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Please refrain from basher/provocative behavior. This is the 5th part of the analysis series on Raghavendra Pratap Singh. This one's a longer one. Ye be warned. 
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You know what I love the most about this show? That it thrives on character development. That all characters are multidimensional. But in this analysis, I focus on Raghav and what kind of character development that he's being given. The journey that he has covered and that path that he is yet to walk down in order to reach his destination. Whatever it may be. I'm curious to know what kind of complicated experiences/journey that the writers have planned for him. Where is his character headed? There is so much potential, as I wrote in my last analysis on his character. I feel that this is one hero who could become larger than life, and I hope that what the writers have in store for him will do just that.
1. Team RaghaVi and HC/SJ chemistry
I'll start with Team RaghaVi because their relationship development and scenes have been specially noticable in recent episodes, and their relationship is a very important part of the foundation of the show now.
I have come to love R/S teamwork. They rock. They're one helluva team. I know that I had complained about their moments losing some of the magic due to not enough attention or focus from the writers. But that magic has returned tenfold now. Their relationship's been gradually growing stronger, more confident, more down-to-earth, given contrast. For one thing, I love how they bicker/argue when they disagree, or when Sia thinks that Raghav is being an idiot about something and she meddles in his plans with an "I'm so going down with you if you won't listen to me" attitude.
Raghav is all about protecting Sia. Sia is all about protecting Raghav. They both collide in their attempts at protecting each other because neither will back down. It's refreshing to see how equally stubborn and opinionated/argumentative Sia can be. Before, Raghav had a hard time getting more than a two-word response out of her and she'd never voice her opinion on a matter. But now she has started being proactive, meddling in his decisions whenever she thinks that he might cause himself harm, or whenever she thinks that he's being stupidly male about something -- like meeting up with V "just to talk". Personally, I could smell the violence from a mile away before he'd even said "talk".
Something else that makes Team RaghaVi awesome -- apart from their bickering -- is how they complement each other. When one is weakened, the other takes the lead. And in the same manner when one is emotional, the other is sensible/rational. Plus you can't help but love the chemistry between HC/SJ as it practically charges the air -- even when they're arguing. Like I've said so many times before, HC/SJ have a give-and-take thing going on when they perform which puts them perfectly in sync with each other.
2: Raghav's many moods/nuances
When Raghav was first introduced, he was one-dimensional. You saw a dispassion on his face that was sometimes disrupted by anger, but apart from that you never saw any other side to his character [because he wasn't given the screenspace/importance as a main lead on the show]. We weren't shown any other shade to his mysterious character. And now so much has been altered for the better.
He has been given many layers and peculiar dimensions, and they switch like the weather -- one moment you see him playful, and the next he's furious as hell. One moment you see him worried, and the next you see him humoring Taashu, Krish, or Sia. One moment you see him vulnerable, and the next you see him confidently smirking. But throughout all his moods, there's one thing that remains consistent about his character; it's the mystery that surrounds it.
Whether it's on purpose or something stemming from the secrets that he seems to conceal about his past -- I'm not sure. But it's the kind of mystery that I enjoy, because it somehow emphasizes his imperfection. That he, too, is human and has things to hide; things that he isn't proud of, things that he regrets, things that changed him. It shows me that he, too, is flawed.
It's important to breathe life into a character like this. The moods of Raghav are what make him tangible to me. He's never angry in the same way, for instance. If you notice his anger toward his mother in the past and compare it to his anger toward himself or toward V -- you can see how it varies in strength/intensity and meaning/purpose. It's an ability to know just when to hold back and when to let go completely -- it's a quality in HC as an actor. In the same way, you can see it in his emotional scenes. He has done emotional scenes where he had to sob like a child, and he has done emotional scenes where only one tear hung from his eyelash and never fell.
To be honest, the latter has always had more impact on me because it has shown delicate control from the actor while at the same time conveying how suffocated the character felt. Emotions so delicately controlled while at the same time touching the viewer -- it isn't an easy thing to do. To have tears pool in your eyes, but exercise the exact amount of control in order to keep them in your eyes and not fall even for a split-second, is not an easy thing to do. Some of my favorite scenes are those where Raghav gets emotional and you can see his eyes go glassy, yet the tears don't fall. He just swallows them back and moves on. An example is the scene outside the mandir after R/S "marriage" when both are perched on the stairs and Krish points out that Raghav loves Sia, which puts Raghav in an awkward and very uncomfortable position.
3. Raghav's self-blame/hatred in relation to Dev and his mother
I love nothing more than a tortured soul in a character. Raghav is a tortured soul. I see it whenever his brother is mentioned that it has some kind of disturbing impact on him and I hope that this self-blame of his will be explored at one point, because it's something so human and relatable about him.
There is one scene in which I just loved how his expression and voice went taut with strain when he spoke of Dev. It was when he and Sia were outside the ashram right after visiting Sundar. Raghav said that if his mother could forgive him for what happened to Dev, then this was nothing in comparison.
For one thing, it had me incredibly curious. How bad was the Dev incident that Raghav would leave home, Gayatri wouldn't see her son's face for four years, and he would blame himself so terribly? Another thing is how, despite saying that his mother has forgiven him, he didn't seem to quite believe it, deep down. Perhaps because he hasn't forgiven himself for it, or perhaps because he knows that they're both ignoring/avoiding talking about the incident and pretending that it's forgotten -- yet the blame is still there.
