Darshana Rajendran is among those rare actors in Malayalam cinema who can evoke the simplicity and authenticity embodied by heroines of the ‘80s, writes Neelima Menon |
IN Sinhalese director Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise, which has a young Malayali couple vacationing in Sri Lanka, marital strife simmers against the backdrop of political unrest in the country. For the young woman, it takes a robbery at their resort to see through to her partner’s real self, and discover holes in their five-year relationship. Very early in the film, we see the seemingly happy couple — Keshav (Roshan Mathew) and Ammu (Darshana Rajendran). A streaming giant has approved Keshav’s new project and he is ecstatic. He also talks to Ammu about starting a family soon. Among the two, Ammu is more drawn towards the splendours of the Sri Lankan landscape and amused by the manifold versions of the Ramayana narrated by the travel guide. There is a stillness to Ammu that’s calming to watch, as she absorbs and delights in the simple pleasures of life. Darshana with her long wavy curls, and a smile that always reaches her eyes, effortlessly absorbs Ammu. It’s a face that radiates honesty and empathy — an actor who could easily dissolve into any setting. “It’s a nice feeling to work without boundaries. (With Paradise) it was more like, ‘Let’s all meet together and make something that we like.’ It was one of our dreams. It was a meaningful process for me,” the actor said in a recent interview. Stream the latest movies and shows with OTTplay Premium's Jhakaas monthly pack, for only Rs 249. Darshana — along with Nimisha Sajayan — is among those rare actors in Malayalam cinema who can evoke the simplicity and authenticity embodied by heroines of the ‘80s. The actress’ first significant onscreen appearance was as a singer briefly seen in Aashiq Abu’s tragic romance, Mayanadhi. Not only did she revive Swanand Kirkire’s spiritually rich ‘Bhawra Man’ (Hazaaron Kwahishen Aisi), but also turned it into a sublime anthem of female companionship. |
Though she did make an appearance in Koode and Virus, it was Mahesh Narayanan’s C U Soon (2020) that announced her arrival as an actor on celluloid. Initially, we have no inkling of the storm brewing inside Anu Sebastian who has befriended a young man over Tinder. But once the truth tumbles out, she is revealed to be a survivor of a devastating human trafficking scheme. Darshana grasps the emotional wreckage of the character with such rawness that it's difficult to remain unmoved. Look out for Anu’s desperate call from Dubai to her mother back home, when she has a nervous breakdown — Darshana is heartbreakingly good. Her filmography since then doesn’t boast of quantity; however, in a way, it endorses what the actor has said about “being part of projects that make (her) happy”. Rani in Aashiq Abu’s Rani, in the segment Aanum Pennum (2021; watch on iStream), is an ordinary college student, who has been emotionally coerced by her boyfriend to participate in one of his sexual kinks. The whole segment is filmed unobtrusively, and everything looks realistic — be it the main leads who behave as if they have been filmed by a hidden camera or the reactions or conversations that look very gradual. If Roshan is this eager, forceful boyfriend who uses manipulation to make her fall in line with his plans, Darshana’s Rani is the more mature of the two, playful and madly in love, but in two minds about his wild plan. |
During a conversation with Vineeth Sreenivasan before the release of Hridayam (2022), when this writer said Darshana was reminiscent of a cheerful Jalaja, Vineeth seemed amused at the observation and countered: “I thought she was a lot like Karthika. There is an old-world charm about her. And her theatre experience is of great help. She can emote easily.” Hridayam was perhaps Darshana’s first stab at the feel-good genre. It’s also not a galaxy one would imagine Darshana in, a sentiment echoed by the actor herself. “Hridayam is a space I thought I would not fit into. I meant the perception of me as a female lead, doing song and dance... these things are far off in my head. I know that I comfortably did it and that was the director’s doing. I want to try completely different things that I did not see myself doing,” she told this writer in an earlier interview. But she easily nailed the college student who falls in love with her peer, only to break up soon after, over a trivial ego issue. In this middling narrative that viewed love and its paraphernalia through a superficial lens, Darshana’s character was the only one that held some scrap of density. She gets an arc, where she evolves from a student to an independent travel vlogger who suddenly realises, on her ex-boyfriend’s wedding day, that she isn’t over him yet. It is to Darshana’s credit that she creates some empathy for a character that can easily fall into the orbit of a banal jealous ex-lover on celluloid. Take those mildly possessive glances she shoots at Arun (Pranav Mohanlal), or in casually mentioning his favourite things that don’t go down well with his fiancée (Kalyani Priyadarshan), or when she confesses her love to him, Darshana leaves her mark. |
It’s not as if she hasn’t faced brickbats, but those haven’t had anything to do with her performances. In a recent interview, Darshana spoke jokingly about the flak she faced for Hridayam, as many felt she “wasn’t glamorous enough to be paired opposite Pranav Mohanlal”. Not surprisingly, such comments align with popular stereotypical perceptions of how a heroine should look on screen. But then all it took was far-sighted choices and a few good films to bring back those detractors to the theatres to watch her. In retrospect, Vipin Das’ Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey’s Jaya was custom-made for the actor. It’s a character that routs us with her vulnerability and cheers us with her strength. When Jaya — after carefully counting the slaps inflicted by her husband — eventually musters up the courage to kick the daylights out of him, the authenticity derives from the actor’s remarkable transition which is more internal than external. We know those karate chops are fueled by the humiliation she has been subjected to, rather than by physical strength. “For a long time, I lamented the fact that I had to cry a lot on screen. Then Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey happened, and I liked the fact that though I cried, I could also retaliate,” said the actor in an interview. |
Sure, there have been missteps as well. In Krishand’s Purusha Pretham, her Susanna is a chastened femme fatale, but Darshana’s miscasting dilutes the impact. At no point does her character pique interest or empathy. The writing also doesn’t substantiate the character beyond the peripheries. Meanwhile, Dear Friend’s Jannat is a therapist, whose father is still miffed with her choice of partner. In a film that revolves around six friends, Jannat is the most sorted one and the actor fits in sans fuss. Darshana Rajendran arrived in Malayalam cinema at a time when it was open to experimental narratives and characters. The average age of technicians was in the 20s, and they were determined to break stereotypes and push the envelope, willing to learn and unlearn. More importantly, the increasing number of OTT platforms offered greater opportunities for artists who were being sidelined on the big screen. Of course, we are also slowly but steadily blurring the language barriers of cinema. No better time to be in cinema for sure. Darshana would agree. |
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