Bring Mishal Back or End the Show !!!

An actor, a television-soap actor in particular stays with his/her audience longer than a movie actor. The reason of course is because his/her audience see them everyday - discuss, cry, laugh and enjoy the journey of the characters along with the actors that portray them.

The character "Dutta ShreeRam Patil/ Dutta Bhao" is a very rare thing to have happened to the television industry. And it has been said time and again by many other celebrities that they would have loved to get a chance to portray the said character. Many envied Mishal Raheja for grabbing that role, we suppose. The character was introduced in Laagi Tujhse Lagan towards the end of January 2010 - around the 27th-28th of January to be precise - and is still going strong till date.

The show has since garnered many viewers due to it's unique concept, impeccable story telling and brilliant cast. However, it should not be forgotten that many of the fans were introduced to Laagi Tujhse Lagan because of the awe-inspiring portrayal of Dutta's character by Mishal Raheja. It demands to be said that many of the fans and viewers of Laagi Tujhse Lagan watch the show because of Dutta's well-written character and Mishal unique execution of the said character. And though we understand that the show started off as a maid's (Nakusha's) story, for us it was also a story Dutta's growth and his personal development - and it shall continue to be so.

Now with the surfacing of this latest news about Mishal contemplating on leaving the show, viewers and fans have lost their sleep. It sure is cause for great concern and is sending jitters down the spine for many of us to imagine the show without Dutta's character or Mishal's portrayal of him. And no, that's not an exaggeration. The following poll and threads should, if considered, indicate how badly people adore the character that Mishal plays and how disturbed they are by his possible exit from the show.

http://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1582102

http://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1582438

http://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1580756

http://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1583495

Mishal Raheja's portrayal of "Dutta ShreeRam Patil/Dutta Bhao" brings a unique dimension to the character. And even though it might seem irrelevant, in our opinion no other current actor from the television industry can or will be able to breathe life into Dutta's character the way Mishal has. And while he might seem replaceable, it should be understood that to Dutta's fans and to the viewers of the show, Mishal Raheja is and shall always remain the Dutta ShreeRam Patil.

With that said, it should be an actor's perogative to pay heed to his fans'/audiences' requests while making any important decisions with respect to their current shows/performances. This decision of Mishal's to leave the show has upset one and all. It indeed is portraying him in bad light - some feel he doesn't care for his fans anymore while some believe he has a genuine reason to walk out. Still others feel that he has better projects and some feel he is just fed up of playing the same role for over an year. All in all Mishal's decision to step down from portraying Dutta has caused great distress to many of his fans and has left an over all "bad taste" in their mouth with respect to the show and maybe even the actor.

And if we may so humbly suggest, we feel it's imperative that Mishal rethink his decision. If he seriously has other (hopefully better) plans, then the show should be given a logical closure because none would be able to watch this show without him playing Dutta in it. Getting a replacement for Dutta or introducing a new character for Nakku are both ideas that have been vehemently objected to by the viewers. Having fallen in love with one character - the way it has been portrayed by ONE actor - it will be excrutiatingly hard, if not impossible, to then even begin to imagine someone else playing the character OR having another character brought in to replace the original. Such developments wouldn't be accepted by many viewers and will in fact go a long way to alienate them from the show and its remaining characters.

And if we were to comment on Mishal Raheja's opinion about "Dutta's" character getting stagnated, then we'd have to say that it's sad but true indeed - at least as far as the past couple of weeks of the show are concerned. The show is revolving around the clash betwen Kalavati and Nakusha these days. LTL is being turned into a typical saas-bahu saga with women folk taking over the proceedings, leaving the male lead take a back seat and look umimportant for the most part. Can we blame Mishal if he thinks his character lost its charm, especially when Dutta's stuck in the same psychological rut for the past couple of weeks? If Mishal wants the character to grow and show further psychological development, then please revamp the story. If that's the issue that's bothering Mishal then we feel that his opinions should be considered, allowing for the character and the story line to be developed accordingly. He is one of the most important characters in the story - this isn't just simple a story about Nakusha and her life anymore.

Please move on from Kala and Nakku's so called "challenge" fiasco and concentrate on Dutta - his career and its implications, his personal life and his growth. Please bring in Morey or Anna's family or some other gangster to challenge Dutta - get Dutta to jail or show him tackling some work-related issues. Do something interesting with his character. After all he is a dreaded gangster and such people's lives hardly revolve solely between women of the house, isn't it?. Please make his character smarter and make him more perceptive of the issues on both his personal and professional front. Sideline the kitchen politics of the women of the house; we have enough daily shows dealing with women and their traumas - LTL can be spared from such mundane storylines. Why waste time on Kala and her flop plans when they don't do anything to help the story progress? All Kala does is make plans and all Nakku does is leave it on Bappa. Now what's left for Dutta to do? And even more so, where does it leave the story and its progress? While earlier Kala's plans were used to further the story, recently they have been used as an excuse the hold the story down and subsequently hindering character development. Dutta has been portrayed as a top-tier gangster of his town - he should be put to better use. Please bring more action into the show for Dutta's benefit. Mishal Raheja acts tremendously well, fights like a hero and acts like a true gangster. We feel that Mishal's talent should be appropriately explored and Dutta's character should be further developed on its professional front.

In our opinion, the matter of Mishal's exit and Dutta's-character-stagnation can be resolved by simply revamping the story. But if this cannot be done for whatever reason - if all talks fails or if Mishal has indeed decided to walk out of the show - then please end the show in an simple manner by giving Dutta and Nakku a well-deserved closure and tying up any unexplored loose ends in the story. Laagi Tujhse Lagan will loose its charm with Mishal's exit. And any attempts to force replacements/alternate characters down the viewers throats will only leave us aggravated and alienated.

Regards,
Laagi Tujhse Lagan Viewers and Fans.

India-Forums