This post was selected among Blogadda’s Tangy Tuesday Picks

 

Have you had a lifetime crush – the one that began when you were a kid and stayed on till date. The one that keeps coming back every now and then and still gives you the blushes. The one that is never forgotten, deep buried in your sub-conscious – your first memory of feeling something special – the one that made you go weak in your knees the very first time.

And don’t call me crazy when I tell you that mine triggered when I first read Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’. For someone who never touched romantic novels – the one book romance I craved for in real life was that of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. I read the book over and over again – only the chapters which dealt with Mr.Darcy and Elizabeth’s alliance. There may be immense criticism of the character – he being too haughty, or insulting towards lesser people, condescending of the Bennets’ standing in society; yet he did not fall for the beauty or the wealth of a woman but was charmed by her independant thought, her strong-willed character, her intelligence, and the beauty within. His hidden generosity and love for his woman makes you forgive the rest of his flaws.

When I read the book I kept wondering if the book were to be ever adapted into a motion picture who would suit the role of Mr.Darcy. The image of the character was so deeply rooted in my system that I dreaded to see any adaptation of the book – seeing the image of Darcy distorted on screen would’ve driven me to hunt down the casting director and murder him.

Little did I know that director Simon Langton would hit a bulls-eye having cast ‘Colin Firth’ to play the role of Darcy. His portrayal of Darcy ensured I would never ever get over Mr.Darcy in this lifetime. His gaze, his proud demeanour, his arrogance, his restlessness, his affection, his courtesy, his guilt, his love – Colin Firth emoted exactly the way one would’ve imagined Darcy emoting when reading the book. His performance was flawless – we book lovers complain so often when the books are adapted into movies or mini-series, but Colin Firth left me nothing to complain about.

I had not heard of him before I watched this series and I wondered how such a  fine and handsome actor was hidden away all this while. I was most curious to watch the famous ”first proposal” to Elizabeth – the precise moment in the book where one falls in love and hates the man at the sametime.

The next scene – their unexpected meeting at his lavish Pemberley lawns – Colin Firth looked sexy when he walked out of that lake after the swim. The awkwardness with Elizabeth and repeated questions about her family simply made the man look so vulnerable and in love. The admiring gaze with which he looked at Elizabeth as she and Georgiana connected over playing the piano. The moment when his and her eyes met. Elizabeth’s increasing longing for the man – her hatred slowly turning into love and the feeling of regret of refusing his proposal. The final episode where she broke the awkward silence between the two and where he asked if her feelings were the same as last April. His inability to hide the joy when she accepted his proposal a second time – the happiness over the fact that his dearest loveliest Elizabeth would be his forever.

Sigh Colin Firth wooed me every time he came on screen during the 6-part mini series!

Darcy is now synonymous with Colin Firth and both together have made my first crush immortal. I fell in love as a 10-year old with Darcy and deep down I still am:-) Fitzwilliam Darcy makes me go weak in my knees whenever I read ‘Pride and Prejudice” and if that is not enough, he becomes exceedingly impossible to forget when I switch on my DVD of “Pride and Prejudice – the BBC mini-series’ and watch Colin Firth portray him!

P.S: In real life – I’m glad I met my Darcy – not as arrogant or as brash as the real Darcy and far more tender,caring and open about his feelings but admiring the same qualities in a woman that Darcy did;-)

(Image courtsey: www.bbc.co.uk)