I hope to see the writers explore Gayatri's and Raghav's relationship in relation to this as well, because as much as there are good memories, there are also a lot of bad memories and blame and anger and disappointment here. It all seems to have been brushed under the rug for now, as if they're both pretending that it doesn't exist. Yet note how easily Gayatri doubts Raghav, how easily she suspects him, or is disappointed in him whenever he makes a mistake. I don't think that she feels that she knows her son anymore.
4. Raghav always blames himself rather than others
I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed, but it seems that Raghav always blames himself for others' mistakes. Note how he beats himself down over the fake marriage plan [i.e. in the scene right after agreeing to the "re-marriage" due to Gayatri's emotional pressure], for instance -- even though the entire fake marriage idea was Komolika's. Note how he beats himself down over the lies told to Gayatri -- even though Sia and Komolika were the ones to lie-on-lie. Note how he blames himself for Sundar's accident as much as he blames V -- even though Sundar also kept the truth from him and Sia is also the reason that things got this far.
Plus in the scene where he snuck into his mother's room at night and apologized to her, again and again, promising her to prove himself innocent and trustworthy -- that, too, conveyed his self-blame. That even though V had put him in prison, that V was the root of all the evil done and said, he still blamed himself for not being good enough, for not being able to protect his family. For hurting his mother.
You see, it's always easy to blame everyone else -- and this is what V does [which is again a contrast to Raghav]. But blaming yourself, hating yourself [like Raghav does], it means that you're carrying around on a feeling of unworthiness.
This is something that I feel characterizes Raghav as well.
However, the flaws in Raghav's character are what make him more perfect, in fact, as a character. They make him earthly/relatable rather than something intangible or superhuman. Not just his self-blame/hate, but also his impulsiveness at times when emotions overpower his rationale.
Though I love how Raghav, in spite of his flaws, always tries to do the right thing -- his intentions are never corrupted or soiled. They're always pure and selfless.
Even though Raghav is a selfless character and struggles to aid others, I do think that as a human being everyone has a limit. You see how that limit is gradually but surely crossed. Raghav has so much going on right now with V and Sia and keeping all these secrets from his mother, Sundar being in a coma, protecting Krish from V, and now Taashu being upset with him -- it's starting to exhaust him mentally. It is bound to affect him.
The shower scene was a perfect example of his mental exhaustion. You could see it in the way that he braced his hands on the wall, head bent under the showerhead, as if he was being weighed down by something other than the water lashing him.
5. HC and his livelier performances each passing episode
I feel that HC's performances are growing livelier and livelier the more that his character grows. I've listed some examples below.
- His hand gestures [i.e. pinching-the-bridge-of-his-nose, brush of finger over his mouth, lifting his hand to flap it helplessly only to drop it again, pointing, shoving back his hair with one hand, etc.] All of these gestures convey an inner turmoil such as frustration or concern or insecurity, and so on.
[when he touched the bridge of his nose]
[when he brushed a finger over his mouth]
- Expressing with his eyes more as in widening them, narrowing them, staring, or glancing here and there when nervous, making them seem darker/lighter depending on his mood. The latter was especially predominant in his first confrontation with V when he grabbed the dagger's blade and said the dialogues about knowing what kind of man V is.
- Facial expressions such as clenching his jaw, gritting his teeth, smirking full on, or subtly pulling his lips into a smile [amused smile, mocking smile, genuine smile, fake smile, or a teasing smile].
Raghav's mocking smirk
Raghav's feigned smile
- Swallowing hard.
- The ease with which he punches/elbows his opponent in the neck [adds an elegance to Raghav's quick movements while at the same time making them powerful.]
All of these minor details bring Raghav to life for me, makes him powerful as a character, and adds character traits to him. Makes him human. I would like to see him continue to add more traits to Raghav [for instance, cock his head to the side when amused, or shrug, or something else entirely]. It's actually a journey of exploration in itself to watch Raghav grow from episode to episode. I'm loving it.
6. Moments to treasure [chosen only a few for brief mention]
>> The scene in which he grabbed V's dagger by its blade [fantastic scene throughout as it emphasized Raghav's physical as well as psychological strength, HC's dialogue delivery in itself was powerful, his eyes were darker than usual, his stance was tough, and his entire attitude was provocative/confident]
>> The scene in which Sia bandaged Raghav's hand [it not only conveyed the love and concern between the two of them, but also showed how Raghav always resorts to jokes as a defense mechanism against something that disturbs him -- for instance, Sia's tears]
>> The sleeping arrangements scene [I analyzed it in detail in one of my feedbacks, but basically you saw a whole other side of Raghav, his prankster side with his teasing smiles and easygoing nature -- it was refreshing and incredibly charming]
>> The scene in which they find Krish in V's room [I analyzed this scene in one of my feedbacks as well, and again it was the united power of Raghav and Sia, their stances, their expressions, that made the entire scene so powerful/impactful -- I especially loved Raghav's fiery expression, the way that he shook his head without taking his eyes off V]
>> The scene in which Raghav slammed his hands against the wall repeatedly [once again it conveyed how he blamed himself for not keeping a better eye on Krish, and the frustration of how much more damage V might've done to Krish if he hadn't gotten there on time -- plus his frustration/confusion over V and whether he deserved mercy]
There have been many more scenes, of course. But just selected a few powerful ones. We all loved the fight between R/V and the RaSiKri head massage scene xD
7. Questions unanswered
- Is Gayatri essentially disappointed that Raghav isn't more like Dev?
- Komal and Raghav, what kind of past do they share in relation to Dev?
- Are they hiding something from Gayatri?
Hope that ya'll enjoyed the analysis. I edited out a lot to shorten it while at the same time trying to convey my thoughts. Happy Sunday.
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