were looking for, they had checked his credentials I would presume. The actor Mishal was an actor with an acclaimed although short lived serial Love story, where he played an intense role. Mishal fitted the description of the character, the age.. I would imagine his trade mark , of a don with general elegance and sophistication compared to his lion like sudden metamorphosis, was something the creative team never bargained for, but were certainly blessed with it , although the channel never recognised this which is regrettable. Mishal certainly stirred up viewers, he juddered audiences with his presentation of a new don who was not obese, smelly, filthy, sleazy looking with pan and ciggy stained teeth, embellished with gold... instead we have this young suave boy/ man don with uniformed dress sense and chic refined gold body ornaments!
So, did the CV couldn't visualize, that this character is gonna be cult in future,some one really different from the sterotypes and thus gave his past a similar treatment, which most of the Indian tv men gets just for the sake of avoiding SR for the next 3-4 years?
Here I would probably agree with you that they couldn't predict.. I recall Mishal too said something to that effect , although he was graceful enough to attribute this to the success to the whole show ,rather than elude to the fact that he had a large part in the TRP rise. Certainly on the small screen MR has been an icon , every third male lead I saw , on TV when he was gone wanted to be like him. Recently there is a show on Life OK where the male star is an angry young man... and he comes across as one .. but I look for a convoluted complexity in this angry young man.. and I give up at the hands of the character being too predictable in his portrayal, and with me where there lies predictability there is boredom.. so I change the channel! However with Mishal as Dutta the CT got it right , that the actor had enough clout to carry on the show minus SR for ,ummh rather a long time..
For, me it would have been more appropriate if Seema played the IMMEDIATE cause rather than the ONLY cause in deciding DSP's fate! I felt a need of bigger picture, may be dutta being completely broke, AS falling severely ill, and may be at the same time, some local goons creating nuisance in the life of Patils, may be even one of the sisters getting stuck to some troublesome affair, and then seema's betrayal coming as a final blow!
Ash I may have tackled this earlier. However in life we come across a variety of experiences some pleasant others not so.. and human that we are we react accordingly to them by our body mind and soul. Along the line we also grade the experiences , according to the impact they have on our lives. This is so ,for we can self evaluate our selves in life , how certain incidents become turning points and learning curves in our life. Also we find that certain incidents and experiences stick out more in terms of character building. To be blunt one incident that either makes or breaks. For Dutta without seeing the scenarios you have mentioned, there were two experiences that mould his future. One was the humiliation he suffered as a man, and the other is living life in an ordinary life style with his family , where he was the only breadwinner. Now if he was considering marriage which he was , and probably marrying his sisters off as well , a mechanic's salary may give him an honest living but not a well to do comfortable middle class life style. Hence when Seema struck, alongside came the adrenaline flow and the opportunity to become rich overnight. Dutta took decisions that shaped his life, thus giving him the multifaceted personality features...
Somehow, I feel that dutta's past was not as murky as Gothic the character shaped up! So what's should be it called only A viewer's disappointment or a creative disappointment!
I don't think his character was a viewer's disappointment . My only disappointment is that the creative team/Colors failed to see why this show LTL reached such dizzy heights... thanks Mishal for giving us Dutta!
P.S. A more detailed attention was given to dutta's past In DN RES, but that couldn't be considered, since something if not existent on screen remains non existent for most of the viewers! What a shame .. you are right... Thank you Ash for a brilliantly written post ,and lots of food for thought... all my love xxhammie..
Edited by Hamlet53 - 13 years ago
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