the scene that touched me most today involved a curiously life like situation. when a wealthy son in law visits his far less economically favoured in laws, that too for the very first time, there's always anxiety and tension in the air mixed with a fragile sort of happiness.
what if damad ji is not comfortable... let's lug out our ancient cooler, we can make do without it, but he needs special care... khatir. what does he like to eat, how should we make him feel at home... thoughts rifle through the mind and the whole household, even if it is made of the elders essentially, runs about getting things ready. here it is two women, a mother and an aunt, both devoted, both not rich, both terribly loving in their own way who are getting into a tizzy over his visit.
what's more, both are aware that damad ji is not really a gentle soul. they have seen his gussa, they have witnessed his excess the night he married their daughter and didn't think it was necessary to explain to them the exigencies that brought about the situation.
what's more, bua ji has seen him is pretty nasty imbroglios right here in this house. he has come and slapped money on the table before her eyes... she is large hearted and loving and wants only the best for khushi, she may even forgive the unforgivable but something of that rough arrogance lingers in the mind, colours your thoughts, never lets you be absolutely comfortable.
both the ladies are determined to make this stay as good as possible. where they come from the damad is almost deity... pati parameshwar we say, a patriarchal society quite out of control in its veneration of one gender.
and then comes the airconditioner fiasco.
the whys and wherefores of it may be whatever they are... but for these two ladies it is really painful, hurting... and for their daughter too. though i do wonder, when khushi decided on the spur of the moment to drag him to her middle class home, that too not hers, her aunt's, just to teach him a lesson angered by his class talk on the back of her ittr antic, did she perhaps show a certain insensitivity herself. i know we take our families for granted, and we should, but if he is in such a terrible mood and so scathing of khushi, what was the guarantee he'd behave well with her aunt and mother?
but kkg never thinks about such things, especially when all are people she loves... she is angry and he is going to suffer.
sadly, she miscalculates and pushes him a bit too much... somewhere around that hurry to eat hot poori, he loses it and decides to do things his way.
the ac arrives, the neighbours are giggling and talking of how the son in law takes care of the family. is there innuendo in that of a girl "catching" a good guy? "phassana" or trapping is how one would refer to it in hindi.
bua ji is horrified, garima is shocked but in a placatory frame of mind. khushi is angry beyond words, especially when she picks on her aunt and mother's feelings.
i really liked the way this scene was directed and crafted, so much was said through looks and little gestures, the actors got the moment so well.
as bua ji looked on perplexed, the son in law who is a guest, went ahead to the ac guys and started giving instructions about where to fix a machine in her house without so much as a by your leave. then noticing everyone's expression, he said,
"khushi dekho... main ek ac laga raha hoon ussme itna bada issue, i mean..."
khushi, see... i am getting an ac fixed, why is it becoming such an issue.
to him an ac is a minor thing, plus he is a problem solver type... the heat is getting to him, okay, let's get a solution. yet it is not so simple. is it ever? had he been feeling comfortable and at peace with everything he would have put up with it, he puts up with many things for his family, including regular puja attendance, etc., but he is mad at her, that makes things a bit different.
she expects the worst of him, but even she is taken aback at this thoughtless behaviour.
and the poor ladies. fluttering around him. bua ji almost showing her real feelings, garima trying to make her understand and calm things down... it was interesting how camera recorded emotions through a series of close ups, bua ji's always i felt a bit bigger than the others. it is her house, her self respect that is being bruised.at garima's "nahin nahin, the wall is strong, it will take the weight..." something seems to register with him...he knows this is not quite ok.
listen, the house may be old, but is it strong like me, says bua ji. perhaps a reference to the guptas... they may be old and not wealthy, but they can bear a lot and still remain standing. i felt really bad for the woman who had lost her husband, had no child, only this house was something of her own, and along comes a rich kid exposing it to this unkind scrutiny.
bua ji speaks of the cooler again... he grimaces.
"jiji, theek hai na, ooka humri rahan sahan ki aadat nahin hai..." jiji, it's okay, he is not used to living like us. mother like, garima swiftly offers an explanation that will give her young son in law an out and pacify the moment.
bua ji is a sensitive person... maybe he is beginning to sense things and feling a tad ashamed of his hasty action.
for when his personal effects and towels arrive, bua ji and amma look so flummoxed, he decides to give an explanation, he who had marries their daughter in the dark one night and never felt the need to explain himself... in fact had refused to.
"woh, actually mujhe apni cheezen use karne ki thodi aadat hai toh..." he is used to these things, that's why... he says in a quiet sort of way, not at all tycoon in tone.
again looks are exchanged. would like to say once more, i liked the close ups that were used to show feelings, the camera went really close to bua ji this episode, and abha parmar did not disappoint... layered expressions despite their "bua ji" quality of slight exaggeration. in fact the actors used silence, looks and body language really well i felt to convey the darkening, troubled atmosphere. and at a point when amma pointed out to khushi that many changes must have been made to his home at her advent, khushi remembers only the night when he threw her out of the room... deep deep hurt had been inflicted on her by the one who had given her chooris and bindi and a bas karni hai... how her heart must have have been riven by that wedding and its aftermath, a poignant reminder. and that hurt makes her fly into a vengeful anger masked by the ott behaviour perhaps. she is knocked around inside, not quite herself. if the writing at some point had addressed this, would have been great.
