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Hello to all! Its been a while since I posted anything. IPK3 has interested me quite a bit with its plot and characters. This post is just my take on our two main characters and what I see of them. Its not meant to offend so if you don't agree with it, I take no offence and hope you return me the same sentiment.
Advay is introduced as the anti-hero - the intense, mysterious stranger who has arrived with a pre-meditated plan of action against his enemies. From the first episode itself, we can see that there is a smouldering pyre of vengeance in his heart that guides a series of coldly chalked out plans to infiltrate the enemy base.
For 16 years, his family has been denied justice, his own life uprooted. 16 years of festering wounds have changed him. He has now returned to exact justice on his own terms. And I realize that the man is capable of doing anything, and yes I do mean anything, to get it.
When he is setting Chandni's dupatta on fire, or manipulating her to fall, or plotting release of the defaming posters - all is done with icy, unfeeling resolve and a sense of warranted vindication. He feels no remorse or pity. Not one bit.
Is he affected by Chandni when she faints in his arms? For a second, Yes! Does this change anything about his mindset or goals? Definitely, No!
Does he experience tenderness when she hides under his bed? Momentarily, Yes! What does that tenderness mean to him? Nothing but a second of cynical amusement!
Oh how she amuses him! Like a tiny mouse amuses the hunting cat. And need I say that cats cant help but play with their fodder!
This man is just that focused on the end game. Chandni chhalava hai, he says. Kaali raat se bhi kaali hai. These are his inner most thoughts that he has nursed diligently for 16yrs. A few moments with our innocent heroine will not disabuse him of these notions so easily. As he says, main iss chehre ke peeche ki asliyat to janta hoon na, Chandni?
Hence no hesitation in slyly implying that he can give her all the money she wants, not one iota of hesitation in maligning her to the town's eye and then using her defamation to prove himself the good guy to her own mother by producing the supposed real culprit behind the posters.
All in all, an intelligent, resourceful mind with a hardened heart of stone. Uski haveli ki taraf, sach mein woh bhi patthar ban chuka hai.
So when he gains a foothold in the enemy camp, am I surprised that this 6 feet tall tower of dark vengeance turns into a seductive charming hunk? For a second, yes! Then I remember that he plans to drag Chandni with him to Hell. Make her burn as he he has been burning. To do that he must turn into the Devil. Seduction, camouflage, deception, lies - that is what the Devil is all about.
Hence when I see him pull out the stops to woo the woman, figuratively seduce and confuse her into doing what he wants, I realize that the endgame is still on.
To me, the romantic moments are honestly very hot, BUT never do I once forget that yeh Advay ka chhalava hai. Love has no place in his heart yet. This guy is physically and emotionally luring our heroine into a trap.
Then I think why does not do it directly? Why does he not use Indrani's greed to force Chandni's agreement? That would be easiest to do! But this anti-hero wants our heroine to walk into his lair on her own two feet. He wants her emotionally invested in him. Hence the wooing. But why would he want that from a woman he has hated for so long? Does he not say, his hatred has driven him to madness? Then why? Surprisingly, the answer leaves me feeling cold.
Aag laut ayi hai, Chandni jalegi ab.
We are destroyed completely not by the hate of our enemies but by the betrayal of our loved ones. I fearfully suspect that Advay has coldly planned to show Chandni the world only to destroy it when she starts believing she can live in it. Has he not been destroyed once by the one he trusted? I think, our anti-hero will not stop until she too faces a similar annihilation. To him, this is an eye for an eye. We will see how true or not this is in the future anyway. That poem holds more fatal meaning that I can dare to think.
Neend chand ko aye agar toh, taaron ki yeh sej bohot hai. Sambhalke rakhna haath chandni, raat ka manja tez bohot hai.
For now, we have on our hands a cunning man of science who heeds no social boundaries. Social norms mean nothing to him but he is not above using tradition if it gets him our heroine's trust, hence the shagun and chunari ploys played so winningly. A maverick and an unapologetic one at that with an underlying agenda of securing our heroine as the mohra of his chessboard. And he never even lies about it. Every word he says is a twisted version of the truth. Game, set, match.
