For our regular readers, it is no more a secret that we are mesmerized by the actor who plays Shiva in Life Ok's Devon ke Dev Mahadev. They must be well aware of the fact that along with Sati, who fell in love with this tall dark stranger in January when he appeared in the midst of a wild storm propagated by Vritrasur to rescue the damsel in distress, we lost our hearts as well.
And when he stood there shielding a dream- weaving Sati from the wrath of the malicious demon, and did away with him with nothing more than one powerful thrust of his divine Trishul, we were left gaping with awe at the authenticity of the power, charisma and attraction that can only and only be attributed to or expected from the real sakshat Devon ke Dev. Yet, we reminded ourselves with breathless stupor, that it was only an actor playing Mahadev, and not Mahadev himself.
So what gives Mohit Raina such a captivating screen presence? What makes him so different that we, women who applauded themselves on being free from hero worshipping and who laughed on teenagers obsessing over actors, fell for his magic, hook, line and sinker? Why has TV suddenly turned so important in our worlds? Why has Mohit Raina made way into the hearts of young and old, men and women alike?
Could it be all about his recent role as the universally appealing mysterious God Shiva? Apparently, Mahadev's contribution cannot be denied in turning this man into an over -night heart throb. (And I don't simply mean the personal guidance that Shiva seems to be giving him in playing him to the nearest authenticity possible). It is an unequivocal fact that DKDM is an extremely lucky break for Mohit because it gives him a very huge audience bracket. (8 to 80 year olds)
But playing Mahadev exactly like Mahadev is where the actor's personal talent lies. Before DKDM,we had seen quite a few on screen Shivas and had long settled for mediocrity , convincing ourselves that it is unreasonable to expect a mere mortal to play God with a believable aura . But Devon ke Dev Mahadev's new avatar, in the form of Mohit Raina, forced us to revise our thinking process.
Why has he been able to play such a difficult role to such a staggering perfection?
The answer lies in his awesome mastery of expressions. Rarely comes an actor who can act with every muscle on his face. Rarely do we see an actor who speaks with his eyes and leaves nothing else to be said. Who better than Mohit Raina to play Mahadev? A God who is expression himself of almost everything conceivable. When Shiva is angry, his eyes turn into slits of volcanic fire and every muscle on his face twitches with wrath. When Shiva feels love, the same face turns tender and the same eyes turn into oceans of compassionate love. When dealing with devotion, his features acquire serenity devoid of ego and those eyes express nothing but unadulterated love. In the same way, an unaffected smile at Daksha's insolence is starkly different from the compassionate smile that a devotee is bestowed with.
The Jatta track in the series was an awesome opportunity of showcasing the talent, this master of facial expressions, seems to have been born with. The man switched between the two realm- transiting characters with effortless ease. While Jatta smiled insolently and teased Sati with rolling eyes filled with mischief, the anguish of Mahadev took no time in manifesting on the same playful face, the moment her back was turned to him.
So mesmerized some of us were by his stunning impact on screen that we went back and searched his previous acting profiles to find answers for our obsession with him. And that's how we stumbled upon a lesser known series called Ganga ki Dheej. The moment we met "Agantuk", we realized that it is not just Shiva who is has awed us to such an extent; it is actually the man who is playing Him. For the same mastery of expression leaves us as vulnerable to Agantuk as the God that he is currently essaying. Agantuk is both an antagonist as well as a protagonist in the GKD story and the actor does justice to this multi faced character with the same legendary ease that we are now ardent fans of. He is arrogant and spoilt enough to slap his way into a women only "mandir" to satisfy his curiosity regarding a village damsel, yet possesses a vulnerable heart that makes him watch her tenderly while she is sleeping in the wilderness, hours after he rescues her by marrying her to save her from a cruel fate. (For more info catch Ganga ki Dheej on youtube). Agantuk is as addictive as Mahadev and this clearly proves that Mohit Raina possesses a mettle many actors can only aspire for.
It is only a question of time when this extremely talented god looker (that's a deliberate spelling error: pun very much intended) will be discovered by many more and will find even greater lauds and recognition coming his way. He is poised to rule the entertainment industry very soon. In the meanwhile, I hope he is happy ruling our hearts.
Tulika Dubey.
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