Together, we, us...
Payal and Akash - the perfect couple, shy and introverted are finding that loving someone without going through some life experiences together is not the best way to start a life together.
Payal knew what she was getting into with her mother-in-law, and she is determined and stubborn in her own quiet way to wear her down. She never raises her voice until she absolutely is pushed to it. She had no expectations from her mother-in-law, so she is able to deal with it on a day-to-day basis.
Akash on the other hand, has lived in the shadow of his larger than life brother. And he has learnt from this brother how to speak out confidently and stand up for what he believes in. Unfortunately, he's also inherited his brother's shortcomings. And unlike his brother, he does not have Khushi in his life who will tell him the error of his ways in no uncertain terms. Because Payal so far is still bending over backwards to stay quiet and not rock the boat.
Which is why, now, he sits in the driver's seat of his married life, with his wife way in the back, his mother in between, his cousin next to him.
In the flush of first love, Akash made many promises. The first of which was to never hide anything from Payal, and she had also made the same promise. He is unhappy that Payal could not trust him enough to tell him such a big secret, and he takes the harsh words further and further, refusing to even see her point of view. It is a bitter pill for Payal - because her expectations from him were high. He had, after all, married her for love. And love means being together in everything. Love means never having to say sorry. Love means understanding each others points of view - not necessarily agreeing with each other. Their love began with very little of shared experiences. There were moments - but no experience, and experiences shared TOGETHER teaches you about the other person.
Love and Marriage means that a big portion of 'I', 'me', 'mine', becomes 'we', 'us', 'ours'. Like Arnav and Khushi they still have to learn this.
But he had also made a lot of promises to her parents and Buaji - that he would never let her be unhappy. And he has broken those promises every single day since Shyam left.
Today with Khushi's apology and Nani's firm backup of both Khushi and Nani, he seems to be wondering if he has made a mistake after all.
There is always hope for Akash because he was supposedly the most 'suljha hua' grandchild of Devyani Singh Raizada.
What a wonderful grandmother! She is now showing her support of Khushi openly, even reprimanding Manorama Mami when she was doing her 'lets-blame-the-daughters-in-law' for everything that goes. Naniji will have none of that. She loves her grand-daughters-in-law. But one can see her special liking for Khushi. After all, she was the first one to articulate that a girl as genuine as Khushi would be perfect for Chotey. No wonder that she is more than happy to see the two love-birds standing drenched in coffee and tea, in front of her. She knows that theirs is not a relationship that has been smooth sailing, she understands that they need to fight to show their love for each other, and she cant resist teasing them about it, and watching their uncomfortable reactions. Now that's a grandma you wish were yours!
And Manorama Mami is in full flow today. Berating her daughter and niece-in-law - being a typical sasuma. But we've seen how protective she is of her own brood - she considers Arnav and Anjali her own. I wonder when we'll see her stand up for Payal and more importantly, Khushi. She is of course still miffed that Khushi hid the truth about Shyam to her. But would she have believed Khushi even then? I doubt it! And what has Payal ever done to earn so much wrath from her? Or is it that she feels that she HAS to behave this way because she is the mother-in-law and therefore it is her duty to make her daughter-in-law miserable? That it is her right to drive as big a wedge as she can between Akash and Payal because she can? Only time will tell.
Which brings us to our favourite Jodi - Arnav and Khushi.
Times are a-changing in the life of Arnav Singh Raizada. Harvard brain and all, he has a tough time ahead of him. There was a time when he stood tall and looked down on everybody. Today, he stands at the bottom of the stairs looking up adoringly at his little wife, who has shaken his soul and left his world upside down. And right now, he is loving every moment of it.
He picks up where he left us yesterday, recreate the moments that made them fall in love with each other! But he forgets one thing: It wasn't so much the moments as what they did during those moments and how they reacted to each other during those moments that made them special. Those moments they shared TOGETHER made them experiences.
Let me give you an example:
Arnav saved her from being run over by a car. First he came out of nowhere and grabbed her out of the way, and THEN, they gazed into each others eyes, unable to let go of each other and unable to look away from the face that would be imprinted in their hearts forever.
Khushi save Shyam from being run over by a truck, when they are having a conversation. And thenm she just as quickly let him go. No holding on, no eye locks, no nothing. Although Shyam tried to make the most of the moment, Khushi very quickly cut him down to size by saying that she did it for humanity's/Anjali's sake. There was nothing personal in it!
