Hello. I'm back to proper analysis, though i'm very proud of the 300 or so views that the last 'analysis' got... fooled ya! π π
I'm grinning from ear to ear today π π...very happy and pleased.... not because Abhimanyu is the new VP... kisi ek ko toh hona hi tha and Rajeev Khandelwaal is leaving the show.... but because i loved the way Gaurav did the scene... loved it absolutely... Teena watch it asap!
I've always maintained that he does scenes without dialogues best... and this is another example of that.
The initial discomfort with the gun, the realisation of how much is at stake here, the memory of everything that has gone wrong or seemed wrong.... the very stylised putting away of the gun.... the asking for permission to listen to music, because that part of Abhimanyu is not dead, the essential person takes time to change even when ideologies do.... the smile on Aalekh's face as he now knows his captain can do it (ok, i'm getting slightly carried away here but then I loved 'O captain, my captain' as a child and cry everytime i watch it in Dead Poets Society - my absolute fav movie, by the way!).... the complete ease with which he shoots the first time, the complete control over the instrument, the blankness to everything else.... the moment when he fires the first shot was the moment of the sequence for me....
Then came the twist of the neck before shooting the next round... i didnt like that.... it was the one thing that jarred (at least for me) in the entire sequence... i thought 'are you gonna show red fires in his eyes next?!'.... but then he shot again and the ease returned... and the hand raised in the air before firing the third shot was a good touch.... and then the incredulity after all three shots were fired... Abhimanyu is not immediately happy or even elated.... he conveyed the sense that accompanies most accomplishments 'I know i'm supposed to be happy and if i sit down to think about it, i'm probably happy but all i feel right now is numb'.... that disbelief, numbness... the joy seeped in slowly, through the smile which was part joy, part disbelief and part 'i've done it'... then came the look heavenwards, half in gratitude and half still in stupor... and it was with all of these feelings that the scene ended...
And all of this without a single spoken word.
And people wonder why I'm a believer!
Ok then back to the next two scenes... competent as always.
The next scene conveyed the sense of their being more battles to win... the sense of not being entirely happy, but also being preoccupied in assessing the victory rather than enjoying it.... the enjoyment came in the next scene actually... in the public enacment of the victory, in the oath taking ceremony.
In the oath taking ceremony, he looked a bit too shareef for my liking... i prefer him in angst ridden frameworks rather than in the 'all good' or 'all star' ones... Also, i dont think the voice over was required.... it had already been established how important this moment was to Abhimanyu.... but the happiness is subdued, not an overt one.... and its not that the expression is subdued but the feeling is not... one doesnt always find the happiness one thinks one will at the end of that road.... dil ke khush rakhne ko ghalib khayal rah jaata hai!.... but here i think that is not what is being shown.... there is more to this... will speculate tomo since tomo's episode seems to take this idea further.
Anyway, in the oath taking, Gaurav stressed on certain words in each line... it was effective in some lines and fell flat in others... can substantiate with examples but will do so only if someone asks.... too tired to type further.
See ya all tomo... ciao. One more Cheshire cat grin and i'm gone π