While multi-starrers ensure box office success, solo or dual performances on big screen make for a surreal viewing experience

Mona

WHILE solo performances in the theatre world are sure challenging but as much a norm; larger in scale and scope, cinema too boasts of some gems that thrive on solo performances. In Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale (2022), Brendan Fraser pulled a superlative performances aided with limited support characters. Fraser won an Academy Award, Critics’ Choice Award and SAG Award for Best Actor for this psychological drama. Alex Lehmann’s black and white Blue Jay (2016) thrived on Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson’s emotionally charged performances to narrate a story of love and loss, of a happy future that could have been for the estranged lovers Jim and Amanda! Alex Lehmann’s romantic comedy Meet Cute too charts the similar territory with Kaley Cuoco and Pete Davidson.

Alienated father-daughter story at heart, in The Whale, Brendan Fraser gets into the shoes of morbidly obese English professor Charlie, who doesn’t have much time on him, but before it’s all over he wants to make sure to ‘have done one thing right with his life’.

Chawanparash Sahu of Khakee, Jatin Sarna, who was bowled over by Fraser’s performance, sees such a role as an incredible opportunity as an actor. “Fraser got an Oscar for it and rightly so for the film stands out as the testimony of his brilliant craft.” Jatin gave a remarkable performance in a two-hander play Khidki in which he lorded over the stage solo for the first about 40 minutes to be joined by Priyanka Sharma towards the end.

A fan of the one-character and two-hander cinema, Jatin list out his favourites Ryan Reynolds headed Buried (2010) and Tom hardy as Ivan Locke in psychological drama Locke (2013). “It sure isn’t easy to pull the narrative on one’s shoulder alone. But at the same time to have this freedom to perform sans any co-stars or many dialogues is amazing. It’s at such solo moments that one can show one’s range and ability to keep the viewer invested. The Whale has such moments when there is just Fraser and the camera. It’s very empowering for an actor.”

Actor Vansh Bhardwaj, who has been a part of films like Kesari and Heaven On Earth, has done two solo plays Black Box and Trunk Tales. He admits it’s a Herculean task. “Even in cinema to pull one or two character plot is rather tough, it’s tougher on stage. For both of my plays, it was just me on stage without any support, not even music. It’s a task how much can you do by yourself, one constantly struggles with the thought if the audience is invested while powering through the performance,” says Vansh whose performances in both got rave reviews.

Among the films, Vansh pegs 127 Hours as his favourite. Danny Boyles’ 2010 biographical survival drama had James Franco play mountaineer Aron Ralston, who survived a canyoneering accident by cutting off a part of his right arm. “Not just Franco’s superb acting; it is an inspiring story that touched my heart.”

Interestingly the music for 127 Hours was given by AR Rahman. Hollywood has given some amazing films – Willem Dafoe-headed psychological thriller Inside (2023); science fiction thriller Gravity (2013) with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney playing astronauts and Sam Bell-headed science fiction drama Moon (2009) where one or two characters carry the film on their shoulders. Blue Jay too has been noticed and garnered positive feedback for being a naturally performed two-hander with a heart-breaking love story.

Closer home, there have been some solo and two-handers over the decades winning the audience Vikramaditya Motwane’s survival drama Trapped (2016) with Rajkumar Rao and Gitanjali Thapa; 1964’ black and white gem Yaadein, directed and produced by Sunil Dutt, in which he is also the only actor; Ram Gopal Varma’s psychological suspense Kaun? (1999) starring Urmila Matondkar and Manoj Bajpayee; John Abraham and Tara Sharma- starrer a supernatural fantasy film Saaya 2003, directed by Anurag Basu. Well, the list goes on…

The Whale

Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale has Brendan Fraser in one of the most memorable roles that of a reclusive English instructor Charlie. Morbidly obese, Charlie doesn’t keep his camera on in his classes and is nursing an old grief that of losing the love of his life Alan that has led him to binge eating. Suffering from life- threatening condition, he wants to do one thing right before his time is up and reconnect with his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink).

Blue Jay

Alex Lehmann’s two-hander, Blue Jay is a black and white heart-breaking tale of Jim and Amanda (Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson, respectively). The estranged couple’s chance meeting in their Californian hometown takes them back to the memory lane, sharing coffee at their old favourite Blue Jay, getting beer from old Waynie, who remembers them as lovebirds, listening to old tapes and enacting how they imagined their future.