So ASR chooses the closet scene. It was the first time he had found her in his room! Khushi cant help twitching her lips at the memory. But she quickly controls herself. His ASR persona comes forward. This is the person after all, whom Khushi fell in love with. And so he reminds her of another experience that they shared - her throwing tea at him. Khushi remembers it vividly, but refuses to acknowledge it. Drenched in coffe, Khushi is slowly getting madder at him. She starts walking away. And he grabs her in his signature hold. What will you do? You KNOW what I am capable of - his words remind her of their first meeting. And she goes along with the memory as he reaches for the back of her dress. She pushes him away - and throws her tea on him. Her fire is now burning hot!
He pulls her in close with a classic 'What the-!' Close enough that they cant look away from each other. She still follows the script. 'Aap badtameezee kar rahen hain'. 'I can do worse'. 'You cant do this.' 'Why cant I ? You're my wife - my legally wedded wife' . Her fighting words to him 'I dont consider you my husband' have the desired effect. ASR cannot let a challenge go. 'Okay - then I'll convince you consider me as your husband.' The passion is there, and so is the fire. He sees her unable to look away from his lips, and he moves in for the kill. She closes her eyes.. and CUT!
The dialogue here is pure, pure genius. So many levels of communication going on!
She KNOWS what his response will be before she says 'aap badtameezee kar rahein hain' - she has heard it twice before. And he doesn't disappoint her. Its the same response, but this time he seems to get the underlying meaning. She needs him to fuel that fire some more. He keeps promising to do worse, when is he actually going to turn it into action?
You cant do this - really, Khushi? You know thats like waving a red flag in front of a bull. She wants him to say that he can. Not just say it, but do it! and he reminds her that now he has the right to do it. So yes, he's gonna do it.
I dont consider you my husband, you forced me into marriage. What she really is saying is, if you consider yourself my husband then what are you going to do about it?
This is a game that they have both played before many many times. This is THEIR game. THEY invented it, and THEY are the only ones that can play it - TOGETHER. They tell each other words that dont mean anything on the surface, its the underlying message and the challenge to each other that really make them experience the moment together. And they cannot play the game with anyone else. It is their SHARED and unique experience. And no one, not even HP can break that game.
ASR holds her still in his arms while talking to HP. There is no hint of embarrassment in him, and he wont allow his wife to feel embarrassed if he is hugging her. He does not care who knows how much he loves his wife.
During their little talk with Nani, he notices her holding her hand, his imprint still on her, her face wincing in pain. ASR cannot take Khushi being hurt, and tenderly he asks if she is hurting. (the game is on hold at this point). She hurls one more arrow at him and then say not very convincingly - 'I still dont consider you my husband', even though you show you care if I am hurting or not.
The walk up the stairs is pure genius. As he stops her, for a moment, they realize they are not in their own little game world. A quick look by BOTH to see if any one is around, and its back to the game again. She starts forward, he blocks her. And now, they're back to 'i wont', 'you will' 'i wont' 'you will - i'll make you' 'in your wildest dreams!' She tries to move forward, he blocks her to the right, she moves left, he blocks the left. How many times have they played that together? She tries to get away, and he stops her, but this time, he is not slapping the wall in frustration, its just a hold - like in the hut. 'You will come running into my arms', challenge lines are being drawn! 'Me? In your arms? When I do that - I'll consider you my husband,', 'Deal', 'Deal but not in this life', 'We'll see' and she runs for her life. The final pay-off they get from this game is her/him looking over their shoulder at the other. ASR gets full pay-off!! he stands there fondly looking after her.
The answer to NK's question: It's not WAR, NK, its a game - the ASR-Khushi game. The rules of the game are to negate whatever your partner says, and THEN one of you has to throw a challenge. The stakes have to be high. Really high!
Won't touch on the ending - because like all of you - I cant wait to see if ASR decided to come back home to his wife (He was on the phone in the car). The shadow looks like him - but why would he come down the stairs? hmmm.. NK?
Afterthought: Although I did not touch on Anjali today, I was glad to see that she is finally ready to step out and face the world.
She is reassured by her brother's presence and care. What really stood out to me, is her telling Arnav that he should not neglect his work for her. He can leave her side for work.There is none of the sense of abandonment and hurt she felt when she heard him ordering a gift for his wife. She makes the same motherly gestures towards him that she always did, but there is something hollow in it. Khushi is slowly becoming the elephant in the room in their lives. And ASR will have to deal with it.
On a lighter note - the conversation between ASR and Khushi as he leaves for Agra was so like a normal couple!! So cute! awww...and did she just say 'paagal prem' from her Laad Governor!! Oh my, Khushi, are you really playing with fire?
Song of the day - 'Life after you' by Daughtry - dedicated to the one and only ASR!
Edited by GirlOfFire - 11 years ago
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