There are times when a story makes you feel that you are an inclusive part of a character's journey. That story becomes more memorable & impactful for you even though you may appreciate other better stories in the future, that story & its characters always remain special for you. This was the feeling that I got while watching Adi confess his truth & bare his soul to his family- Imlie, Meethi & Satyakam❤️.
You know we have analysed the character of Aditya Kumar Tripathi ad nauseam in the forum. He has always been intriguing in his faults & his values. But hearing him tell the journey that he has undergone since the forced marriage in his own words is something else. Such raw honesty where nothing was kept hidden- the pleasant & unpleasant❤️. It is so rare to get such memorable scenes in a story, especially so in an ITV show. So kudos to the team- writers, director, actors for giving us such a beauty👏👏.
First I liked the setup of the scene with Adi telling Imlie that he needs to tell the truth to Amma & SK. Imlie asked him why that was required when they do know the truth & have belief in him to which Adi replied that they cannot know his truth by listening to someone else & he wants to talk to them himself. He wants to tell them everything, things that even she may not know. They are his apne, his family & Imlie agreed.
The scene continued with Meethi telling him that he does not require to give any explanation. If her gudiya believes him, then she also believes him. But Adi tells her that they know about him but he wants them to know him as a person as all 3 of them are his apne. I loved how SK came & sat down to listen to him & said that "Apnon se dil kholke baat karna chahiye" reciprocating his apnapan❤️. Such simple statement but it made Adi even more comfortable to bear his soul.
Adi began telling his story by letting them know about his relationship with Malini briefly. How he was happy in his life & when he had come to PD, his family was making arrangements for his wedding. But his destiny changed in PD. Imlie came in his life. The forced marriage was dishonest & illegal for him. He never considered Imlie his wife & tried his best to make Imlie understand the same. How he didn't give her his name or even the right to apply sindoor. He revealed that he didn't want to take her to his home & had left her at NGO. Then I just loved the profound dialogue next " Hum jaante hain ki ek aurat hona mushkil hota hai, lekin ek haara hua mard hona usse bhi zyada mushkil hota hai." So much of his helplessness, trauma & mental, emotional state after the forced marriage got revealed in this one statement.
How his self respect was destroyed to bits when he was forced to marry Imlie at gunpoint how Imlie became the physical representation of this loss. He did take her to his home but couldn't reveal the truth because he wanted to preserve his false pride as a man. But Imlie sacrificed her self respect, her rights & her name & became a servant in her own sasural. She was daily living with this humiliation so that he could be saved from his humiliation. But he never felt pity for her. He was helpless about his circumstances & was lying to everyone & vented all his anger on Imlie. He never gave a thought that Imlie was also as forced into this marriage, how her studies were snatched from her due to this marriage. He should have made efforts to get her educated then but she worked as a servant & he never left a chance to humiliate her.
Adi says that they might be getting angry at him hearing this truth but Imlie never hated him, never got angry at him & continued doing good deeds for him & his family. He even told them that now even the thought of Imlie being with someone else brings out a murderous rage in him. But Imlie had to see him give his body & soul to someone else, had to see someone else get the rights that belonged to her. He always said to her that he can never accept her as his wife but she always maintained that her Vishwas is enough to nibaho their rishta.
Imlie never asked him for anything but gave so many things to him in return- himmat, hausala, mauka & maafi.
Himmat- strength to bear all his emotional upheaval, his trauma
Hausala- courage to accept his true self
Mauka- chance to always explain himself, to start afresh
Maafi- forgiveness for all the hurt that he caused her
All throughout this confession, he was looking at Imlie especially when he was talking about her. As if letting her know how he sees her, what she means to him. Meethi & SK gave him the silence & understanding that he required. You could see their hurt & sadness while listening about the bad treatment that Imlie received from him. You could see Meethi's smile of pride in her Gudiya when Adi extolled her virtues & what she has come to mean for him. You could see Imlie listening to his pov & understanding him even better. She has always understood him & his emotions on her own but it must be surreal to know what he went through in his own journey towards her.
I am sorry that I may have transcribed the entire scene but I cannot help myself. I have just re watched this scene alone a number of times. I need to mention my thoughts about the rest of the epi but I am just stuck on the beauty of this scene❤️. Hopefully we get an equally beautiful conclusion to this confession tomorrow. I cannot wait for the next epi.