he reached for her and i seemed to know exactly how she'd turn, a little
movement and before it happened you knew she'd twirl... a kahani has
been told and dance danced... the steps flawless, lissome, smooth,
etched. the music plays in your heart, just below your skin. she
pirouetted and fell as you knew she would... at different distances in
the mind, like layers of eternity, there they were holding each other,
lifting, falling, touching, surrendering, the music played on and you
really didn't have to listen, though he did touch his ear as if to say,
remember me, remember us... fon't forget. and they danced and the music
played its trick... taking them far far away... again. kyun khabon pe
tere saaye hain... dil kyun hai tanha mera...
......................
he brought her reeling in to crash against him, she was his... his
heart seemed to calm when she fell against him... his eyes were lost...
then they returned to the here and the now. she drew away slowly...
what... what was that? what was he trying to say....
things happen between a man and a woman that really can't always be said in mere words.
this might not be bali, but the ocean is certainly here.
an
episode which will always stand out in my mind as one that completely
zonked me. and it underscored yet again the the power of fine acting.
barun sobti and sanaya irani forgot all about the absurdity of the
situation, the almost campy feel in the air, the strange tacky "bali"
sets, even the stymied story line and threw themselves into the moment,
creating an island. not bali, but a magic island it sure was.
when
last episode that whole bali fracas happened, not in my wildest did i
imagine anything called dilli mein (or ma, when in super ethnic mode)
bali hotel could be devised. i am not unaware of the bizarre scenarios
of hindi serials. but this was ipk, here we couldn't have such things.
yet... "what the hell", i am saying it a la asr absolutely, that is
exactly what happened.
i
saw mama ji in a chauffeur's livery, i was surprised... then he said
something about dilli mein bali hotel, and i overacted almost as much as
kkgsr and psr, but when i saw the supremely unimaginative, garish decor
of shantivan i really thought i'd faint. what... the... hell (me still
in as mode) were they up to.
then came manorama sorry mona (add a
darling, i thought, let her be ajit's moll) with hat and hitched saree
and heels, nani in saree worn the "modern" way and off centre parting,
leis, and coconut water... poor hp was the only one left out of the bali
gear. since chhotey had thrown tantrum and refused the real thing, the
fam had decided to give the couples (aaargh, who eve calls couples,
couples, but ah well) a honeymoon right here in shantivan turned to
dilli mein bali hotel.
no. this cannot be happening, i said to myself. this cheesy awful stuff. kya bakwas hai.
twitcher appeared in tux, i felt my stomach beginning to ache. the only thing that save me was this.
that
gorgeous incredulity on a driven actor's face. poor asr, to be bestowed
with such a completely lunatic family, he the other end of the
spectrum, a man straight, sharp, uncampy to the core. but even by the
standards of the loopy fam, who merrily interfered in all tings family
in a happy, well meaning way, this dmbh stroke was a bit too much.
di
appeared, maynager bitiya, apparently. well, at least daljeet looked
cute and different.. she radiated happiness. i wanted to yell at her and
say, "what the hell do you think you are doing?"
even when asr glared at shyam over the red rose move, i was frowning, where was all this going?
the
dancing began. asr danced with khushi in this slightly off hand way,
after telling her not to start dreaming. i wanted to ask him, didsn't he
mean nightmaring after the way he'd been behaving.
she gave it to him and said, not to worry, she too was doing all this only for di.
nice
angry pair, i like this tension... i like them in each other's arms,
and what's that new song... jo pehle hua na... very nice. but wasn't
everything a bit too gooey, pink, and sweet? where were we going?then
came a long stare by asr at shyam. shyam was looking at his wife. a
look began to descend on asr's face, dark and dense. there came a pause
in his movements. he remembered the scenes on the terrace of this very
house.
and he paused.
that beautiful moment when he
stopped, took hold of her hand and moved it off his shoulder, then held
still before surging into a completely different dance with a flow,
pace, rage all its own.
