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The Game Changer Kunal Karan Kapoor
a beautiful writeup by Chandra di 😊
Ever since private channels resorted to saas-bahu saga, gradually came a dearth of heroes on Hindi TV. Sure, there were very good actors before, no doubt, but they lost the importance in story narration as leading man. All shows were women centric and male leads were used mostly as fillers. For male lead actors the situation became dismal.
What our heroes mostly were supposed to do is - First, sit/stand within camera frame at times and nod at every decision ladies of the house took. Secondly, most of their dialogues meant - "yes mom!" ... "mumma is always right!" ... and "okay darling!" uh! Sorry! Some more. Whenever our 6 meter saari clad, pinned meticulously around her, jewelry adorned lady accomplished a heroic mission, they had to dutifully ask, "tumne pahle kyon nahi bataya? Kyon akeli risk liya?... Blah, blah, blah!". At this she would reply coyly, "main aapko pareshan nahi karna chaahti thi. Aap kitne busy rahte hain!??"
LOL! Kahe mein busy rahte hain? Khade rahne mein ya baithe rahne mein? Oh, haan! they have to nod too!...
Fact was, hero of TV, was supposed to turn blind eyes towards surroundings, especially towards the ladies of family, he was to obey blindly, not use his own brains/mind. Instead, the heroine played smarty, i.e. herogiri bestowed to her - The Decision maker! No less than a super woman! Or some older lady who lived with the assumption that she runs the show of family.
Uh! One more thing - the audience were supposed to take it for granted that this family owned, no less than a mint, that churned by Torntv V9.0" style="color: rgb(238, 171, 205); border: none !important; display: inline-block !important; float: none !important; font-weight: bold !important; height: auto !important; margin: 0px !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-transform: uppercase !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: auto !important; background: transparent !important;">MONEY
for these ladies to spend freely. Who ran it? (Please don't ask. It's a treasured secret, not made known to viewers!) Many viewers left Idiot-box or went to English serials.
for these ladies to spend freely. Who ran it? (Please don't ask. It's a treasured secret, not made known to viewers!) Many viewers left Idiot-box or went to English serials. In the last months of 2011, the promos of a new TV serial aired - Na Bole Tum, Na Maine Kuchh Kaha! Really cute promos, they were. A harassed young widow, 2 adorable kids AND a clumsy young man! He himself looked quite messed up and was messing things around! Promos attracted, promising a different show. Of course, as usual the story seemed that of the widow, her life, her people, her kids, her problems, her actions/reactions/mentality! This clumsy boy, still managed to get attention.
I remember, wondering, isn't he the same innocent, bullied, ready to please others, youngest-looking cadet of LRL? This time too, he looked quite vulnerable, but something seemed different. On 9th January 2012 the show premiered. Frankly, I forgot about it, for about 15 minutes or so, habitually turning to the serial, I was watching till then. Then I remembered & switched to Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuchh Kaha (NBTNMKK or just NBT). At first it looked like same saas-bahu-jethani thing, but as serial proceeded, there came that cute kid Nanhi's prayer for her mother's happiness - "Bhagwanji! Aap kisi ko bhej sakte hain, jo phir se meri mummy ko pahle jaisi mummy banaa de!" ... And...
BAAANG!
A foot banged in muddy water! Untied shoe-laces flying!... followed by the man himself almost flying after... Uh!... oops! A young woman, shouting Help! Help!' ...??
Entry of Mohan Bhatnagar was definitely eye-catching! (thank you PH!)
Best and strangest thing was, he did not look like a gunda! Instead an enigma! Him coming face to face with heroine, nok-jhonk with the her, fooling her, subsequently the disappointment at not finding the woman he was chasing, and perfect enactment of all these scenes, made it clear that he was chasing that young-woman for some special purpose, other than gundagardi!
