Also, I do feel this turn of events is supposed to be a jolt to bring Adi out of the guilt that is weighing him down regarding Malini.
Not saying the guilt of the overall situation won't keep hitting him but this will just make it clearer that if the choice comes between protecting Imlie or giving token consideration to Malini out of guilt, he will always choose Imlie.
Malini is currently directly attacking the symbol of Imlie's faith as well as the symbol of her marriage with Adi. No matter the overall mess that this situation is, I don't think Adi will tolerate Imlie being attacked for this....in the very least because all this while, he feels he hasn't stood up for her and her rights as his wife. If Adi can beat up random gundas for trying to take Imlie's MS away from her, does it seem like he will now be able to tolerate anyone, yes even Malini attacking Imlie's sindoor?
You can call it fair or unfair but at this rate, Malini will herself erode her rights in the eyes of Adi and the family....she may have the token label of wife/bahu but by attacking Imlie, she is now making Adi's protectiveness for Imlie supersede his guilt. All that he otherwise tries to suppress whether it's out of the promise given to Imlie or because of latent guilt towards Malini then all goes POOF in an instant.....lol....this is Adi as Imlie's husband in full force then and he doesn't tolerate anyone attacking his wife Imlie.
+1 on the bold
I do think that this phase is to remove the glasses that he has about Malini that she is calm, understanding person. This is to show him that the Malini that he has known for so many years, the nice, kind person also has a Mrs C in her who is as class conscious as her mother. She is nice and good as long as things are according to her rules and wishes but the moment they are different she is not as understanding at its portrayed. Malini has always been a controlling person and this was very apparent in the episode. She wanted Imlie to be in the box and behave as per her wishes and the moment she realized Imlie is not doing it, not following her rules, she lost it. I think her ego was also in the picture that was hurt that how can a person that she is doing a "meherbaani" on and is actually a servant not listening to her or following her own thoughts and wishes. Her whole outburst was because she was unable to control Imlie in the way she thought she could.
It also reminded me that she has done the same with Aditya till date and, Aditya has been Ok to follow her rules till date. But now he is not doing it and she does not know how to handle it. Its a very common human tendency to go back to the roots when you are not able to figure things out. Malini has seen how her mother's behavior has made her father shut up and follows her rules. Hence now Malini has decided to use that same method as all the old methods are not working. Her mother's one method is to make the other person feel guilty by using taunts and questions. She knows that once Aditya feels guilty he will do what she asked and life will back to normal. Not sure if I should call this her naivety or blindness because either she has never realized how much Aditya resents Mrs C behavior or that he has been with her for 7 years because she has been the opposite of Mrs C or that Aditya is not Dev. He is not a person who will let things go if they do not sound right or feel right and Malini following Mrs C method is just going to push Aditya to cross those lines that he was not doing because of her "lihaz" or the respect that he had for her till date especially if she targets Imlie.
The other word that struck me was "discipline" and the repeated use of it conveyed that Malini's outburst was not only related to the sindoor. It was a result of her resentment that has been increasing everytime Aditya has given Imlie importance or Imlie has been able to make him do something that Malini has failed to make him to do. I think it started with the holi episode and the sindoor has become synonymous with every time Malini has failed whereas Imlie is excelling including her realtionship with Aditya. She cannot control Imlie in other field but she can stop Imlie from crossing lines where Aditya is concerned or making a place for herself in Aditya's heart. She cannot make it very obvious or tell Aditya anything because there is no concrete reason hence she is using discipline, manners etc as a means to tell Imlie to back off, that she needs to stay in her corner and not interfere in their relationship. I think in her subconscious she is blaming Imlie interference at crucial points for her or Imlie not staying in her "dayra" for her failure to make inroads in her relationship with Aditya. Till now she was Ok with the T's being close to Imlie as long as the interaction with Aditya was strained or through her. Now when it is not, in fact its almost the opposite, Malini wants Imlie to create that distance between them under the cloak of "tameez". Hence she is stressing the discipline and manners because logically it would make sense to a listener that she is just asking to follow discipline but the intent is not as simple as it sounds😲
PS: Unpopular opinion may be and I am Ok with Aditya coming and defending Imlie but I would really like to see Imlie putting her foot down regarding this sindoor. This is her belief, her faith and when she did not let Aditya mess with it, I do not think she should let anybody mess with it even if its Malini Didi. I would like her to ask that question to Malini Didi that why is it such a big deal and why is the sindoor wrong? Is there a rule that says that you cannot put sindoor in college or married women are not allowed in college? Malini is a professor and she herself is asking to follow this nomenclatures instead of asking her students to be openminded.I guess I am more shocked about that than anything else. This is our culture and why be embarrassed to wear a MS or sindoor. I really hope the makers address this very common issue of perception in our country that you can go to college only if you are certain age, are unmarried, have a certain attire and look a certain way else stay at home. 🤔
Anupamaa
