Posted:
Oh my frigging gosh. I haven't been able to reactivate my brain cells in the wake of the episode tonight. Fantastic episode. Truly.
The writers did a fantabulous magnificent amazingly awesome job tonight. I bow down to their creative brains and ask them to please keep rocking like this.
I felt like Sia's character grew stronger tonight.
We saw her shamelessly argue with Raghav, voice her opinions, take initiative, dare to meddle in his decisions, and so on. The woman that we saw tonight, the one who argued, insisted, dared, shoved; she has never been shown before. She has personality. Spice. Sweetness. Life.
Jahnvi was a shell, an empty shell, an object of people's desires. But Sia is so human, so alive, so full of spice, care for others, personality, and strength, constantly growing, that you can't help but love her more and more each passing episode. I remember saying once that Jahnvi was a flat character because she wasn't given a tangible personality.
But now she's finding herself as Sia, exploring her own strengths, her own personality bit by bit. And we're exploring it with her.
Without further procrastination...
>><<
THE SHOWSTOPPER
I am trying to form coherent sentences here. This shot just stole my frigging breath. What vulnerability displayed on Sia's face and in the way that Raghav fell to the ground. What I absolutely loved about this shot was how Raghav collapsed, exhausted, in pain, and yet his first and only thought was "aap theek hai?" to Sia. That ignited a sweet fire in my heart, so I can imagine what it must have done to Sia's heart.
I loved, loved, loved the way that she nodded, the way that she supported his head in her hand, the pain on her face -- and how she reached for him even before he collapsed. The entire scene was just beautiful and tragic and symbolic and I don't think that I have seen anything like this on Indian TV before. What a unique moment for Raghav and Sia. Note how Sia had no care for V or his condition. Her entire being had narrowed in on Raghav, and that's all she cared about.
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful performances by HC and SJ. I swear. I don't know how they do it, but somehow they manage to bring so much life and intensity to their moments. I'll dare say that this was one of the best moments between two potential lovers ever. Forget Romeo & Juliet. This right here is the real deal. Hands down.
*breathes*
Moving on to the...
>> Pros:
1) Raghav/Sia/Krish oil massage with a twist
What an awesome shot. It was sweet how Sia was perched on the bed, Krish in the front, and Raghav on the floor. They looked like such a cute family. No wonder people love 'em so much. The three of them have fantastic chemistry -- it's unique.
It was hilarious how Raghav/Sia were indirectly arguing with each other over Krish's head, assuming that Krish wasn't getting it. They underestimated his smartness, of course. The way that he shoved Raghav aside and confronted them both about the argument was just frigging funny. Krish was like "I'm fed up, deal with it yourselves" and then he just grabbed Raghav's phone and went to play on the bed.
Raghav's comment "boys are smarter than girls" pissed Sia off -- because she knew that he was changing the subject in order to avoid talking about the phone call.
Something else that was interesting was how Sia said that Raghav doesn't want to share his problems with anyone -- it conveyed how she felt shut out, because she opened up to him about her past, and continued to share her thoughts with him. It was important to her that he'd share his with her as well. Plus, she was worried for him.
It's really nice to see Sia worry for Raghav so much -- beyond herself, her own problems. It makes her seem less mentally distant, preoccupied, and more present.
2) Gayatri is concerned about Taashu
I was grateful for this private moment between Gayatri and Taashu. You see, this moment falsified my theory on how Gayatri isn't an attentive mother to Taashu, because Gayatri did, in fact, notice that Taashu seemed worried and she confronted her about it, wanting to know what was bothering her daughter. It was a nice moment and significant to the relationship depth of Gayatri and Taashu. It developed their equation.
Something that I noticed was how incredibly ingrown the manners of the Singh family are. For instance, note Taashu's legs/feet placement. It conveys a "royal" kind of upbringing -- the straight back included. Very nice detail.
3) Komal asks Taashu not to tell Gayatri anything and trust in Raghav
I really liked Komal here. You can tell why she's not as attentive a mother to Krish as her nature actually should allow her to be -- it's because she tries to be there for everyone all the time. She cares so much for so many people that sometimes it seems that she isn't there enough for her son. That's a nice quality/flaw added to her character. It makes her much more relatable as a character as well.
