Part 7 " Arnav's and Khushi's realisation of the depth of their love that surpassed all the self-made and external obstructions on the path towards their union is truly touching. Lovely to see his implicit trust in NK and allowing the latter to help him out as well as his concern for him. The moment Shyam got his hands on the contract papers I began anticipating how Arnav would get the better of him. It became more imperative for Arnav and Khushi to be married before God and in the eyes of the law, too, and the sooner the better. Arnav's immediate rallying of troops and his decisive actions reflect the sharp mind and shrewd intellect he was purported to possess in the show but which we saw no signs of! "Hum to aap hi ke hain, with or without real or contract marriage, with or without rasams..." Shows how far their relationship has come if Khushi can say this despite all that she suffered at his hands. Arnav looked at Devi Maiyya's smiling visage and then looked at Khushi's peaceful countenance as she prayed with her eyes shut... after ages, Arnav must have experienced a sense of peace. Khushi doing her own kanyadaan is a nice touch... reflects her willingness to share her life with him without any reservations. Arnav and Khushi filled in all the details and signed the temple register and Arnav made the boy with the camera take a picture and a photocopy of the page... he has thought of everything and wants to take no chances with someone as slimy as Shyam. Meanwhile, Shyam is counting his chickens before they hatch... he gloating over Arnav's prospective loss of everything he held dear is premature. Pleased to see him scared of Lallan... thanks to all the things preying on his mind and due to all his plans falling apart, Shyam is not at his best but is forced to adapt to the changing scenario, leaving more scope for him to make mistakes.
Part 8 " Arnav's and Khushi's tranquil happiness as they stroll back to the dhaba and its lady's gentle teasing making them blush is touching. The lady's warning to Khushi of the presence of some hard-drinking college students reflects her kind heart. Awww, Arnav's husky, suggestive voice, even when supposedly speaking of mundane things, seems to have been made just for the bedroom and purposely to seduce Khushi. A naughty Arnav flustering Khushi with his voice, words and actions is a treat... he takes seduction to an altogether different level! He parted the sinful lips and wrapped them around her fingers as he took the morsel from her. Khushi gasped and pulled back her hand as though she had stuck it in an electrical socket... something as simple as this makes the temperature skyrocket! Whether he is the one being fed or the one feeding Khushi, he uses every opportunity to caress her, leaving her hyperventilating... poor Khushi is no match for him and his expert ministrations! Arnav, the most concerned husband on earth, rubbed her back gently, taking careful note of how many doris he had to undo to stroke the skin of her back and where the doris were tied... simply wow! "Trapped in a honeymoon suite... far away from the world we knew... a whole world that believed that we were married and on our honeymoon... and the worst temptation of all, you in a bridal lehenga, looking irresistible, like a dream come true, not letting me push you away, looking at me with worried eyes as I said I would leave alone... not able to hide how much you cared for me..." Passion and tenderness in a seamless blend! The need to be with her husband prompted her to throw herself into his arms. But the fear of the unknown and the wild sensations overwhelming her as he came close to her stopped her... a vividly drawn and realistic picture of a maiden's desire juxtaposed against her trepidation. Now she was his, just as he was hers... he clearly takes his marriage vows seriously, clearly acknowledging that he would never stray... They had every right over each other, and no one on earth could stop them tonight. Or any other night. Or day... with the direction of Arnav's thoughts, it's a wonder Khushi will ever be able to get out of bed! Lovely to see Khushi's satisfaction at the thought that Arnav is as affected by her proximity as she is by his... her innocent exploration of his body to familiarise herself with it leaves him at the end of his tether, barely hanging on to his control... beautiful! The seducer becoming the seduced is pleasant reading. He bent to lift her in his arms, and moved towards the bed. Khushi looked into his ardent, passionate eyes, and curled her arms tighter around him. Arnav laid his wife on their bed, letting her head rest on the pillow. He lowered his lips to taste the fine skin of her neck... brought their post Janmashtami suhagraat [in the show] vividly to mind!
