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Dwelling on the Details: Of Problems, Resolutions, and Surprises
[Episode 71] May 23rd, 2016
- I thought things might lighten up after the way last Friday's episode ended...Well, I was wrong. The batwara issue is really quite serious, and with every word that comes out of Sharmila's and Maggie's mouths, it only gets worse. I understand concerns about housing and money, but these two bahus and their never-ending whining are something else entirely. I swear Sharmila's eyes practically turned into dollar signs (or rupee signs, I guess, would be more appropriate) while Maggie was glaring daggers at the younger bahu. Materialistic to the core, these two. Do they not care at all about the emotional issues here?
- Surili is not happy with the way things are going, either. She's watching her family on the verge of being split. This is not what she wanted. It's clear that her sons mean everything to her. Unfortunately, she ends up insulting her daughters-in-law while trying to convince Amrish that they should keep the family united for their sons' sakes. No one wants to hear that they're being "tolerated" by others in what is supposed to be a family...Surili's timing is terrible. She needs to get in touch with her empathetic, compassionate side, or at least mind what she says. She has already driven Maggie and Sharmila against each other, in a sense, with her partiality. Not the way to deal with relationships, Surili. And hey, as far as "tolerating" Rajni is concerned, that's all in Surili's head. That is all Surili's fault. Not Rajni's.
- "Rajni...Family is very sad. Sad..." "...is very bad." "Yes." Shaan and Rajni are caught in the middle of all this drama, in spite of their good intentions. There's not much they can do except lean on each other, literally, and watch...Adorable little nuances here, with Shaan leaning his head against Rajni's, and Rajni reaching up to pat Shaan's cheek consolingly.
- The Maggie vs Sharmila war continues. Amrish's amusement is tinged with an almost acerbic quality. Surili's silent irritation speaks volumes about her disapproval. Ghyaan, after his initial complaints, is quiet but annoyed. Dhyaan is completely, completely done with this nonsense.
- "Bauji, main yeh faisla nahi le sakta." Dhyaan speaks up, finally. And Shaan senses that there might be some hope still. Shaan is far more attuned to his little brother's nonverbal cues than Sharmila is - I am amazed at how Sharmila is so self-centered, to the point where she simply cannot see that Dhyaan is very clearly trying to tell her to shut up. "Bauji, main chahta hoon ki yeh faisla...meri jagah..." Dhyaan pauses, and Shaan raises an eyebrow at his brother. Sharmila's nagging ultimately forces Dhyaan to speak with more determination. "Yeh faisla meri jagah Rajni Bhabhi legi." "WHAT?!"
- Rajni ignores Shaan's protests and stands up to help her devar. Shaan needn't have been so worried. Rajni walks among the piles of objects and makes her way to where Amrish and Surili are. "Dhyaan. Maine tumhare liye iss ghar ki sabse keemti cheez chun li hai. Maine...inhe chuna hai." I love the look of absolute awe on Surili's face as she turns to look at Rajni. I love how Dhyaan's expression brightens immediately and he looks at his Rajni Bhabhi with utmost respect and a fond smile. I love Ghyaan's proud, emotional smile, too. But most of all, I love the almost dazed look on Shaan's face as Rajni's words sink in...In the BTS footage, Shaan's reaction was more prolonged...he seems to hear Rajni's words and then, as the impact resonates, his expression changes from comprehension to awe to pride to tenderness...To me, it almost looked like he was falling in love with her a little bit more, then and there, without even realizing it.
- I have to give a shoutout to Pankit at this point because I really appreciate the subdued seriousness he has brought into his portrayal of Dhyaan. Dhyaan's brief moment of happiness and relief is spoiled by Sharmila...again. The instant Sharmila starts talking about how Rajni is "confused," Dhyaan's face darkens. He turns to look at his self-centered wife with a glare so intense that hell could have frozen over. But Sharmila still doesn't notice. Either that, or she is very good at ignoring him. Wow.
- "Bauji...Jo Rajni Bhabhi ne mere liye select kiya hai...mujhe wohi chahiye." Rajni nods at Dhyaan. "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! And YOU!" Rajni nods again. "And proud of me!" Aww, Dhyaan's affectionate glance at Shaan! Yeah, the Shaan-Rajni-Dhyaan trio is my favorite Kant trio by far! Love these guys!
- An unexpectedly interesting thing to consider...Shaan basically tells Amrish the truth about Rajni here. "Lab mein banaaya, humans ki help karne ke liye." Amrish thinks Shaan is being irreverent and scolds him. "Lab mein banaaya! Hmph!" So Shaan's confession has been shrugged off and disregarded. When those words will come back in the form of a more serious revelation, I wonder what will happen.
- Krazy Kants Reunited! This shot of the entire Kant parivaar plus Aishwarya was so heartwarming! I love the ensemble cast and all of their group photos - this felt like it could have been a perfect happy ending shot. But there's so much more story left to tell, and honestly, whenever this show does end, I hope they won't end with the cliched "family portrait" snapshot thing that virtually every show uses as its final shot. This show is hatke enough to do better, I'm sure!