Plus something else that I liked was how she asked Taashu not to tell Gayatri anything as she should trust Raghav. I think that Komal not only trusts Raghav, but she also wants to believe what she sees rather than what might lie beneath the surface -- even though she's suspicious like everyone else. She's ignoring it, though.
4) Sia sneaks a peek at Raghav's phone with Krish's support
I think that I cracked up through the entire scene. It was just too funny and something that a lot of women would probably relate to. Checking their "husbands" phones. What made me laugh was how Sia struggled, trying to convince herself at first that it was a bad idea to check -- then using a kid to clear her conscience a bit, which actually didn't work because she still felt guilty for checking his phone.
I would've hated that she snooped if it hadn't been for her constant hesitation, her asking Krish, and then her silent apology to Raghav. Sriti did an amazing job. I understood Sia's reason behind it as well. She knows how Raghav works and that he sometimes makes mistakes that cost him dearly, puts him in deeper sh#t than he's already in.
I liked that it was her concern for him that drove her to check, and not curiosity itself. We all know that curiosity killed the cat.
Best part was when Sia asked Krish "ghalat hai na?" and he totally supported her, telling her exactly what she wanted him to tell her. I loved the way that he shrugged and tossed the phone to her, like "go ahead". Hilarious.
5) Raghav in the shower, but Dutta Bhau style
His pose totally reminded me of Dutta's in LTL when he's standing in the shower, both his hands pressed against the wall, head bent under the showerhead. I've no idea if it's some kind of male thing, but I swear that it's an awesome pose. It oozes power and roughness.
Fantastic shot.
I wish they'd focused more on panning the camera in a circle around him though. Circling. It would've added more power to the shot. Though Raghav's pose was powerful in itself.
Plus it wasn't the kind of pose that said "oh, I'm just taking a shower", but more the kind of pose that conveyed how troubled Raghav was, and how mentally exhausted he was, thus he needed to brace himself against the wall, wash the exhaustion away -- along with his thoughts.
6) Raghav tries to sneak away, but Sia is waiting for him in his car
I was in splits when they showed Sia waiting for Raghav in his car. When did she become so clever that she started outsmarting Raghav? Hilarious. Fantastic. I loved it. What made it such a funny/serious shot was how Raghav kept checking to see if anyone was actually following him, and then he opened the door only find Sia already there.
The entire argument that followed was so cute and childish and funny.
I loved how Raghav told her that she didn't know the guy that he was supposed to meet, and how Sia refused to budge, saying "well, then I'll get to know him now!"
Seriously. Fantastic dialogues between Raghav and Sia -- their arguments are so spicy, cute, and funny, and they add that perfect balance to their otherwise sweet relationship.
Something that I really enjoyed was when they both glared at each other. Watch.
*Raghav/Sia staring contest*
Best part was when Raghav figured out she'd looked in his phone. She refused to be apologetic about even though she was actually feeling guilty -- yet she blamed him in defense, saying that if only he'd told the truth from the start, then she wouldn't have had to look. Classic. I almost dropped off the couch laughing at Sriti's expression.
Next, Raghav was pissed and slamming the door of his car. LMAO. Loved how Sia didn't even flinch, stubbornly looking straight ahead. Fantastic performances once again by both of them!
7) Sia refuses to wait in the car and argues with Raghav
GAH, so much awesomeness in one episode! For one thing, Sia's persistence had me cracking up. Raghav's jokes, of course, were his defense mechanism -- trying to disarm Sia and lighten the situation, as if all he was about to do was take a stroll in the park and not face a psychopath alone.
There was this one shot where Raghav told her that she'd checked his phone, and for that her punishment was being stuck in the car. Watch Sia's expression at the end of it. She's like "yeah right, bite me, hero!"
Another shot that I adored was when she got so frustrated with his joke that she covered her face with her hands in a hopeless manner, and Raghav just looked at her like "what?"