Part 9 " Benevolent rays fell on the discarded clothing on the floor and on the face of Arnav as he lay tangled with his wife under the covers... a beautiful image of completion, of everything being right with the world! Her long limbs were entwined around his, keeping him locked in place. Even in sleep, she was unwilling to let go of him... sensuous... also indicative of her underlying fear of being separated from him... always loved her death grip on his collar, in the show, and how gradually he too slept clutching on to her hand. Their admission of the depth of their love for each other to each other is quite moving. "I never thought... I never knew... I was waiting for you, but I didn't know I was waiting..." His pain evaporated her bashfulness. "You will never be alone again, Arnavji," she promised him, cupping his face in her hands. She lowered her head to shower kisses on his face... his forehead, his cheeks, his nose, his ears, his eyes, his chin... As she paused, he whispered, "You left out my lips..." He corrected her oversight with gusto... the quicksilver changes from intensity to playfulness are what draw one to him. Arnav pulled her on to his lap with ease. Khushi snuggled close as she flipped open the cover... lovely how at ease they are with each other. "Arnavji, let go of it," she said. "Khushi, but...," he protested. "Why do you want to hug unpleasant memories close to your heart? Let go of them, Arnavji. They belong to the past. Let them remain in the past." "If we spend all our lives lamenting over them, we will be wasting the time we have together, to live together, to make a life for ourselves... Do you really want to spoil our present by hanging on to our past?" While it is right on Arnav's part to apologise for all the hurt he inflicted on Khushi, she is also right... he always lived in the past, letting those painful memories colour his present and his opinion of people. If he continues to focus on how he wronged her, he and wouldn't be able to move on and would completely miss the happy present and the bright future awaiting them. Loved the contrast: Shyam looked away in contempt. The same people who were praising Arnav and Khushi would be badmouthing them soon. The contract marriage papers... that would teach these hags a lesson they wouldn't forget in a hurry! Arnav Singh Raizada! Their blue-eyed boy! He would be revealed as a trickster soon! ...Shyam stood, gobsmacked, speechless, shocked out of his skull. His missing kidnap victim had turned up at her house, safe and sound with her husband who had gone to make the ransom money! The super confident Shyam deflating like a pricked balloon is a treat! It never made any sense in the serial to show Khushi gathering all the evidence against Shyam only to lose it all when the time was ripe for his unmasking... the denouement you've etched makes far more sense! Seeing Shyam on the back foot is a delight. Her bubble was bursting, her cocoon was no longer safe, reality was intruding into her dream world with heavy feet... Beautiful imagery to describe harsh reality!
Part 10 " "Ye sarasar jhoot hai, Rani Sahiba! Arnav is trying to malign me, defame my character!" If that were true, the question arises why he would do so all of a sudden, without any provocation? "What are you doing in my house?" Shyam shouted at him, "And who gave you the permission to go sniffing in my car?" What cheek! "This is not your house, Shyam. This is my house. And I gave him permission to go sniffing' as you so succinctly put it, in the car I paid my hard-earned money to purchase," Arnav said softly... loved with what brevity he put Shyam in his place while reminding the others of how Shyam has been sponging off them all these years. Arnav's softly spoken words have more of an impact than Shyam's rants! Mami looked at the determined faces of Arnav, Akash and NK, and caught hold of Nani's hand and patted it, trying to calm her down and keep her silent. She realised that more things than were evident were going on... her OTT behaviour often distracts us from her sharp mind, but it is there nevertheless. Arnav calmly stating the unpalatable truth without any melodrama, unlike Shyam's emotional outbursts, makes it all the more believable. Akash clenched his fists. By the time the day was done, he would level a facer to the cheap trickster with bigamous tendencies, he vowed... an aggressive Akash is a nice change. The reactions of the Raizadas to all the shocking revelations is very realistically portrayed. Anjali not knowing who to believe as both the relationships are equally important to her is well-etched. Arnav gently touched Khushi's knee with his, signifying that she remain calm for the next few minutes... that's a beautiful gesture of intimacy, trust and concern.
Part 11 " When Shyam didn't find the contract papers in his bag, I thought Arnav or his allies had somehow managed to filch those papers... never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that Laxmi would turn out to be the saviour! With a loud yelp, Shyam tossed his bag aside and ran to pull the papers out of the goat's mouth. Realising that her snack had caught the eye of a predator, Laxmi quickly rolled it into a ball with her tongue and gulped it down. Shyam came to a stop by her, his feet leaving skid marks on the floor. He clutched his hair in frustration and shouted, "You dumb goat! You...you..." Laxmi bared her big teeth at Shyam. How dare he try to steal her food from her? The intense scene suddenly descending into a near-farce is hilarious! Nice twist to the onscreen scene here: there it had been Khushi who had lost all proof of Shyam's criminal activities and was left accusing him without a shred of evidence, whereas here Shyam is in that position! Nothing is going right for Shyam... his vengeful revelation about Arnav's and Khushi's contract marriage, meant to turn the scandalised Raizadas against them, falls flat... they are too shocked by the earlier revelations to react... what an anti-climax! They looked at Arnav and Khushi with mild curiosity... that was the best reaction by far! He turned to the Guptas, "Amma, Babuji, Buaji..." That must have been one of the first times he referred to Garima as Amma', something Khushi had kept pestering him to do during their Laxmi Nagar sojourn. "Who will believe you, Saale Sahab?" "Anybody who knows Arnavji will," Khushi spoke up... Khushi jumping to Arnav's defence is touching. Love how Buaji doesn't shy away from asking uncomfortable questions... they are quite pertinent, focusing on the crux of the matter: "Bitwaa, when does the contract end?" "Titliyaa, did you marry Arnav Bitwaa because you wanted to marry him, Nandkisore? Or did you do it to defeat this... this man?" "Aur Arnav Bitwaa... why did you marry Khussi?" Despite all their planning and all the evidence showing what a dangerous man Shyam was, Arnav, his cousins and the police underestimated him... no wonder he got the drop on them and took Anjali hostage. The gun pressed against her temple is the final proof, if Anjali needed it, that Shyam didn't care for her or her unborn child one iota! In his anger, frustration and disappointment at seeing all his machinations come to naught, Shyam doesn't even realise or couldn't care less that he was spewing the truth about attempting to murder Anjali and Babuji. For a change, Payal's habit of blending with the background has stood her in good stead... her quick thinking distracts Shyam enough for the boys to get the gun away from him and to rescue Anjali. NK and Akash beating the living daylights out of him, with Mami and Buaji cheering them on, in the background is quite entertaining. The police waiting by patiently for NK, Akash and, lastly, for Arnav to impart some street justice to Shyam is very amusing! He looked like a vagrant, like an unkempt beggar... as soiled outside as he was inside... aptly put! Arnav carried Anjali up to her bedroom... Anjali wept copiously as Arnav hugged her close, telling her without words that whatever happened, he would be there with her, always... the sibling bond and support brings a lump to one's throat.
