Yes, folks, Ankita, not Archana.
I have watched Ankita as Archana from the inception of PR, with a break of only a few months from mid-2011 till the leap, and I have always liked her smile, her chicness, her talent for crying without the slightest distortion of her features (a gift to be prized above all else in the world of TV soaps) and to make even heavy duty rona dhona look palatable, her ability to convey deep affection without becoming cloying, and last of all, her being so easy on the eyes even without any support from the wardrobe manager for PR. I did not like her over the top hysterical scenes, especially of late, when she looked demented, screeching in high decibels and pointing a painted finger nail right to within a foot of the face of the unfortunate whom she was scarifying.
In all these months and years, however, I have never, before yesterday, felt like giving Ankita a standing ovation for scene or a sequence. Probably this was because I am not really sentimental by nature, and the standard good beti, bahu, patni, maa routine does not get to me, no matter how competently performed. Nor do the vehement deluges of regret or anger or despair that are so frequent in her role as Archana; I always prefer subtlety that is not in your face. I admired her every now and then, for I know how tough heavy duty scenes must be to enact, but this was always admiration from the head, not the heart.
But it was different yesterday. When she had finished the scene with Arjun (and Purvi), and was crying her heart out in her mother's arms, I did stand up and give her that standing ovation, with 12 encores, as they do in the West End or Broadway. And this time, it was from the heart.
It was not just the weariness writ large on her face as she enters the Karanjkar residence, and spots Arjun, his hand in Purvi's as she looks down at him lovingly. Nor the way in which her expression shifts imperceptibly from being tired and wan to a tremulous, as yet dawning happiness, as she asks Arjun how he is feeling and the young pair move apart in haste.
It was not even the gentle, affectionate candour of her long monologue to Arjun, when she praises his qualities of head and heart unstintingly, in simple words that are nonetheless incredibly moving, and this without becoming maudlin, the occupational hazard in emotional scenes.
It was rather the unselfconscious humility with which she stops him from touching her feet and instead begs his pardon - her regret and her desire to make full amends are both so deep that there is no room there for any ego, and this was reflected effortlessly in her face and her tired eyes.
It was the little hiccup deep in her throat as she pulls Purvi to her and confesses that she had been totally wrong about Arjun. It was the voice in which she scolds Arjun for misjudging her, with the chiding just a flimsy cover for the overflowing affection she now feels for this young man, who has pushed himself to the limit and beyond to comply with her demands.
It was the clear smile that lights up her eyes, and smoothes out the tired lines in her face, as she asks Arjun if he is prepared to marry her daughter. She knows the answer, of course, she has known it for a long time now, and even now, as Arjun is speechless with the unexpectedness of this manna from Heaven, she sees the relief in his face and is satisfied. When he finally finds his tongue and assures her that he will love Purvi more than he loves himself, and that he will never give them any cause for complaint, the way in which her face registers growing joy and contentment is a treat to behold.
But most of all, I loved the last scene, when Archana confesses to the truth that she has herself not faced up to till then: that her mother had been right, and that in her desperate need to gain the trust and affection of Teju and Ovi, she had, even without realising it, sidelined Purvi to some extent. That it was because of the bitterness of her naakaam rishta (failed relationship) with Manav that she had lost faith in love itself, and had become sakht (hard) in her dealings with Purvi and Arjun. When she tries to explain that she did not, however, feel that she had, at that time, been wrong in trying to keep Purvi away from Arjun, her voice becomes totally suspended, and she cannot proceed. She waves her right hand in a helpless gesture that is more eloquent than any number of words could have been. She might not have had any happiness in her life, she says, with a catch in her voice that is enormously touching, as some rishtas did not succeed, but she was now happy in the happiness of Purvi and Arjun.
As she buries her face in her mother's shoulder, the tears, held back till then, finally appear, and in abundance. But this time they are not, as often in the past, a hysterical accompaniment to her outbursts, but a gentle, cleansing flow that lightens her heart of a by now unbearable burden, and lightens ours as well.
The praise and applause for this bravura performance should go not to the writers, for it was not the lines that were new or especially appealing, but to the actress who made them seem so by the nuanced delicacy of her performance. Ankita deserved every one of those 13 curtain calls.
Arjun is, thanks to Archana, going back straightaway to being Arjun Kirloskar, which is a relief to me and the many others who had had more than enough of the Born Again garage hand. Hallelujah!
Enough said. By way of a complete change of scene, let us take Balan and his Jhumri/Varsha, landing up in the noise, jostling and general hectic activity of Mumbai. I seem to have been mistaken in the nature of their relationship; I took it, perhaps naturally, to be totally abusive and exploitative on his side, and full of forced submissiveness on hers. No, there is a definite sense of belonging together between them, which is fleetingly reminiscent of the 'old shoe love' between the characters played by Naseeruddin Shah and Lillette Dubey in Mira Nair's much feted Monsoon Wedding. It comes out most clearly when he is scolding her for standing around and getting jostled, and laments aloud, when she insists on being taken to see her Lalla at once, that he did not know what he had done to be burdened with this balaa (infliction) nor when he would be rid of her! They then proceed completely amicably out of the station, where he surprised me by trying to get the cheapest ride possible to his destination in the Chandi Bazaar. Old habits die hard, it seems, despite all the crores made for him by Vishnu!
The precap has a chilling shot in the police lockup, of Godfathers Sr. and Jr., both staring balefully at Manav's back as he stands there talking to Inspector Sameer Rane. The venomous hostility in Vishnu's drawn features mirrors and amplifies the rage in his baba's, as Balan swears vengeance on Manav, and Varsha's face is a study in frozen panic. The drama is now picking up speed, folks.
Shyamala B.Cowsik
NB: I felt strongly about Ankita's tour de force of a performance, and I wanted to share it with you all. I am sorry for being 12 hours late with this, but I cannot manage late night posts these days, and in any case the forum was yesterday almost totally pre-occupied, and not with this episode! So perhaps it will not matter after all.
Lastly, as I noted in an earlier comment, Arjun's recovery from 2 bullet wounds (of unclear location) is so swift as to raise the suspicion that he had somehow got hold of the sanjeevani herb with which Hanuman brought the stricken Lakshmana back to life. There is of course the other option of water from the Holy Grail, which heals all wounds, as so dramatically shown with Indiana's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. However, I always prefer our homegrown stuff, so the sanjeevani it shall be.
Further, Arjun has not only managed without any pyjamas, but he is in the same outfit as when he was put to bed, so it is all just a matter of a day, it seems. So complete is his miraculous recovery (though he does try for some degree of versimilitude by getting up with difficulty and wincing periodically) that he actually hobbles off immediately to the mandir with Purvi to fulfil her mannat! It is too much, even for PR!!!
Cricket
Current Affairs
Udne Ki Aasha
