Parineeta's Shekhar is KYPH's Angad!
All those who have seen the movie, or read the novel (Swordfish, I have read Sarat Chandra's Parineeta long, long time back, it is pretty different from the movie, but nevertheless I loved both of them equally) will now guess where Kketa Maayi got the inspiration for Angad's character.
Shekhar in Parineeta is pampered, impetuous, hot-tempered, arrogant and extremely touchy yet there is a heart-warming vulnerability in him, an inherent decentness and enduring kindness in his eyes, which draws everyone to him like a magnet.
Angad similarly is spoilt, reckless, hotheaded, impulsive and prickly yet there is an openness and defenselessness about him, something which makes you feel extremely protective about him all the time.
Shekhar as a character is, all-possessing, domineering, forceful and deeply passionate………and so is he as a lover. His love for Lolita blinds him completely and he is not able to see reason when faced with a prospect that his lover might be having a fling with some other man. Shekhar sees no reason, no justification, no rationalization when he gets jealous and goes berserk like a mad bull, hitting and lashing out at Lolita without giving her a chance to explain. But even in this animal behavior, we the audience, sense and come to deeply feel for, the frustration and aggravation of Shekhar.
Similarly, when Angad behaves like a brute with Kripa and shoves her down the dance floor, insults her when he sees her with Prithvi, climbs trees and gets into her room at midnight just to prove a point, roughs her up because he cannot see her defying him…..somewhere you don't feel like hitting Angad, instead you can identify with his strange cocktail of emotions!
There is a scene in Parineeta, where Shekhar is expecting Lolita to turn up for a song recording (Shekhar plays a music director…..again the musical similarity) and when she doesn't, he goes completely mad with anger, and insults everyone from his best friend to the singer and just keeps murmuring something or the other venting out his frustration on everyone around him…..and later when Lolita tells him that he never bothered to tell her there was a recording, Shekhar is completely unfazed, as if it is her duty to know what is going on in Shekhar's mind and even if no one had told Lolita, she should have come by herself…………..Shekhar completely believes, that he has so much right over Lolita, that she should be able to read his mind too……….and still refuses to even accept the fact that he is in love with her.
Similarly, Angad compels Kripa to come out with her feeling for him, mocks her, derides her, pushes her over the edge, never accepting or even realizing that he is equally in love with Kripa!
Shekhar burns with jealousy at just the hint of a possible relationship between Lolita and Girish and suddenly from the ''Bhadralok'' yet anglicized gentleman he becomes venomous and spiteful and is openly defiant towards Girish! Shekar is so insecure as a man, that even after consummating his relationship with Lolita, he is still not sure about the fact that she would never betray him, and as soon as his raucous father instills the seed of doubt in his mind, Shekhar lashes out at Lolita, never once asking her for an explanation. Shekhar is one hell of an egoist.
Same goes with Angad, who listens to everyone from Harshini to his Mother, sees Videos, hears Cell-phone recordings, but never once bothers to ask Kripa herself the truth…..simply because his Male Ego refuses to accept the fact that the woman he loves could actually betray him and if she has betrayed him, truly, he doesn't want to face it.
But at the same time, Shekhar is madly, deeply and passionately in love with his one and only Lolita! The whole, extremely well-picturized bedroom scene was the epitome of the culmination of two extreme souls, who love each other with a devotion and depth and nothing on heaven or earth could stop them from loving one another. Shekhar is extremely spiteful toward her, accusing her of selling herself off to Girish but when Lolita breaks down crying, it tears apart Shekhar's heart and he cannot bear to see her in grief. It just takes an innocent step by Lolita for making Shekhar realize that he has only loved one woman in his life and that is Lolita and it takes him just one moment to make her realize that no marriage or societal imprint is necessary for two people truly in love.
Similarly, Angad can vent upon all his frustration and anger on Kripa, yet at the same time cannot bear to see her crying or even sad. But unlike Shekhar, it is Kripa who brings the first step forward in their relationship and makes Angad realize that both of them are in love with one another.
There are many more points of similarity between Shekhar and Angad…………..Shekhar is just a 1960's version of today's Gen-X Angad…….
But personally speaking, I felt more in tandem with Shekhar than I could ever feel with Angad. Sarat Babu's Shekhar is extremely complex, flawed, intricate and obnoxious as a character than Ekta Kapoor's Angad who is just highly jumbled up! Yet, I can't but help falling in love with both of them!
Do let me know what you guys think of this post!
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