GG – Adhiti's Musings & Books

A Beautiful Symmetry

Posted on December 4, 2023 by adhitiaravind92

This post is about something that I’ve been enjoying off late. These days I begin my day by diving into the episodes of a Malayalam serial Geetha Govindam (aired on Asianet channel and available online on Hot Star) and find my serotonin booster in it. Why? Because of its leads and their synchronized energies together when they are on the screen. The serial is no masterpiece in the making and comes with its share of flaws and limitations. It can be described as a paisa vasool entertainer in the serial plateau. This show has hit the pulse right with today’s generation that is always on the run and takes a turn to art only for relaxation and stress-free engagement. It has beauty to offer in every frame and is an engaging watch for the entertainment value it holds.

Telling an age-gap romance story that is laced with revenge and family drama, the plot revolves around Arakkal Govind Madhav (46) a multimillionaire businessman and Geetanjali Badran (23) an IAS aspirant. Despite the chasm of differences that prevail between them, and the age-old rivalry between their families, Govind and Geetanjali find themselves drawn to each other, with the nature of their bond traversing through the phases of mentor-mentee to friends and even enemies for a while before translating to a romantic landscape.

The highlight of the show is the unique combination of actors in the lead roles – Sajan Sooreya and Dr. Binny Sebastian. The apt casting has invoked traction and eyeballs for the show. Despite at least two decades between them and the contrasting factor of pitching a veteran opposite a newcomer, their pairing somehow packs a punch with the experience vs freshness contradiction colliding right. The symmetry of their pairing is pitch-perfect despite the odds.

The magical chemistry did not mysteriously unveil overnight. They found their tune slowly but surely through each episode. Today they stand at a point where they can bounce off each other’s craft and deliver credible performances. There is a perfect measure of give and take in their combination scenes which scales on their timing and understanding of each other’s emotional intellect when it comes to performing. Despite the decades of experience that let him hold a candle to her freshness, they stand equal in every scene and bring out the best in each other. And that ultimately bestows us with an onscreen power couple to relish.

Together they are a force to reckon with, challenging one another with a competitive spirit before the camera and coordinating seamlessly to channel their excellence into a mini screen magic. More than chemistry I’d say they make for a great team with excellent synergy. Pitch a scene of any mood – romance, comedy, drama – they deliver splendidly into any tonality of scene.

Coming to their craft, I must admit the main factor that had me hooked while I binge-watched this show was Binny’s evolution through the episodes. Like a caterpillar metamorphosis into a butterfly, within the first 100 episodes of the show, Binny maneuvers her craft around in such a stupendous way, that she now wields a definitive command over her ability. There is a palpable shift in her tone, measure, and balance and there you have a hard-to-ignore blooming performer. She is out there laden with measured expressions, emotive body language and depth in her gaze. Her graph is fascinating to witness as she fine-tunes her nuances with the expression-heavy dialect of serials. She is an actor to look out for; with her comic timing, luminous screen presence and compelling moments of angst on the screen promising more.

The other half of this combo, Sajan Sooreya is a household name for the Malayalam serial audience. Clocking in nearly 25 years of excellence, Sajan Sooreya continues to reign the screen with authentic acting as his emblem. The bygone years have stitched glamour and experience to his armour synonymizing him with wine that gets finer with traversing time. Scintillating screen presence, effortless dialogue delivery and realistic acting that blurs the line between fiction and reality are standout features of his artistry. The catalogue of characters he played on mini-screen ranged from venomous villains to poignant character roles. To that enriched list he adds this branded star hero vehicle with genius authenticity. The seasoned actor is playing it to the gallery in his superstar template character AGM aka Arakkal Govind Madhav. From a stylish intro scene to landing punches loud like a mass hero, to dissolving into moments of passion, rage and angst with fervour, Sajan Sooreya is bringing out the layers of Govind Madhav’s character with panache. To the new generation of audience that is getting familiarized with him, Sajan Sooreya is essentially conveying a message with this character, that he has just about begun.

