And don't judge please, try not to anyway! *long post alert*
Well, last evening since my ironing pile wasn't going to sort itself out, I gathered all strength to get on with the mind numbingly awful chore. And just so I don't pass out with boredom, I thought of checking out old episodes of Anupama to know how right or wrong I have been in my opinion of this once upon a time ka hugely loved couple. So yeah here are my findings, bear with me.
I'll start with the Diwali episode- the first one when MaAn was coined, watched this a few days back...So the big revelation for Anupama and the showdown between Anuj and Vanraj episode...Anuj was begging the Shah family to give Anupama the respect and love that she truly deserves from the family she considers her own. He begs them not to accuse her of things she is not guilty of and also said that he has made peace with the fact that he loves Anupama but she does NOT and will NEVER be able to love him back. He punishes himself for putting her in a dilemma and hurting her unknowingly. All said and done the next day they have that beautiful Darmiyaan episode where they set the terms of their unique relationship that was dosti se zyada and pyar se kam...
why have I brought this up now? well cause I think they should have left it right there, what followed after they shook on this unusual bond was beginning of all the mess and we only have one person to blame for it, that cream roll guy who pushed her - usse apne dil mein aane de beta, aagey badh
and then the first accident, the seal of approval(forehead kiss) from acche pita turned guardian/acche dost...then we had the whole prem ka acceptance, public propojal and finally daadi ki saadi, all of this mixed with taunts, curses and accusations from Baa and maa ke loving kapoots, warnings from Vanraj that the marriage will fail but Anupamaa chose to fight them all and decided to get married for the second time, nobody held her at gunpoint, but she wanted to give herself a new lease on life when she would be loved and respected and so she was until the relationship lasted.
Oh how can we forget Mukku in all of this...Vanraj exploited a mentally unstable girl and Anuj failed to protect her, again! this time the trauma could have been avoided cause Anupama was privy to Vanraj's evil intentions but she chose not to share...
Cut to the story after MaAn ki shadi, the honeymoon where Anuj expresses the void of a family, they talk of AB and BB and then the next day he drops the bomb of adopting a child. CA 'yayyys' into their lives and changes the whole equation and the dynamics of the confused family. Whats funny was when CA arrived, they called the Shahs to inform and seek their approval, why? I cannot fathom.
As time passed Anuj got more and more attached to CA as he spent most of his time caring for his young child while her mummy was unavailable due to reasons that weren't totally unacceptable, some were legit and I get her need to be the support to the family she loves to serve. Then slowly the focus shifted on Anupamaa's struggle to balance her infamous matkas.She started spending more and more time solving Shah issues that werent really issues to begin with. The khichdi drama cemented Anupama's inability to prioritize and then followed the first major outburst from Anuj at New years where he was very vocal about his insecurities and Anupama's lack of understanding that she is now married to him(Anuj) and they have a young daughter to care for, he rebuked the Shahs for constantly meddling in their life and asked maa to draw boundaries for a healthy co existing space. He asked Vanraj to look after his family and leave the Kapadias alone while all maa did was cry and cry some more. I thought Anuj was pretty harsh and didn't mince his words, he was very clear about his dislike for his wife to disregard them(Anuj and CA) and put Shahs over anyone else.
Anupamaa on New years morning starts her day with a talk with Kanhaji, she accepts that she messed up and hopes not to repeat her mistakes, I actually like her sweet little convo and thought she was a bit misunderstood and punished for more than she deserved.
Well, just when I thought I was wrong to judge her, she soon proved otherwise. The cliff story happened, and when Vanraj was trying to confess that he pushed Anuj, she kept asking kya keh rahe hai aap, kya kya and she told Samar not to accuse his papa just yet. Barkha kept instigating and accused Anupama of siding with Vanraj, she gave it back to BB and asked her to watch her words...She then had this big face-off with Vanraj and threatened to raise her hand on him for harming Anuj, she was a truly devoted wife for the next few weeks while Anuj recovered from brain surgery...I must say I almost felt bad for her when she bravely fought the urge to run to the Shahs, that was probably the longest time she spent with Anuj and CA
On Ganesh Chaturti, the Shahs crawled back into their briefly pleasant life and so returned the drama...Kinjal gave birth to precious Pari and Toshu ka infidelity issue took up most of maa's time thereon. then came creepy Maaya...Maa gave her the fun and exciting 15 day challenge without consulting the other parent and Maaya got complete access to their intimate family. Her falling for Anuj was hardly a surprise when Maa gave her free access. Toshu's paralysis took a toll on their lives and Maaya made the most of maa's absence. I totally sympathised with maa's misery at that stage but much of it could be avoided if Shahs were left to fend for themselves. She was helping them financially anyway and tending to her paralysed son was a long term commitment not knowing when he would recover. I got her plight and started feeling for her again.
And again for the nth time she flipped my feelings. Maaya manipulated CA and Anupamaa followed suit. Anuj turned into a zombie first, then a monster...She pushed him to open up and when he did she couldnt take it, she kept putting words in his mouth and called him pagal. He blamed her over and over again and behaved like a psycho and she did what she was best at, playing the victim.
I had gooseflesh with Anuj ka Holi outburst, I know he was grieving but he was wrong, very wrong...he sad things that no woman would ever want to hear, privately or publicly, yes she didnt leave him much choice but Gosh! that was brutal. Dheeraj and Devika played Devils' advocates and MaAn were truly damaged, not to be mended ever again, I didnt have the heart to watch after that cause their essence was lost and they could never be MaAn again.
I don't know if I've even made a point with this awfully long post but since I've typed it all, thought I might as well post it, sorry for wasting your time!
I've come to the conclusion that they are a pair of losers that we've wasted our time over and continue to do so, what an amazing life we have
Anupamaa
Indian Idol 15
