Best Supporting Actor [Female] in A Regional Film
So the Oscars are
over and with that the Awards season effectively ends, right?...Wrong!!!
So what, the HIndie
Awards season continues…
For the below
nominees I would like to first mention, they are a bunch of strong performances
by talented actors reflecting a slow but hopefully strong change for female
actors to get greater roles in the coming times.
So let's get on with
it, and the nominees for Best Supporting Actor [Female] in A Regional Film are…
Tisca Chopra as
Meher Singh for Qissa: The Tale of A Lonely Ghost
Within just a few
select moments in a film brimming with great tragedy and profound themes that
overwhelm you, Tisca Chopra is able to leave a mark and make you feel the
painful, tragic, pathos of a mother forced to abide by what is wrong simply on
the basis of the patriarchal dominance within her household.
Just like the
mother, Chopra is always lurking in the backdrop; never party to the decision,
but always to the crime. The crimes she commits on her so called
"Son", the crimes she commits on her discarded daughter, the crimes
she commits on Neeli and above all the crime she commits on herself by
remaining forever silence.
Silences that become
a power in her performance as all she can do is weep and gasp for forgiveness
when Kanwar confronts her with the heartbreaking truth; that she is like her
husband, a monster.
Anushka Shetty as
Maharani Devasena for Baahubali: The Beginning
With Baahubali,
Shetty continues on the road to her evolution as an eye candy star to an actor
truly hungry for more, in an industry that rarely plays fair if ever.
It's not easy for a
female actor to leave an impact in Telegu cinema and Baahubali is also an
example of the macho image perpertrated by this regional industry; yet Shetty
rises above it with a stirring turn as the imprisoned Devasena.
One believes in her
strength and faith in her son, but more importantly her resolve to survive. She
projects and aura that wouldn't make the audience blink if she were to be
released and promptly kicks Bhallala Deva's ass.
It's not richly
layered in writing, but Anushka Shetty makes it so; capping of a year that
shows despite the limitations, the chains she is in, in Telegu cinema; she, has
finally arrived!
Rasika Dugal as
Neeli for Qissa: The Tale of A Lonely Ghost
Amidst towering
performances, Rasika Dugal as the gypsy girl thrown into a harrowingly complex
marriage is a force to reckon with and how.
She stands toe to
toe with Irrfan Khan, she adds a tenderness to the dynamic between her and
Kanwar and she elevates those silences with Tisca Chopra. It's a small,
shadowed but impactful role that sees Dugal become a breakout star.
She's been making
waves on the independent scene and its high time Dugal got a big welcome for
this fascinatingly feisty turn that sees her in nuanced moments trump the
A-Listers.
Leela Samson as
Bhavani for O Kadhal Kanmani
In OK Kanmani,
Samson brings her charm to the fore with a dose of heartfelt brevity hiding a
tragic shattered soul. She is in essence the drama of the film, thanks because
her role really etches a place in your mind by her simple gestures, delivery
and presence.
Surprising, that
this is her acting debut yet she enriches her performance with a certain
nuance. The little aside comments may make you laugh, but the heart wonders for
her at time even more so than the simple cut and dry love story at the center.
It allows her to be
the perennial supporting character by lifting the tension of the climax into
provoking an emotional resonance of performances from the two leads as well as
and especially giving the underrated Prakash Raj a lot to play with.
It is a supporting
showing through and through, just the way it need be.
Ramya Krishnan as
Sivagami for Baahubali: The Beginning
It comes as no
surprise when watching Baahubali as to why Rajamouli decides to start the film
with Sivagami, apart from plot convenience that is.
Despite how ill
treated the women of the film, specifically warrior Avanthika [Tamanah] is by
the end of the film; the initial foray suggests a strong presence of female
characters.
Thanks to the
writing behind her but also her own magnetic persona, Ramya Krishnan is able to
jump that loop into crafting Sivagami as a formidable force of nature in
control of the large flashback sequence with her stirring turn. She breathes
fire, lording over the film with an apt scenery chewing turn that offsets the
bland and the bad ahead of her in the form of her co-stars.
Krishnan essentially
tethers you to the narrative and the essence of the politics of the world of
the film with crisp delivery and fluid action. Maybe not by name, but by spirit
she is the true Baahubali.
And the Winner is…
Leela Samson as Bhavani for O Kadhal Kanmani!
So there she is,
your winner. Another award in the bag and so it's time to move onto…
Up Next: a doting
grandfather forced to make a damning choice, a dry mouthed but unbiased judge
in a farce of a case, a cantankerous old man hurting for love, a young
firebrand that makes you laugh and a loyal warrior that has become a pop
culture legend, causing the audience to ask…
Why did Kattapa kill
Baahubali?...
The HIndie Award for
Best Supporting Actor [Male] in A Regional Film
'Nuff Said
Aneesh Raikundalia
No comments:
Post a Comment