Walking out of Indira a little over an hour later weeping from laughing so hard, I have only one word: masterpiece. This is, by far, the best piece of acting I have seen in a very long time.
To sum up the plot without giving anything away, from the opening curtain the infectious energy and pitch perfect timing of Rati Pandey as Hitler Indira set the bar somewhere in the stratosphere.
Rarely do you see an actor inhabit the character they play so completely, from mannerisms to vocal inflection to stop and start frantic energy and the odd wink at the viewer. She played the part with reckless abandon and a heavy dose of physicality, slipping effortlessly between a succession of characters, without once losing the essential underpinning of Indira. Perhaps most impressive, she maintained the energy and feverish intensity throughout, never dropping off or losing her breathing.
-THE SINGULAR BRILLIANCE OF RATI PANDEY-
She is that superior an actress that many who knew of her imperial reign over TV instinctively think of her. Thanks in no small measure to the roles she made famous'the bubbly cheerful Nupur in MJHT, and now the obsessively fixated the hitlerishhh Indira, essaying ill-fated character in the margins of society.
In truth, away from the glare of the limelight,Rati Pandey is an elegant personality. In the number of times I was privileged to observe her in interviews, Rati came across as a woman of grace. Perhaps it is her instinctive talent to interpret even the most mundane dialogues into gripping auditory experiences that have given this diminutive woman the timing of a queen of expressions.
Whether seated on a bench of revelation getting to know her worst fate or standing in front of a mirror trying to make a smile using her hands in her earlier days, Rati moves deliberately and with careful calculation'like a jaguar stalking its prey, or a butterfly with wings unfurled in the middle of flight. Away from the prying eyes of the public and the press, it is as if she is in the middle of a command performance for the queen as she gracefully articulates with her hands, or even as she lets out a hearty laugh.
Her unerring elegance is most breathtakingly captured on TV in the brain tumour revelation sequence where Rati portrayed a dying woman. I have never seen an act so gracefully, so full of meaning and yet so precise and intentional. She shows this grace again in the scenes of lying to her family regarding pregnancy and in the opening of the day counting s of video recordings where Indira blurts out a medley of self revelations all heartfelt and looking divine in her condition.
I almost always praise her eyes'those two compelling globes that have the ability to turn from fiery to frosty in a millisecond. Few realize that Rati Pandey is a peerless physical actress who can turn ordinary scenes into moments of brilliance with her mastery of movements.
Yesterday, when she first encounters Mandira on her scam in the constricted room, she moves quickly in rhythm with her terse and tense dialogue. The brilliant actress exchange verbal missiles while crisscrossing the limited space in utter fluidity of motion. Finally, when the emotions explode, the character spill onto the street to sweep the audience in me with her full, ferocious force.
heart breaker episode, the explosive revelation scene that showed termination of Indira's life with brain tumour showed once again Rati's brilliance in physical acting. With one hand clutching her heart and the other outstretched on the ground as if grasping an invisible support, the actress wisely showed the complete silhouette of her body . With that, she was able to paint a transfixing picture of dying in the span of a few, quick frames. Through that scene, she gives the viewer in me a vicarious experience of dying so much that the viewer flinches in sadness and imagined pain.
Rati di's allure and magic are again being put on view. Even the simple act of combing her hair and discovering the hair loss becomes a moment of beauty--note the tension in the fingers and the smolder in her eyes. The pose that can explode any minute into spectacular fireworks.
These new images are reasons enough to celebrate'especially for her new legion of fans like myself that can't get enough of the Indian TV's most brilliant star. Indeed, Rati's enduring radiance, and her powers of bringing life to a character shine bright and clear' even from the flat, single dimension of a TV screen
the Monday i lost my sleep,.
I won't say that I felt Indira. I wish I could say I did. she wasn't there.but i felt her still there with her hands outstretched on the ground...
"abhi mujhme kahin" came on.
The song starts with Indira laughing like a child , broke down depressively thereafter and then has a great chord progression that sweeps up your heart and brings it to a march. I know it well, and started crying . . . along with her.
I skipped over my tasks and chores, singing.
?? Abhi mujh mein kahin
Baaqi thodi si hai zindagi
Jagi dhadkan nayi
Jaana zinda hoon main toh abhi
Kuch aisi lagan iss lamhe mein hai
Ye lamha kahaan tha mera
Ab hai saamne
Issey chhoo loon zaraa
Mar jaaoon ya jee loon zaraa
Khushiyaan choom loon
Yaa ro loo'n :'( zaraa
Mar jaaoon ya jee loon zaraa
??
members of my family looked at me strangely, but I couldn't stop myself from humming and singing. Whatever life stirred among the body of the artist i have loved made a spin in my life as well. I spun towards the end of the song, losing my breath, "?? Mar jaaoon ya jee loon zaraa ??".
I let the playlist created play on, and kept my headphones in, only taking them out for the occasional tasks. I reminisced Indira, and sang on.
don't sing...
dear god, don't take her away...
my heart started beating...
i have just started to know her..and begun to adore her...
i am sorry.i should be really strong here..but,i cant seem to get a hold over my outpouring here..
so,let me get you on why..she has just married..she has moved into a new place..she is settling in life..perhaps,now she looks relaxed than before...she is taking steps in slowly reforming her family ...probably.the new morning gave her a high...more than that,the jubilant expression of her family ,the recording hubby sent off for job hunt,as always by the practical indira,the adorned mum sent leering after strict warn,the no nonsense indira here...she moved on..the sudden generosity towards brother .now,.here comes the unusual one..my tension arose there ,,and the final helpful hand gesture followed by the longing look ended with the loving wave ...i went through a rollercoaster of emotions there albeit in a sad way..then,the moment came , she opened the envelope ...and
my heart was beating fast...
indira, dont leave!
I beg you, I really beg you, go see this for Indira. It may be the best thing you do with a half of your hour on tV. If you don't love it, if you aren't absolutely blown away by the charm and talent of RATI PANDEY, I promise to eat a print-out of this writing. So how can you lose?
Edited by mokshashree - 13 years ago
Indian Mythology
