Characters that owned 2016

I belong to that film club, in which craft scores over story and characters make inroads in the mind for a long stay. I watched very limited Hindi films this year. Here, I look back and list characters (in no particular order) that resonated, left an indelible mark and made for rumination.

 

Kapoor and Sons – Rahul Kapoor – Fawad Khan

The inner turmoil of having to hide away an important part of his life from his family, shouldering the cumbersome mantle of a ‘perfect baccha’ and living with guilt for an act in the past was brilliantly portrayed by Fawad. Is it devious if someone wants to be selfish and carve his life away from the dysfunctions of his family? Rahul’s character left me pondering.

Phobia – Mehak –  Radhika Apte 

Phobia wouldn’t have worked if Radhika Apte would not have nailed the character of Mehak, suffering with agoraphobia. In the guise of a thriller, the film is a depiction of Mehak’s fight to get over a traumatic incident and find catharsis in the process of working through her fear.

Raman Raghav 2.0 – Ramanna – Nawazuddin Siddiqui 

Ramanna makes your flesh crawl and unnerves you with his words and actions. The triumph lies in the way a character very easy to despise is also rendered as one to be empathised with.

Aligarh –  Professor Siras – Manoj Bajpayee 

Professor Siras still haunts me almost a year after watching Manoj Bajpayee breathe life into him. Images of him drinking alone and listening to Lata Mangeshkar songs still keep coming back to me. Loneliness thy name is Siras.

Fan – Gaurav – Shahrukh Khan

A simple wish of meeting his idol changes the course of Gaurav’s life. This is heartbreak of a different kind. The disappointment on Gaurav’s face when Aryan Khanna rebukes him makes for an unforgettable cinematic moment of 2016 and sadly, an overlooked performance.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil –  Ayan/Alizeh – Ranbir Kapoor/Anushka Sharma 

Is the love that comes to you in an unconventional form still love? Ayan grapples with this mirage in the film. “It’s complicated” got torchbearers in these two characters. Alizeh ‘friends’ Ayan while  Ayan ‘loves’ her. The beauty of the film is in the reconciling of these opposite states and conflicting characters.

Udta Punjab – Mary Jane – Alia Bhatt

 

Mary Jane represents those who go through life’s traumas by committing themselves to an elusive hope of ‘good times’. Her boldness comes from her vulnerability.

Dear Zindagi – Kaira – Alia  Bhatt

One need not wait for a life altering event to seek therapy. Even the most mundane events can trap you and prevent your emotional growth. Parental neglect that shapes the adulthood of Kaira cut close to the bone. Not fair to squarely blame her parents for their tough choices but the collateral damage was done. Undoing the past one scar at a time is what Kaira stood for.

Dangal – Geeta- Fatima Sana Shaikh

Forced into fulfilling her father’s ambition Geeta’s journey made me wonder about the possibility of her following her own passion instead. Is she happy for herself? Where does she go from here? Would she be an achiever without her father/coach’s tough love?

Dangal – Babita – Sanya Malhotra 

Shadowing her elder sister, almost sandwiched between her father and sister, Babita was the understated character that appeared like the perceptive observer. The pressure she must have lived through while watching her elder sister take those giant strides must have been daunting.