egos, desires, and stories untold

 

on the episode when khushi storms into asr's office and asks for money 307)... after my first watch, my post on crooner.

friday's episode was one of the most beautifully and carefully crafted, layered, funny, loving, rich, and more episodes i have ever seen anywhere. every shot, every word, every colour seemed to say something. 

and no one in this whole universe has ever said a "hi" quite like that. that one was only about pure flirtation and absolutely disarming the opponent. despite all her chilli red sharpness, and her standing firm at his advance (grasping something solid in her backhand ramanchi, to use a word differently), madam raizada knew the man with the silvery "hi," would be ha... ha... hard to resist.

oh what delightful scenes and fab dialogues. the set up, the countdown ending on the tinkling of anklets as she walks in, the happy singh and kirana store, he has all the time for her but aaaw (barun sobti copyrighted) she has only 24 hours, she has every right to demand that money from him though she is his wife, i could go on forever about all of those 20 odd minutes. 

yet when i saw the profile shots, deadly as a certain one is, and heard the words about ego and ghamand, i thought, oh, that treatment is a first, why suddenly? and they speak of khushi's ego. great, time someone held up a mirror to her and who better than the egotist himself who loves her ghamand and all. however, when i saw priya's title on egos and desires, i couldn't stop myself anymore. 



the creatives were telling a parallel story right through the episode. of course the overt narrative was about arnav and khushi and all his tricks to make her his own forever, and it was stunning and utterly valid in itself.

but humongous hints about the past were being deliberately dropped and the episodes of the week felt so bedecked and meticulously set because of that.

there were mysterious blank phonecalls and talk of boyfriends.

there was mami ji's plea to akash not to go close to the sea, it's dangerous.

there was that fantastical story spun by khushi for the doctor, the reference to an unmarried daughter, the married son, the estrangement from sad mother, the soshan. there were bua ji's and mami ji's snores and reference to dukh bhari dastaan (maybe the snores were just for fun or they were to say sleeping things will make a lot of noise, me gone cuckoo as you can tell).

and now, ego being discussed on a face off between a man and a woman, a phone call speaking of one night away, a pickle jar clutched in a mother's hand who suddenly talks very coyly of knowing why he keeps coming back (garima ji has never spoken like that before, even buaji couldn't take it), khushi must "entertain" him, ar's stock prices plummet due to the owner's stupidity, mausam is not suhana for there's tyranny in the air, a husband's ill treatment of his wife has gone beyond endurance and there's about to be a murder, dance ending in a fall. then the pointed reference to numbers, 13 days, 12 days, 24 hours, 12.05am, 11.55pm, 9.50am (when the hands are on 9 and 10), 3... 2... 1, rs 24,000. so many references to time, then money. and why are both canteen man and landlord called shukla ji?

 i am miserable at decoding, but surely that was badaa laad governor's life, times, misdemeanours, his "ego and desires" being referred to everywhere. nani ji's damad ji, the one she fears chhotey is like. there was something surreal throughout the episode, as if another reality kept encroaching. the signs are here, the past is comes swiftly at us, the season is ready to change.

need priya to really decipher this whole thing. the final clue of her dream, her mother's payal, returned. the dream analysis, where each object would take us a step further into the tale of arnav and khushi, was completing its course.

naturally, it reminded me of diwali. when the overwhelming desire was too much for him, he had to quash it instantly with cruelty. a man who had never allowed himself to love couldn't bear the intensity, the undeniability of its early stirrings. don't think a rich man was sitting clutching your payal to his heart. she was curious to know what that desire they both felt was, an innocent in the world of physical yearning, even emotional man woman love. at his rejection, she was crushed. koi matlab nahi tha?

ego and desire had clashed. that time his ego wouldn't yeild. now hers refuses to break. he said, i'm sorry for hurting you khushi. he certainly meant all the hurt, each bit of it.
what struck me most, however, was my reaction to "they're beautiful." i almost bawled. something in that scene was more than just wrapping up diwali, it was not at all about the kiss. how poignantly she'd uttered, "hamesha" to his question, does she wear her mother's payal all the time.
i felt his "they're beautiful," in an instant touched her mother's love, her payals a constant physical reminder of it, and completed a circle of love around khushi, touching both heaven and earth. for me, that moment was the best and brightest of all. 



thought: do you think khushi helped arnav reach in and find all that he had of his mother in him and express it? when we met him first, he was comfortable dealing with the world and life using more of what he had of his father in him. the finest qualities of his mother are no doubt his, including the ability to love to a point where he is prepared to go all the way and beyond; there is gentleness, tenderness, patience, and other traits that somehow you'd never dream of connecting with asr. are these inherited from his mother? did that trauma all those years ago make him draw a protective shell over them, leaving only the brusque, ruthless, arrogant side open to public gaze, perhaps even to himself? then along came khushi. funny, spunky, loving, kind, determined, spirited, and touched a chord.

and try as he might he couldn't hold on to his khadoos self which gave him a sense of safety. he had to flow. tumne mere saath yeh kya kar diya, khushi?

when he gives her his mother's kangan and letter, hopefully under the stars their witnesses, again a circle of love will be completed. anjali, chatting with you about his mother's mementoes brought me to this thought, thanks so much.
biwi nahin toh tv...

i had never thought i'd see this kind of funky comedy in a love story before, rarely seen this offbeat fun on our television as such. good creatives know any design, every bit of creation must serve a purpose. ipk creatives are rarely self indulgent or wasteful. and humour became the medium of both incredible romance and intriguing peek into yesteryears (or so i thought, if it was only about the romance, also ok with me).

sanaya irani is a comedienne with wonderful instinct. yesterday she reminded me of tina fey. the spin, the intelligence, the timing, perfect. and then some emotion.

arnav singh raizada has found and practiced a whole arsenal of new smiles and voice modulations. khushi kumari gupta singh raizada will no doubt succumb. guaranteed also several women of the subcontinent will cease to breathe for hamesha. and this is even before mr sobti the hotness (thanks suvi) removes his shirt.

sorry, went on a bit, really wanted to share all this with you. i am completely in love with his intentions and her consternation. counting down the days, waiting to eat laddoo with lots ghee shakkar.









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