bua ji gives in... whatever makes you happy, if you're happy we are very happy...
the first time with the in laws is often awkward, even tough, and the peculiar accent on the son in law makes everything a bit bizarre, especially in communities such as the guptas'. and a lot of nonsense is often taken from damad ji. perhaps there's tension on both sides and that causes this abnormal air. usually things ease up gradually... which is exactly what we will see here in the coming days as asr becomes completely a part of the family.
which is why too perhaps this scene had traction. an understanding of a social milieu in it.
in khushi's words that becomes so clear..."aaj din bhar aap yeh jata chuke hain ki aap iss ghar ke dammaad hain..."
you've let us know through out the day that you are the son in law of this house.
before i move on, a request... did you notice the carry bag in which the wealthy young businessman's expensive amenities arrived? it had floral patterns. oh how we need a thread devoted to ipk's bad props... pillleejh.
watch out... she'll be coming round the mohalla when she comes, she'll be asking many questions when she comes, she'll be inquisitive beyond belief when she comes...
and she'll pinch your cheek and kiss you wet and wild on the forehead before she goes.
oh that was a fun encounter. of course all punch line fantastic... my favourite: yeah, you're good looking but are you educated? a question usually asked of girls... and then his irritated alpha male type extremely irritated and slightly snobbish... have done mba, from harvard.
ah haridwar!
the face of the man, the slightest change of expression in the eyes on cue, and the lips...
"bijnech hai," he has a business... bua ji leaps into the fray to defend her damad... he works in bahut barey phactory (a very big factory) and below him work thousands of people.
old lady is not to be outdone. arre even below lalan has so many people work and he has such a big dukan.
so lalan one is here already i am thinking.
"ji dukan nahin... chain of industries hai meri..." not a shop, i have chain of industries... my hero can't take it.
"chain!!!" in unison say the three devis... what's it with this three women thing in ipk. again and again we see it. just a while back it was khushi, bua ji, amma serving. now three friends visit. at rm, it's nani ji, mami ji, anjali. and once it was la, pam and sim.
"chain ki dukan hai???" you have a chain shop?
one eyebrow goes up though mouth remains open in disbelief...
"nahin nahin, dukanon ki chain..." no, no, a chain of many shops says khushi quickly.
at this old lady can't contain her excitement and goes for some action. echoing the sentiments of half the world's female population she says he is very good looking, bahut sundar. and goes for his cheek.
after her kiss on forehead, she blesses him, "jug jug jiyo, beta..."
great scene... and there's a happy jar of pickle on the table now...
money for damad ji's ittr is passed to khushi.
the man is losing it...
"ittr? inhen toh ittr bahut pasand hai..." khushi is gleeful, oh he loves ittr, she lies.
"whatever," comes a gruff one.
"whatever?" says old lady of sharp ears.
"whatever kya hai beta..." what's whatever, she asks khushi. of course, she had also wanted to know the meaning of "what the!" and had been given an english lesson by sanka devi.
"matlab, janam janmantar..." means for this life and beyond... he will keep me happy, so happy the whole world would be left gaping... comes khushi's creative take on her husband's much used word.
and to that, old lady blesses them... may you have saaton janam rishta... a relationship that last through seven lifetimes.
bitiya is struck...
bitwa looks at her.
and in an instant a pure ipk flip... the mood has become warm, intense, no ha ha in it...
saaton janam tak tumhara rishta bana rahe bitiya, a look on his face, on hers and a hey hey rising in the air.
never know where it will come from, what will trigger it. that sudden moment which says you are connected... always. no matter what... the deed is done, no going back...
hey hey..
she looks at him, a funny pain somewhere.
a dard...
rabba vey...
an awkwardness an awareness, they cross each other and go their own way...going back to the top of the episode...
the tycoon is feeling the heat literally. he toils away at his laptop, looking disgruntled almost woebegone.
he's looking a dish with that loosened tie and unhappy air, yet a concentration in the eyes... something interesting about workaholics.
a bead of sweat drips down from temple to eyelid and below, obstructing vision. he looks around seeking a fan, some respite...
gets up to do something and that's when he notices the other man.
salman. khushi's fave poster boy.
suffer, baby, i think... you have been the other man in my husband's life for too long, it's time you got a dose of it yourself. so this is your biwi's fantasy man... and trust me if she knew about fan fic, she'd be writing them too. 100 secrets of chulbul pandey by kkg...sr.
er, she is the dulhan in the palki, and her he man is carrying it. this scene was daft and funny... the poster loving just past her teens khushi.
yes yes raise the eyebrow, dear man... so cutely amused is he, a little superior air too in it.
i almost heard him think "pagal." i bet she came to mind and in a jiffy his ire was gone, he was smiling. that's the effect this crazy girl has on him.
he however has made her mad with his actions. she decides he is doing an "occupy" on her room much like her little take over of his. lovely mingling of their things, especially when mr finicky does it something so sexy in that...
she is resolved now to teach him zindagi ka path. life's lessons.
she was also contemplating destroying his nose with her mosquito killing racquet. remember her dashing against his cheek months ago in a fit of loveria? even the mosquito gives an excuse to get on with the lovin', of course asr kkgsr way, slap, whack, what the, get out shut up i hate you included.
he was quite sure he wasn't sharing a bed with her.
in the meantime the lights went off.
an episode with laughter, fun, sadness, pain, love and sexiness... all so well balanced.
......................
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