As the serial progressed, and Mohan Bhatnagar/Prasadh the enigma unfolded, it became clear that this hero is Actually Hero! He was clumsy in his personal life, but did his job painstakingly. He looked unscrupulous, but had better moral values than many "yes mom!" guys of TV. Absolutely no scruples - bah! The sophistication! You wanna be goody-goody? So be Mr. sanitizer-incarnated! Mohan did not care.
He could put a paratha in his mouth and drive on his bike on an open road without any qualms! If people around him thought him weird, if they were not impressed by his life-style, that was their problem! He lived the life on his own terms. For audience, whenever he appeared on screen, he brought an affectionate smile on viewers' faces.
To describe him, a word was used in the serial - "perfectly imperfect!" Actor Kunal Karan Kapoor played this perfectly imperfect character perfectly. He made Mohan Bhatnagar alive with his brilliant performance. The image he etched in fans' mind has not blurred till date. Character itself was well-defined, story-narration, picturization all were simple, yet beautiful, creating a world that we do find around us - Real world. No window shopping for designer saaris & jewelry, no heavy make-up, nothing! It looked as if a real world, you can identify with, materialized.
Serial was different, alright. Definitely watchable.
Though NBTNMKK is said to be a love story of Mohan & Megha, Sorry to disappoint MM-love-story-lovers, love stories are nothing new. What was special in NBT was the unusual friendship between an 8 year old bereaved girl-child Nanhi and a carefree, gauche adult Mohan - Spiderman and Chavanni! Another highlight was the companionship-cum-friendship between Mohan and his less-servant-more-a-confidant-friend Guru! Really unique and never seen before.
Mohan was not the subdued, blindly obeying sort of guy. He used his brain, he has his choices and he was firm about his decisions. Also, Mohan worked. Literary! He did earn. A rare thing. May be he lived on a credit card & at times might have to borrow by Torntv V9.0" style="color: rgb(238, 171, 205); border: none !important; display: inline-block !important; float: none !important; font-weight: bold !important; height: auto !important; margin: 0px !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-transform: uppercase !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; width: auto !important; background: transparent !important;">MONEY from his so called servant Guru, he did work to earn. Hmmm! He was real.
from his so called servant Guru, he did work to earn. Hmmm! He was real. Serial had a grip with its realistic touch! Still the hero was a hero! Nothing conventional about him, nevertheless a hero! He was not there as a filler, so that he can provide a bahu in the serial to start with saas-bahu kitchen politics.
Then came NBTNMKK season 2, on real audience' real demand. Audience were eagerly waiting to meet their own, well-known Mohan Bhatnagar! And other characters! But...!?
Zor ke jhatke, Zor-zor se lage! Pahla jhatka! There was a 12 years leap! For no convincing reason. Doosara jhatka, Nanhi, who knew & trusted Mohan better than her mother, hated her Spiderman!...??? and other jhatkas followed.
Serial premiered. First episode was confusing but looked fine. Then to fans' utter dismay, within a week, it was clear, the makers have discarded all that was so lovable & positive. Mohan was not Mohan as audience knew him, nor were Megha, Nanhi & Guru!
The subject of this write up is hero, so Mohan! The same Mohan who has become a ray of hope & courage for so many fans, a refreshing change was all gone! That carefree, confident boy-next-door was nowhere to be seen. This Mohan was so submissive, lacked self-confidence so much that he actually suffered Guilt (!..??), for the injustice done tohim by his wife, step-daughter & step-son?? This Mohan was a broken man.
Still fans of NBT glued to TV screen to watch NBT2.
Story not matching with previous one; an unnecessary leap inserted; Script was haywire in the beginning; characters reversed for worse; the sensibility and uniqueness of characterization all gone; And to rub the salt in wound, Mohan was gradually being sidelined, to make way for a 10th fail dumb (Beera), so that Beera can be crowned as hero!
Still, amidst all theses odd, unfavorable conditions Kunal Karan Kapoor came out as the winner, solely depending on his own acting prowess! New fans joined who admired good acting & his acting talent.