khushi looked at him confused. then the real dance began.
the
dance of the angry sea, the turbulent ocean. a dance of possession, of
possessiveness. traumatic, territorial. how dare anyone look at what
belonged to him... there was a storm rising in the ocean tonight, gale
force winds screamed through, the waves rose and crashed, they moved
with inexorable pace, then built up to a fabulous frenzy. it looked like
a furious intercourse between the ocean and its shore... the ocean held
the shore, flung it away, then pulled it in reeling, lifted it,
embraced it, elevated everything, and engaged in a power play that left
both immersed and singularly aroused.
the rest of the room stood away. and gawked. pretty much in the same state as i.
how
did they do this, i have often wondered. one moment i'd be a thinking
person looking at the screen, even finding fault. the next, a kick in
the heart or gut and i am staring unblinking, no thought in my head,
just watching. and feeling. one with the action onscreen.
this
episode barun sobti's acting completely unnerved me with its conviction.
if i could see the whole bali thing was fuzzy and silly, surely he
could too. pretty well. i wonder what he thought when he was told in the
middle of all this he had to dance with sanaya and communicate asr's
anger and love... i wonder if he felt a little stupid doing this in such
a scenario. but being the committed actor he is, he gave it his best,
his keenest... and he focused on the act, interpreting intelligently,
then letting go and being asr. sanaya became khushi. that chemistry of
theirs that defies deconstruction. together they swayed, undulated,
twirled and tangoed and created an island... pure and shimmering.
bali
is beautiful, but this was good enough for me. for some reason a
comparison with the lotus in my mind. in a screenplay that was not
exactly gorgeous, quite murky, a spot of absolute perfect beauty and
harmony.
the music switched to familiar ipk notes. these are the
notes of emotion of an inner ocean in ipk, the music to which this dance
could be danced.
i watch this sequence again and again. i always
am zapped by the intensity and the tenor of it all. barun is not a
dancer, but he sure understands the sense of dance, that breaking free
of physical boundaries and expressing the timeless, the intangible, with
the bend and line of body... he gets that so well.. and then the
expressions. always taking you away to another planet.
that
sudden sitting on the knee and catching his partner fro behind as she
twirled to him, though he didn't exactly glissade the way a proficient
dancer might, there was a poer in the move that had me stop breathing
for asecond. so so intimate and sensual that hold.
sanaya was lovely as the bewildered khushi then the girl who forgot everything and danced with her mate.
in the final movement, the ocean tugged his shore and she came and crashed on his chest. a still still moment.
then
his eyes shifted, they seemed to focus. he realised he'd been lost
perhaps. she lifted her head and looked at him... meeting his gaze,
still shaken, her eyes asking him so many things. when the lover is
before you, then not the tongue, the eyes speak... i think of the words
she will say only five episodes down. the hold, the hand, the body, its
urgency, its force, the eyes, everything spoke this episode.
the
couples were escorted away to their honeymoon suites. we heard there
was no electricity, only candles. phones were swiped, rooms locked and
while everything still looked totally goofy, i began to enjoy asr's
loony family and their mad ideas. that dance somehow made everything
feel better.
in the room khushi, being khushi, loved all the
flowers and candles. asr being asr, just looked dour. poor man, i feel
for him. but teehee, he does deserve this nautanki wife and that crazy
coot family.
the scene at the door... again i thought of a new
beginning in their lives... becoming as flaky as di. there was something
so nice about this scene despite awful colours.
then asr got angry and blew out the candles.
and a match stick was lit... a new dance began.
he
caught her hand and drew her close... again i felt my heart respond.
two of them in the dark, looking at each other, everything felt alive
and intense. what was he asking her, what was she saying? felt as if he
wanted to ask her, if she was ready for this... after that dance of the
waters, there had to be fire.
an
episode made of the elements... of water and fire and wind, and sheer
family sort of goofiness. dilli mein bali hotel. what the.