The Malayalam television industry has transformed through the years and curated itself to the changed appetite of the audience. Serials laced with tears are now old news and skewed by suffering heroine templates a thing of the past. Today the tone is bold with the lead characters taking charge of their lives and dealing with their problems with a daredevil spirit. In that current milieu, Geetha Govindam will stay afloat with the vibrance in its frames and fast-paced narration aided by the compelling performers captaining the ship. A must-watch for the ingenious actors and the splendid camera work.

The Graph of Resilience

Posted on November 30, 2023November 30, 2023 by adhitiaravind92

There have been instances in celluloid history where some actors who begin on a stiff note, evolve with a mind-blowing graph in their acting career later on. Many great actors’ craft that we enjoy today have had a past where they began raw and uneven. Along the course of their career, they transitioned into their peaks enriching the screen with their talent galore. I’ve come to admire that graph of learning a lot and most of my favorites on screen are slow-burn talents. Now I have a new addition to that list, cine artist, Dr. Binny Sebastian.

Binny began her acting career with a small role in a Malayalam film Thoppil Joppan starring Mammootty. Later she focused on her medical degree and work life taking a hiatus from acting ambitions. After her marriage to cine artist Noobin Johny she forayed back to the screen as the lead heroine of the now-running Malayalam soap opera, Geetha Govindam aired on the Asianet channel. She essays a bold character, Geetanjali, an IAS aspirant who has a no-nonsense approach to life. In lieu of the current serial heroine template of a responsible daughter, devoted lover and sassy when faced with hurdles mould, Binny has landed a character that allows her length and breadth to showcase her potential.

But in the initial episodes, Binny’s pitch was off; her face was too eager to translate emotions and her body language was not oblivious to the tension that swam through her as she learnt the ropes of the profession. She was trying to act as she stood before the camera and that was glaringly evident. She received brickbats as she soldiered through the scenes opposite Sajan Sooreya, who is a pro at realistic acting. The contrast was obvious as perfection and imperfection kept meshing causing an unpleasant friction on screen instead of the chemistry they were aiming at.

But as the episodes counted itself up, there was a sudden upswing in Binny’s craft. The consciousness evaporated gradually and she found her ease with the camera. Suddenly her aura translated with vigor and the beauty intensified not just in her appearance but also in her craft.

Her eyes shone with confidence as she now faced her effortless screen partner (Sajan Sooreya) and voila there was an explosion of chemistry as both the actors found the right intonation for their combination scenes. As the lead pair, they were presented with scenes that ranged from romance to comedy and angst. This time around they meshed with their talent and the friction resulted in a beautiful symphony.

Comedy is not easy but when you see Binny delivering some expressions, you’d want to believe so. Her face is lit with a loudness that resonates with the acting tonality of a soap opera but never once does the balance falter. She is a live wire in comic scenes. Gifted with an arresting screen presence, Binny engulfs us in her charisma every time she is on the screen.

There is a dialogue in the serial which goes “She wields her orbs as if they are swords” and that holds true. When presented with intense scenes, Binny transforms herself and suddenly her gaze starts speaking a sharp language. You can read the dialogue there before the words begin at her lips. Actors who can emote with their eyes always stand out and Binny is endowed in that department. When she comes face to face with her lover in the show after a gap, the happiness that glimmers in her eyes is hardly imitable.

Binny breathes depth into her character even as the scene setting or dialogues limit her. Even when there is no space to convey the character’s state of mind, she translates it through her body language or gaze helping us connect with the character’s essence. She is lending a definitive voice to her character with her craft that despite the ups and downs in the character arc, Binny as Geetanjali feels real.