Then the realization dawned. The love and liking, people felt, were not just for the character Mohan, it was for The Actor Kunal Karan Kapoor. Such an intense, heart-wrenching, powerful performance he gave that he alone could hold audience' interest in NBT2 most of the time WITH NO SILVER-LINING LIKE THE SUPPORT OF A POWERFUL WELL-DEFINED, LOVABLE HEROIC CHARACTER TO HELP! Kunal was on his own then.
Never in my wildest dream, had I imagined, this hero is going to change' the whole scenario of TV world, particularly for male stars! But the change was becoming visible day by day. Till then scenario was of men, who were supposed to be subordinates in the name of obedience. May be this gave ego-satisfaction to some women audience in a pervert way, but it had degraded male lead characters beyond recognition. No balance at all. Male actors who came in that era, too became careless, thus did not care about acting' as well. Height, body meant all, acting not necessary. Except veterans, many new comers did not care. They came just with that - a gym'ed body.
But Kunal Karan Kapoor did act. He did care to use his acting abilities excellently and easily blended with Mohan, became one with him so completely that till date it's impossible to imagine any other actor in his place. Not a centimeter less, not a centimeter more! Expressions of eyes, face, body language - Ditto Mohan Bhatanagar! Exuding vigor, energy, hope & courage in the hearts of audience! Still a Ghar ka bachcha! A family member! Boy-next-door!
Audience praised him, fans adore him, loved the presence of a real person Mohan in a serial, who actually was hero! That too in a woman-oriented serial. Many sensible audience who had almost bid adieu to Hindi TV, returned to Idiot-box, who was finally presenting something which was not idiotic at all. Among these mostly were youngsters, but NBT lured even those whom age claimed, but they liked only sensible stuff on TV.
A change was coming.
New serials that were launched, or new male entries in running shows, remarkably made it clear that Mohan's arrival on TV, its impact on audience' mind had not gone un-noticed by makers and channels. They came to know that male leads need not be kept wrapped up. Audience can accept them. But Alas! These new male entries on Hindi TV scenario were not heroes, you can identify with, they are almost a super-hero!
Mohan, alias Kunal till date remains UNIQUE! The Game Changer!
Now though Hindi TV has some male lead actors, who are playing an important part of the story, but ... out of proportion! Mostly are absolute brutes! Though heroine is still playing the real hero, male actors yet not allowed to be decision makers or story pullers, but at least they have something to do in the story. They are not there, just to be there.
Change is visible, so much that even Film actors are attracted towards small screen to play male leads, also as producers to present different stuff. If they failed it's because they forgot the fine line between TV serial and film-making. I hope their failure does not put male lead actors again in dark.
Another change that seemed to be coming, was - not only male lead actors, but makers and channels too realized the importance of Acting. If an actor, who till then was termed as side character, can become darling of so many audience, due to his acting talent, why not acting get preference? To be truthful, though I myself don't feel any connection with any other actor, many new comers try to act as per their respective role. A nice way to films.
Its heartwarming that a single well-defined character, combined with acting talent of a neglected actor can bring so much change on TV. It's a nice feeling that power of good acting is being appreciated & established among audience. But Alas! Kunal Karan Kapoor is still awaited on silver screen! Strange! Unknowingly they gave him a fabulous chance, I wonder at this injustice, Why knowingly they can't?
He has ability to make any given character alive' for sure! Not only The three different characters he played in NBT 1 & 2 - (carefree, confident Mohan of NBT1, submissive, broken Mohan of NBT2 and Vaasu, who ruled!) but before NBT, the roles he played in other serials, are proof enough. The topic of this write up is change in game on TV, otherwise Kunal made real people's life change. In fact brought them back to life in some cases, then why his fans have to wait for their inspiration & hope for such a long time? A mystery I'd like to know about.
Chandra.
Credit-Chandra di
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
Cricket
