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Men Of Ray – Netflix

Men Of Ray – Netflix, Manoj Bajpayee, Kay Kay Menon

This article written by Srilekha Mitra ( instagram: @mitra__srilekha_

Men depicted in Ray are flawed in their own way. Although they don’t possess any attributes of a tragic hero, it’s their hamartia and hubris which leads to their suffering. They are not victims of any circumstantial adversities but of their deeds which makes them both the protagonist and antagonist of their own stories. The ambiguity engulfing them is a symbolic presentation of the wilderness these men face when they are subjected to the consequences of their actions.

source: www.instagram.com/alifazal9

Also read: Best Dialogues Of Ray – Netflix

1. Ipsit from Forget Me Not

Men Of Ray - Netflix

Ipsit is a typical representation of those corporate megalomaniac men who are driven by their self-absorption can go out of their way to satiate their quest of reaching the pinnacle of success. Ipsit termed as a human-computer by his fellow colleagues took pride in his memory which was the base of the empire he built.

Though he was depicted as a caring father and a loving husband other than the entrepreneur of the year, his journey of success has devastated the lives of the people whom he relied on as friends but who after the emotional turmoil they had undergone because of him always wanted to avenge upon him.

At times we sympathized with Ipsit’s delusional phase of accepting himself to be a patient of dementia until the twist in the end when one of the victims of his inhumanity, his secretary, Maggie unmasked the selfishness behind his acts of philanthropy and amiability that practically ruined and belittled the existence of the people without whom he would have never climbed the ladder of success. Ipsit who was known by the phrase, “Ipsit doesn’t forget anything” to losing his “sanity and memory” thus paid the price of his misdeeds.

2. Indrashish from Bahrupiya

Men Of Ray - Netflix
Men Of Ray – Netflix

Indrashish belonged to those categories of men who are ostracized by society because of their dwindled self-efficacy.
Indrashish’s skills as a makeup artist weren’t valued in a materialistic society that judged the worth of people by their wealth.

Enduring prolonged scorns of the people, he went through an existential crisis which gradually gave rise to his hysteria of exhibiting his talent through impersonation. Backed up the fortunes that his late grandmother left for him and from whom he imbibed the finesse in the art of prosthetic making, Indrashish was blinded by this fantasy of befooling everyone through the grotesque depiction of his skills.

Juggling between disparate identities, Indrashish lost his own identity in the end, succumbing to the vicious cycle of his unwavering quest to seek revenge upon those who wronged him.

3. Musafir Ali from Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa

Men Of Ray – Netflix

Human beings always carry the baggage of self-guilt within them, it might be subdued with the due course of time but once it’s rekindled then a person has to cross the ocean of self-doubt to prove his innocence to himself. Musafir Ali, a renowned Ghazal singer and an expert in Urdu literature evident through his eloquent speeches of Urdu was a victim of the same.

For Musafir train became the means of rejuvenating his memories. His acquaintance with Aslam Baig on the train journey to Delhi, unlocked the chest of his memories steeped in his dark past revolving around his disease of kleptomania.  Unlike the others mentioned above, Musafir redeemed himself through his repentance by returning the khushbakht (golden watch of good luck) to its owner Aslam from whom he stole it (previously when they met on a train journey) and who ironically stole it from someplace as he also suffered from Musafir’s disease.

The flaws of both these men weren’t detrimental for both of them as they both parted from it with time. Musafir Ali is the only person whom we can look up to because through him we learn that the only way to shrug the burden of our self-guilt is to take responsibility for our actions and acknowledge our mistakes.

4. Vikram from Spotlight

Men Of Ray – Netflix

Vikram exudes narcissistic hues through the self-obsession he possessed for his look. Being an actor grappling with challenges he faced in his profession his look was his only precious possession, Vikram undergoes a kafkaesque when he was criticized for having only look and having no versatility.

Witnessing a God woman(Didi’s) growing popularity which was fading his existence, his desire to achieve the fame equal to Didi lead to his insanity and we could see him intoxicating himself with drugs exhibiting sheer madness when he was on the verge of losing himself through his defeat in the self-waged war against Didi.

Trapped in a hotel, Vikram and his endeavour to be in the spotlight revolves around absurdity captured in many scenes. Although Vikram cursed everyone including his girlfriend who was inspired by the aura of Didi and her cult, ironically he in the end acts as her puppet.
Therefore, Vikram, rediscovers himself by losing this war between religion and cinema because sometimes in order to have a reality check we have to accept the blatant truth that people can be superior to us and at times no matter how much hard we try, we can’t overpower them.

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