This is her first full-fledged work and the portfolio she is setting with it is promising. While there is scope for improvement, the prelude of this actor’s craft is intriguing. There is no scarcity of talents per se, but artists who keep evolving and are consistent with that commitment to evolve will always scale loftier heights. Seems like Dr. Binny Sebastian would belong to that coveted category with the route she has embarked on. Let’s wait and watch. Until then hurray to her stupendous work so far.

An Actor Without a Full Stop

Posted on November 30, 2023November 30, 2023 by adhitiaravind92

Certain actors relentlessly challenge their limits and bounds to canvas magic that was hitherto unseen in their craft. They enjoy the process of breaking their moulds and reshaping their talent into a new template. The baggage of image never hinders their perseverance. This opinion piece is on one such veteran talent, Sajan Sooreya who is a prominent figure in the Malayalam serial milieu.

With a legacy that’s dated almost 25 years, Sajan Sooreya has more than 100 mega serials, precisely remarkable Malayalam soap operas to his credit in his career graph. Irrespective of those numbers and credentials and a humble disposition from his end, in his interviews, one senses the frustration of an actor who was criminally underutilized despite his decades-long career.

In a discussion with one of his long-standing fans, I found insights that might just ascertain that assumption. She opined that over the years he was thumped down with the label of good son or good son-in-law and showered with love by the serial audience for the same. While it accredits his excellence in the roles he was bestowed with and the popularity they garnered, it also whispers of the stereotyping and bracketing that often limits an actor.

In the serial landscape, the scope and budget are often limited to push through and be innovative. Or rather there is a drawback of being typecast into a mold which is difficult to outgrow if this is your bread and butter as well. Sajan Sooreya who came from a theatre background and had the extra safety net of a government job could make some bold choices along the way though not much.

When one scrolls through his last few choices one can sense a pedal shift and a determination to not be contained into one format. While cinema remained an elusive dream, he worked around the opportunities that came his way, not hesitating to take up a vulgar villain role or a character that had to stand on the sidelines and add gems to his career tirelessly. Today as he gets into the role of AGM aka Arakkal Govind Madhav, his current work, he is yet again pushing the envelope.

The now-running Malayalam soap opera, Geetha Govindam aired on Asianet, is gathering attention with its loud intention to entertain and appeal to the young belt audience. Sajan Sooreya is playing the lead character Arakkal Govind Madhav abbreviated as AGM by his fanbase, a role that is curating a palette of shades for the actor to thaw into. While appreciation is roaring from one end, there have been murmurs of disapproval of the actor’s choice and that’s where the legend’s vision and daringness come to notice.

Opinions are floating around on why an actor of this legacy chose to do a show or role that probably won’t attune to the image he has engineered over the years and appeal to the admirers of his past. But when you look closer at the character of AGM one can perceive that the role is providing the actor with moments to communicate his range with a mainstream flavour to it. There are beats to his performance where myriad tonalities of rage and angst, comic relief and passion, heroism and despair are stitched together showcasing the actor’s ambit.

Also, the seasoned artist must have sensed the change of tone that was coming with this new show. Malayalam serial landscape is new to the format this show is following which is standing closer to that of Hindi serial dialect. Asianet has of course done remakes of Hindi shows before, converting the plot into the cultural settings of Kerala. But probably with the reception, some popular dubbed Hindi shows garnered on their sister channels, Asianet must have sensed the scope for a tone shift. Perhaps it didn’t miss the eye of the experienced actor too. It was probably this new shift of tone that excited the actor and he saw the potential and the axis tilt that this show could provide for his career as well as the Malayalam serial plateau.

Maybe it would have been easier for him to choose a project that offered a safe role and maybe that would have been easier to land considering his brand. That’s where the artist’s thirst to break free of the trappings and challenge himself resonates louder. It shouldn’t come as a shock though for he had declared he was immune to bounds with his daring act of towel dance, which he had performed for a stage show. An actor redefining himself when he could easily lay back on the foundation, he has already set is an artist who essentially has no full stop. Sajan Sooreya is a solid promise to the audience who enjoy his work.