- Aww, Amrish-Surili and their tiny adorable moments! Can they build up that affectionate, respectful bond again and keep expanding on that from here on out? I really enjoy watching them together! They can be super cute when they want to be! Also, speaking of cute...Shaan-Rajni's simultaneous nod is too cute! Mission accomplished! Or, in Rajni's words...Task complete!
- "Good...Nice...Thank you!" Ahaha, Surili is apparently not used to thanking people. Or maybe it's just Rajni. She does manage to get a 'thank you' out, though, so good job there. Rajni ruins this by weirding Surili out again, darn it! "Mujhme emotions nahi hai. Aur yeh decision emotional nahi, logical tha!" I'm glad that Surili finally decides to give up! So relieved that she essentially surrenders, because it's quite pointless to argue. Rajni always has something to say!
- "Aaah, pillow!" LOL, Shaan rolling around on his bed while Rajni is unpacking all of their clothes from those suitcases! He's such a kid at times! But hey, I'd probably be really happy to get back to my cozy bed after sleeping on the floor and on couches! I mean, I'm probably a foot shorter than Karan is, so I'd sleep comfortably on a couch, but the Kants' couches didn't look like they were ideal for sleeping anyway.
- "Shaan." "Haan." "Aap meri arrangement kyun bigaad rahe ho?" Shaan actually has a response to this? This guy is amazing, I tell you. He hugs his pillows to his chest and looks completely content. "Thank you, Pareshaan." "Nooo! Rajni! Thank YOU! Tumne toh aaj kamaal kar diya! Dil khush kar ditta! I mean, mujhe aisa lagta hai ki tum human relations humans se better samajhne lagi ho! Tum bilkul insaanon jaisi banti jaa rahi ho!" He's so elated that he throws a flying kiss at Rajni, awww!
- "Iska credit aapko jaata hai. You are my creator." Shaan, somewhat uncharacteristically, freezes and frowns. "Arrey, yaar! Life mein pehli baar main kisi aur ko credit de raha hoon, le lo, na! Itna humble hoke kya tumhe Nobel Prize milnewaala?" This, this right here is so important! In terms of Shaan's ego being taken down a few notches, the fact that HE says this, spontaneously, is momentous! Rajni states the simple fact that he is her creator, so logically, he should get credit for her existence and therefore her thoughts, as well. But Shaan has moved beyond that logic today. He recognizes HER sensibilities and HER abilities to think and take actions that have positive consequences...and he thanks her for it. The best part is that he has absolutely no ego issues, no hesitation, no hang-ups about giving Rajni the credit she deserves!
- "OK Shaan. Continue." Shaan elaborates, telling Rajni that what she accomplished, by uniting the Kants, is a feat that even the most mahaan insaan would not have been able to do - and she's not even an insaan! Again, he expresses how proud he is. He also mentions what probably would've happened had he been married to an actual human woman and uses that to contrast what Rajni is like as a wife. He keeps making these comparisons every so often, I've noticed. They're always off-the-cuff, very natural thoughts that he voices out loud. I also love the guitar tune in this bit. All variations of this tune that have been used so far have been lovely.
- "I am so proud of you!" "But I am not proud of you." "Why?" "Shame, Shaan." Haha, his face as he asks, "Why?" made me chuckle. He's still smiling, but Rajni is utterly serious. She reprimands him and his smile doesn't fade. He's in a very good mood today!
- "Achha, yeh sab chhodo. Main yeh keh raha hoon ki tumne...aaj mera dil...khush kar ditta!" He's so happy, he gives her another flying kiss! I think Rajni's eyes follow his hand, as well, so that might have contributed to her request..."Har command maanenge?" "Koi bhi command!" Shaan doesn't back down. There's none of that "Well...not every command..." stuff here! He really trusts her, doesn't he?
- Rajni looks so happy about her logic regarding them sharing kisses. It's quite adorable how bright her expression is! She mentions "kissing," and Shaan's eyebrows rise and his lips pucker up just a bit, in shock, haha. There's no panic, no repulsion. Instead, he teases her in good humor. "Oh! Toh Madam ki sui wahan atki hui hai!" Playful Shaan is my favorite Shaan! Rajni blinks in response. Yes, it's been stuck there for a while! "No problem! Aaj main achhe mood mein hoon! Toh aaj aapka yeh command bhi accepted!"
- I find it quite sweet that Shaan gives Rajni the choice to step back if she wants to. He looks at her, possibly feeling the awkwardness of the situation a bit now. She looks back at him, pleasantly calm as always. "Main sach-much tumhe kiss karnewaala hoon." She just looks at him expectantly. "Are you ready?" "I am fully charged."
- If there's any lingering nervousness or hesitation in Shaan's mind, it seemingly fades away as he steps closer and closer to Rajni. I feel like his expression changes, maybe even softens slightly, as he continues to look at her. Rajni looks back at him steadily, but I love the little nuance of her gaze roaming over Shaan's face before she slowly closes her eyes.
- Just prior to this, Shaan himself mentioned that Rajni is becoming more and more human-like in her understanding of emotions and interactions as well as in her portrayal of those emotions. She may not be able to feel emotions, but she is catching onto the finer nuances of expression quite quickly. I'm so curious to see what effects this will have as she continues to be around Shaan. How will his perception of her change? And how will he deal with his emotional responses to her as their relationship continues to progress?
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