Their arguments are so entertaining, I swear. Especially because Raghav usually always surrenders in the end, except this time. I'm really glad that he insisted on her staying in the car. It conveyed his protectiveness of her without it being possessive.
There was this one shot in which HC said "I'm only going to talk to him" -- the way that he said it, the expression on his face and hand movement, it was just frigging awesome. In general, I'm just loving how lively HC and SJ have become with their characters. Every shot is thorough, flawless in performance with expressions, hand/head gestures, smirks, etc. Brilliant work.
8) Raghav's fighting sequence
First of all, V is a frigging coward. Did anyone notice how he'd placed himself high up on the ramp, totally out of Raghav's reach? Plus he wanted to look down on Raghav, so it was supposed to be a superiority act as well.
"Welcome to my Hell." Ah, so he admits that he's the Devil? Interesting.
When he called the goons to attack Raghav, I loved how Raghav shook his head, smirked and clapped, telling him that he hadn't expected anything else from V. I appreciate the dialogues given to Raghav in this scene because even though V was the one physically higher, Raghav's words made V small to me.
Plus something that I found interesting was Raghav's dialogue on how V was the one who feared death because he'd called ten people to fight one man. Awesome.
A shot of Raghav's fight with the goons that was to die for:
Watch how he bent his back, broke the wooden stick. Fantastic performance by HC. Man, these kind of action scenes get my adrenaline pumping. Awesome job by the director and actor.
9) FINALLY -- V is beaten into a bloody pulp
I waited 9 frigging months for this moment, this historical moment, when V would have his face smashed in by Raghav, feel what it's like to be beaten senseless. I loved both actors' performances in this entire sequence. From V cut Raghav, tossed the chili in his eyes, to Raghav stumbling, shouting that V face him like a man, only to be kicked around.
Actually, the beating of Raghav reminded me of a shot from Superman Returns where, at one point, Superman is weakened due to Kryptonite. The villain beats him up badly, grabs his face, and drags him across the ground. I remember how sick I felt and how humiliating it was for Superman. Someone so powerful, able to fly and save people, being dragged across the ground like a bag of trash.
I felt something along the same lines tonight when V threw chili powder in Raghav's eyes and cut him, had him stumbling, swinging without hitting, and then kicked around because he was unable to see his opponent. It was humiliating and sickening. For one thing, V is always attacking from behind, and another thing is how he's always cheating, using dirty tricks to win.
When Raghav started beating up V, he got a hold of V's dagger, but he didn't use it. He threw it away. Instead he used his fists to fight V, playing fair. That was another contrast between the kind of man V is and the kind of man Raghav is.
I loved Raghav's expression when Sia shouted that she took her kasam back. First thing, Sia knowing even then that Raghav wouldn't fight because of her kasam? Awesome and interesting. She knows him well now, knows her importance in his life and understands it now. Second thing, Raghav's expression was scary -- even with his eyes closed -- and the way he told V that Sia's kasam was all that had saved his butt till now -- it had shivers trickling down my spine.
Then he punched V, and I was like HELL YEAH!
I might have screamed in delight too. It was an epic moment, much awaited one. Gosh, he beat V black and blue. I especially enjoyed the "water fight" part. Fantastically shot and mindblowing performances by both actors.
>> Cons:
1) Raghav's kick that knocked out ten goons, at least
Um, yeah. This was kind of overdramatic and not needed. I mean, the entire fight was so awesome and down-to-earth-ish, except this strange flying shot of Raghav knocking out the goons with one kick. If the director absolutely had to have this shot [which I don't get], then maybe they shouldn't have shown it in slowmotion, but sped it up.
In fact, most of the action shots should've been sped up, because slowing them down just ruins the full impact of the shot whereas the sped up shots gives a heady rush.
You do NOT want to miss tonight's episode, I swear. Watch it. NOW! Run, run, run.
Nite, peeps :D Apologies for the messy feedback. My thoughts were all over the place after tonight's episode. Still haven't been able to collect them xD Forgive me. I'm still in SB? Fangirl Mode.
Arjun
