Originally posted by: indi52
priya,
after watching the episode, i was restless, i was strangely dissatisfied, a bit sad, everything felt flat. 12.30am, i came to crooner, thinking, i need to hear what priya feels about this. or am i the only one?
saw the episode again this morning. same result. i found you at last, and i was relieved to note i am not the only one.
the past: i completely agree with you, that if a man has suffered for more than half his life owing to it, it must have the depth and complexity to somewhere make that premise work. a simple ghalat faimi, where miraculously the man considered to be wrong in arnav's eyes suddenly becoming "good." a woman, his mother no less, who has nurtured him and his sister close to two decades, and who kills herself that night, is conveniently interpreted as "weak," so that you can return to the fold of pro establishment pro patriarchy ideas, is all a bit messy, and patently unfair to the story they seem to have started with. too simplistic, in bengali we say: ja poddyo miley ja. go poem, rhyme. too unevolved.
some time back, i'd kind of had this strong feeling about "sins of fathers" and history repeating as arnav sets right every wrong of the past, i thought that was the crux of the story. as a viewer, i will develop a certain understanding and sometimes "see" the course of the river even before it comes into view. but i am always prepared to be wrong as long as the story turns out to be better and stronger and far more imaginative than what i thought it was. as a kid, was addicted to agatha christie for a while. used to always try to predict who's the culprit. in the beginning when i could, it would thrill me, i'd feel clever. soon enough, when again and again i was correct, i started to disengage. the thrill departed. poirot and miss marple still feel exciting, but i don't read christie any more. di i still love reading christie and yes love predicting the culprit too!!!!
please keep the past deep and impactful.
acting: again priya, you are right to remind the director he has a powerhouse of talent at his bidding. he can push barun sobti to deliver at a much much more breath taking level. also sanaya irani.
asr's words i felt were true and real. i am a failure. i failed. i tried to be happy watching my sister's happiness. there was sensitivity, nuance, and an understanding of the character in the dialogues. but the execution didn't work for me. the asr i know will not weep in a hospital waiting area quite like that. yes, tears may spill out, yes, he may put his head down in despair, his voice may even wobble, but this felt flat (again i use the word), not nuanced. not well thought out. not true.
barun sobti is capable of so much more. he can take you to another plane of anguish without a single tear, the slightest obvious interpretation. i missed that. tears never welled up inside me.
i watched from the outside. rare when i'm with asr.
i liked khushi's interjection: i will stay. she can't leave him like that. ever since that night that he spoke of his mother, she has known there is something she will do for him no matter what. she will be there for him when he needs her. in this simple decision, i see a lot of our spunky girl from lucknow. if it feels right, she will do it, no matter what the "norm" is. remember that dash to meet payal's bridegroom to be?
what i didn't like was again the lack of crafting in khushi's acting/expression. continuously tearful and worried. the emoting could have been worked on.
i liked the anjali and her moment of truth. fine writing there: real tragedy, horror in one's life sinks in at strange moments. tears in chhote's eyes, across the distance, on the other side of the glass door (again glass, glass everywhere), just one look and a message travels through space right to the heart and the belly of the mother, the sister, the one whose happiness means everything to the boy with tears in his eyes, he who has lost all his own sense of joy and only when he sees her smiling he feels everything is ok. beautiful bit of direction.
however, the opening sequence in the room felt noisy and overdone. both in terms of music, acting, frames. a certain loudness. do men hang around in a room soon after a miscarriage? in traditional set ups as we are seeing here, i think that's a bit off isn't it? frames crowded with faces with the same expression, loads of tears, daljeet acting but again a bit too much. like no one has spent time entering the situation, the words, and owning them. usually this is never a problem with our fab group of actors. only daljeet of late has been a little disappointing.
i need to say something else. it's personal, excuse the indulgence. i have stood in a hospital waiting area outside an iccu and prayed silently to a ganesh idol to save my loved one. that's the first time it registered that an image of god is kept in such places. my loved one did not survive. but i never felt god had not answered nor lost faith in whatever it is i believe in. i was anguished. i was devastated. i never felt god took her away from me. i felt human bungling did. to constantly tie the divine to each trial and tribulation of our life seems like abdicating our role in this life.
(the reason khushi's ties with dm feel honest and natural is because dm is really like a mother to this girl who just so misses her own mom. there's innocence and loveliness in this relationship. i respect and adore that, all her little conversations with dm, her quarrels. they say ramkrishna used to play with maa kaali. if you believe without ego, the relationship goes somewhere else. khushi's has that element for me.)
i was a bit disturbed to see that whole "i am a failure" scene played out in front of an idol that has come to symbolise success amongst a large number of hindus. what was the message here? was there one?
he said, i tried, i tried very hard, but i failed. i understand that. i appreciate his trying. in no way is it less because he didn't include god as many people understand god, in his efforts. he came from the deepest love, the most unshakeable conscience, and he tried his utmost to see someone else happy. what beauty. how many people act with this purity. in that purity i see sacred, i see god.
i do not think worshipping in the prescribed way of one group of people is the only way to pray or be connected with the eternal, the one who knows, the one who is. if arnav s raizada works out his relationship with god in his own way, and moves along his belief path with his conviction, i am fine. but exactly where he is today is just fine for me too. there is no lack of god there as far as i am concerned. i agree with u di...i too don't believe there is any one way of praying to god...but would like to see it positively...ganpati is known to remove obstacles...vinghnaharta...his presence here could and hopefully mean that arnav-khushi together will overcome the obstacles with the blessing of the lord!!!!
i hope khushi who has a funny wisdom tells him, no sir no way are you a failure.
and i know what priya says is true, kuch aanch baaki hai, after burning completely, the phoenix will rise again.
i hope our storyteller has the courage and faith to stay with his story. i wish him luck.
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