when i think of this episode right in the middle of an eventful day with all sorts of not too normal things afoot, what comes to mind are a) black mark, b) a girl talking animatedly to a goat and c) a man looking at a girl with an unfathomable but stirring look in his eyes.
a black mark on a goat, not the "asli lakshmi" but the other one and a black mark on a man's cheek, did both in some way relate to khushi? right through, starting from 75 shyam is doing all he can to put a black mark on khushi's integrity. i wonder is that why we had so much daal play in 75? because one of the most top of mind connection to daal is "daal mein kuch kala hai," meaning there's something a little off, not quite right in the situation.
shyam has mounted an offensive to stain khushi's reputation. and suddenly for no apparent reason we see the man who has openly accused her of being underhand walking into frame with a big ugly mark on his cheek, possibly from the gardening. "mooh kala", isn't that another allusion to bringing shame to oneself? but one can ask why should asr's mooh be kala if it's khushi's face that is about to be attacked? i have no clear answer, yet it's nice to think, at one level perhaps a connection is hinted at: if khushi's reputation is harmed, his is too. of course, they have no idea themselves that they are becoming part of each other, but maybe a connection unknown is building anyway, a creative take on that this may have been.
the episode built relentlessly toward the last sequence. the most painful one where khushi would actually agree to have her bag checked by mami. although everyone made the right noises about the horrible allegations by mami, khushi decided she would give in to the demand.
i asked myself why didn't nani or anjali stop this, but i think i would have insisted too if someone openly cast aspersions on my integrity like that. khushi had so many things about her that made her feel real.
so real and also endearing, that when she started talking earnestly to a goat, you didn't roll your eyes and reach out for some darkly biting comments, instead you watched slightly entranced, somewhere along the way you thought sanaya was such a neat actress and yeah she could make even picking up a goat and hugging it in the middle of the road and chatting look wonderful.
that scene of hers running about and calling out to lakshmi, then asking a hapless man if he'd seen this fair one who goes "main main", then locating her and charging relieved to catch her and tell her, how would your mother feel about this... was pure khushi and refreshing zany just the right amount of goofy. i wish asr had seen her doing this. we'd have "i love you dammit" then and there. or at least a heart stopping "pagal".
nani's love for lakshmi is touching. a woman widowed pretty early and then the blow of losing her only daughter, who has always borne the responsibility of keeping her family together, who is stoic about things that crush her, maybe lakshmi is her one outlet, a pliant though frisky and playful quadraped who is warm and loving, who shakes her ears when nani ji pets her, who hangs about without demanding anything and who makes nani smile with her antics. this relationship has plenty love and selflessness.
and though nani doesn't know it, her lakshmi will save khushi, her bahu to be also considered lakshmi of the home. in khushi's finding and rescuing lakshmi perhaps another hint that the true wealth of the raizada home will always be safeguarded and protected by khushi. while i am not into all this heavy duty symbolism and these things often feel laboured, yet the lightness of touch of sanaya's acting and the vibe between jayashree t, sanaya irani, sana khan, daljeet kaur, utkarsha naik and even jai prakash added a nice sense of significance to the scene.
of course, la accepting khushi as a friend was lovely. i have always found something endearing and vulnerable in la... she is a girl with potential. not a mean girl, in a way uncomplicated and there was always a generosity of spirit in her, evident when she was not feeling threatened in any way. she was also in many ways what you see is what you get. just as she could screech if this chamkili is expected to teach me anything i will leave this house, similarly she could stick out her hand and offer friendship the moment she felt khushi had gone beyond the call of duty to help her.
sana khan was rather cute here, she looked genuinely worried for kkg, she being completely scared of nani ji's sharp tongue. and despite nani ji's not at all kind words to her, i have to say, she actually did not want to lie about lakshmi and present another goat. that was all hello hi bye bye, the one who was forever trying to manage the "horror film" that too in "3d" which her life with sasu ma apparently was. phew poor mano, jai prakash, please hurry up and give her some tea, interval hui gawa.
well they say many films are good only up to the interval. here, a precious moment came soon after in fact. in it a couple of quiet rabba veys.
asr, still in those lose trousers and dark shirt, now a waistcoat on, strolled out and the first thing he saw was the patch up between the two girls. khushi's charming assertion that now that la and she were friends la could call her what she pleased showed again a sunny strong side of her nature. wonder if it touched him.
she turned and saw him, she seemed disconcerted and also a trifle entranced. he was definitely in a funny sort mood, just standing there looking at her when she noticed that black mark. neither spoke. she pointed, he frowned, she pointed at her own cheek, he wiped the wrong side. maybe she wanted to reach out and...
anyway la came along and no qualms at all started to erase the mark, her fingers very comfortable on his face as though they were quite used to touching him. they were. and that was perhaps the thing.
a scene from a mandir at teej played in my mind, kkg striking the match again and again after seeing asr open la's fast. another scene from la's home when he went to take her back, as she watched them in each other's arms, an unbidden tear rolling out of khushi's eye, streaming down.
today though the emotions in the look she gave him as she turned back were a little different and so too the appraisal of his, both had been touched by the harshness earlier in the day, the flying into rage, the flinging of arm and tea and then the moment of ajeeb by the poolside.
sanka debi had touched laad governor in an indescribable but unforgettable way. rakshas had moved rajkumari and left a little mark in her. a reflective yet stirred feel to their gazes, their concentration on each other.
even mami's interrogation and egregious bag check couldn't suppress the carefree happy feeling within me. like lakshmi probably felt standing bang in the middle of traffic and chomping fresh leaves.
shyam
got khushi's most beautiful palat sadly, but this one was tender and
pretty too and sanaya said many things with her eyes. was she wondering
why she didn't want to yell at laad governor? why she couldn't really
talk in front of him as if loathe to mar the peace between them; and
also a little shy she seemed to be.
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