Part 12 " The Guptas staying back at Shantivan for moral support reflects their generosity of spirit and forgiving nature. Glad to see Anjali deciding to immediately start divorce proceedings against Shyam... despite the mental, emotional and physical trauma she suffered, her first thought is about her baby... that is where the CVs of the show erred! That Shyam was a lowlife had been proven but that he was a serial bigamist came as a shock... I won't be surprised if he killed off his father-in-law and his mother-in-law in both his prior marriages, given how soon after the weddings they passed away! "Only his marriage to Vimala Thripati is legal. Saraswati Mishra and Anjali Raizada are not his wives." One can't escape the irony here... while everyone disapproved of Arnav and Lavanya's live-in relationship, it turns out that Anjali had been doing the same, though unknowingly, all these years! Nothing to redeem him because even the money he stole from Anjali didn't go to his kids... they and his former wives were left to starve... if things had taken their course, sometime in the distant future, Khushi would have met the same fate! Thank god she escaped that sordid fate, though her contract marriage to Arnav was no cakewalk. "Chotey... at least my child escaped..." "It is better to die than to live as Shyam Manohar Jha's son or daughter." Her lips trembled, but her voice was firm... despite her own pain and sense of loss and betrayal, Anjali's thoughts are with Vimala and Saraswati and their innocent kids, all abandoned by Shyam... it is much more heart-breaking to read of this stoic and courageous Anjali facing the storms buffeting her life than it was watching the manipulative one in the show. "You cannot control other people's lives. You cannot live other people's lives for them. You can only stand by and support them when things go horribly wrong. That is what you have done. That is why I said your mother will be very proud of you today..." Rightly said... touching to see Khushi instinctively understanding Arnav's angst and sense of ease and putting his heart at ease with her soothing and supportive words. And you are going to help those poor women and their unfortunate children... he wasn't morally obligated to do so, but still did it because it was the humanitarian thing to do. They remained locked in the tight embrace for long minutes, letting the moonlight fall on them like a blessing... a beautiful and moving image!
Parts 13 & 14 " A sense of contentment permeates the beginning of this update before Arnav gives full rein to his playful yet passionate self. Arnav moved the soft petals along the curve of her lips, the scented petals kissing the pink folds of her lips as he wanted to do... beauty, gentleness and passion seamlessly blended... him using the delicate rose as an instrument of torture on his Khushi scorched the page! The early morning short romantic interlude in the kitchen is cute. Heartening to note Anjali not wallowing in self-pity but trying her best to get back to normal under the ever-loving and supportive eye of her extended family. "Khushi... come up to our room," Arnav whispered into the phone. "Arnavji!" she whispered, scandalised. "Now? I am in the kitchen with Jiji, making lunch. All the others are in the living room. What will they think if they see me going up?" She has a very good idea of what will happen up in their room if she accedes to her hubby's whispered demand! Thank God Arnav didn't pounce on HP at the door under the expectation that his wife would be the one bringing his juice. "Arnav Bhaiyya, do you want anything else?" Of course he does... he desperately yearns to get his darling wife in his arms! One thing I always appreciate about Arnav is that he does what he feels is right, irrespective of who might be watching... here he doesn't care what his family might think, he just wants to be with Khushi... it doesn't matter if the whole world knows what he and his wife will be up to within the confines of their room! And poor Khushi, with a blush suffusing her face, has to come up with answers to the awkward questions thrown at her by her bewildered family. Nani looked at Mami, and both of them looked down to hide their smiles... endearing! A thwarted Arnav unable to keep his hands off Khushi is always a treat... just adorable how his anger melted away the moment he had her in his arms! ...he proceeded to show her exactly how convenient saris were... lovely... the hint is even more suggestive and sensuous than a graphic description would have been!
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