Neil's performance last week Aug 30 to Sep 3,2010
A shattered Abhi at finding Simi trapped in fire, his concern for her, the presence of mind to call the doctor, his doubts about the incident, yet his inability to convince his wife who kept worrying about her sister's sacrifice to save her, the way he consoled her and yet heeded to her request to meet Mili, but still his firmness about not thanking her, his anger at Mili, seeking clarification, disappointment at Simi deciding to spend nursing her sister, his anticipation that his wife will check on him at night, his dismay when he learns next day that Simi did not come over last night, was all emotions rightly portrayed.
Abhi's indifference to Mili at breakfast, curiosity about the guy delivering something, tension, tiredness at running behind him, panic and fear about the rat poison, the breathlessness on reaching home, the anger at Mili, determination to stop a vulnerable Simi from drinking the juice and the shock when Mili turned the tables, the look of defeat when Simi made him look irresponsible in front of her parents and a dejected departure to office was a different set of emotions neatly essayed.
The frustration he vented out on a motorcyclist, but the way he held his head was when he quickly realized his mistake, the pain that his relations with everyone has gone for a toss and his denial why it had to happen to him made your heart wanting to pray no man on earth has to go through this torture for having been in love.
The surprise when he hears Mili through Simi's phone, irritation when she ignores his concern for Simi, the urgency to check on Simi, his repulsion at Mili leaching on him, the anger when she repeatedly ignores his query, the way he yelled at Mili telling her she needs help and that she has gone mad, the one slap he gives her due to fear if Simi is hurt was expressions of a concerned husband who cares for his wife's welfare.
The intensity of his anger was justifiable when he sees things are out of his control when he is unable to prove Mili wrong, his wife's distrust, Mili's erratic behavior, makes him feel he would surely need help if he continues to stay back with her as Simi confronts him by supporting her sister. This makes him yell back at her, scream his lungs out saying he is leaving her. The scene looked genuine and so real that one could not help but feel with him in Abhi's desperation. The force with which he pulled over the seatbelt, the way he threw the phone on the seat when he sees Simi calling, the way he was biting at his teeth are all natural gestures to vent out frustration. The way Abhi says that he will definitely not inform Simi where he is was a way of revolting to show his condemnation because he knows for sure that Simi would worry about him. Any person pushed to this threshold behaves this way. Those emotions have been convincingly portrayed.
The despondency of separating from his wife, his concern for her, the guilt that he was rude to her and walked out on her, and the tranquility he felt that Simi is safe since Mili left KB, showed how much he loves his wife. For Abhi, Simi means the whole world to him. In spite of Simi's attitude and behavior towards him, he seems to be worried for her. The sadness, pain and anguish was expressed beautifully while the song played in the background about the distances created between their mind and heart in spite of their love and concern for each other. I feel Simi needs to express it by believing him, but here we are only shown that she does care for him after all by Simi crying over when Abhi has gone away.
His cold response to Anita's tantrums while going through a difficult phase himself, anticipation of Simi's call, shock when he realizes he had switched his phone off previous night and hence the guilt and worry knowing Simi would have panicked, he keeps repeating that he loves Simi so much makes one wonder the depth of his love for her because he is blaming himself for all that has happened.
Here about this scene, this couple surprise me no end that they are willing to sort differences quickly about a grave situation. Simi is wrong but Abhi does not care about it. Simi never realizes she is the wrong doer and that she is the cause for all the misery that she puts Abhi through. I really have to recall my friend Krisha's telephonic update where she said'..Pata hai, in dono husband wife ko guiness book mei aana chahiye who pretend as though nothing at all has happened. I don't know if such possibilities exist, but it surprises me no end how its written out for these characters Abhi and Simi to quickly sort and reconcile differences by the blink of an eye in spite of Abhi being right all through and Simi being the culprit all the while.
Whatever way the characters are written, Neil has convincingly portrayed all these wide range of emotions the most beautiful way. His performance throughout has been convincing and most appreciable all through. The emotions of a youngster with a golden heart that is full of love for his wife , care for the people around, responsibilities of a husband, the miseries and tensions of being in a strange and disoriented family that continues to give him shock treatments constantly, the fights, love, longing, romance and happiness, everything makes this character Abhi so lovable.
And Neil's performance as Abhi has been exceptional throughout the week. If not for enjoying this performance, who has the energy to endure this awkward situation of a SIL hounding her BIL?