All said and done, I am pleased to see that while our anti-hero is successfully seducing our heroine towards his trap, he himself is being lured in as well. NOT by his seduction. He is too controlled and motivated to fall for his own ploy. It is our innocent heroine. Unknowingly she creates moments that are pulling him in. Her defiance and courage at the aarti, the unintended handbrush, the returning of the coin, the magnet turned on its master, the silent tear in her overwhelmed face framed by his chunari...oh our hero is affected by these the most...why? because these actions are what reach deeper inside him, penentrating the steeled armour of an embattlled Advay and finding marks on the wounded Dev.
The newest facet of Advay's personality is brought to light by PP. Here comes a man who can ruin Chandni without any effort on our anti-hero's part...and yet all our Advay can think is, how dare that man take Chandni's name with his vile tongue! The man he had initially dismissed as a calculator who could be sidelined has riled possessiveness in his heart. An interesting conumdrum of hate and belonging our heroine has created inside him without even meaning too.
He thinks low of her himself, toys with her for revenge...yet there is a line that he cannot stand to cross. His suppressed rage at PP's vile insinuations has proven that. Precap does not bode well for him but I am not worried. This man has plans within plans, after all. 😆
Okay so now I come to Chandni.
The very first scene we see is a traditional woman managing her household while she remembers her lost friend. The chandelier has to be 12 feet above the ground she tells her servant because that is what her best friend had said so!
Tumne mujhe bohot kuch sikhaya Dev,
Kash khud ko bhulna bhi sikha jate.
First scene and we know with certainty, Dev cannot be separated from Chandni.
Main apki beti hoon, baba, aur apki ma bhi, so says this young woman with bittersweet tenderness as she hides tears by burying her face in her ill father's lap. Mature, serene and kind, this what we next understand about out heroine.
She has faced a tragedy in her past...3 days of abduction and torture at a man's whim that has her so fearful that she has no set foot out of the house for an entire year...Kuch kiya bhi nahin phir bhi Chandni pe daag lag gaya...she hopelessly declares that she cannot leave the safety of her home and has resigned herself to becoming a weak victim forgotten by the world. Yet, this is a mandir where the mahants are burnt alive for holy transgressions...her father's safety is impetus enough to shake up this curled ball of despondence...yet not enough impetus...until the Dev of her memories sends her his strength. Amavasya has come to an end.
I cannot emphasize how deeply this woman has carved her lost Dev into her marrow...she cannot be defined without defining him.
Bholenath, she knows is angry with her. Advay, the Roudraroop of her Dev watches on, his place interposed between a praying Chandni and the overseeing Almighty. She is ready to face any challenge to pacify her beloved God. He, she declares, will tire of setting challenges but she will not tire of facing them. His anger hides his love, she knows, and accepts both. She will take his love, she will take his anger, but what she cannot take is his indifference.
Need I say, that our heroine has already declared the path she will walk in the coming future? The creatives are setting the tone of our heroine's story here. We must remember these words always when we think of Chandni. This mature serenity is her nature. Unlike others who would rail and rave against unjust fate, she follows the path of understanding and acceptance. The quiet bravery to face struggles without giving up.
Persevere, that is what she knows best. Until anger turns to love. For this sweet, delicate belle may not look like it, she is a chhoi mui touch-me-not doll on the surface after all, but on the inside you better know that she will never bow to defeat.
Mere hours into her first brave decision of leaving the house, she is faced by a jerk of a man who intimidates the hell out of her. And every meeting henceforth, continues to scare her with his words and actions. He gives her no personal space, offends her nature, openly declares that he is about to play a very long game with her. Abhi to fasad bichai hai, abhi toh bohot lamba khel khelna hai tumhare saath.
It is only after several intrusive meetings she musters enough courage to tell him 'dont touch me' and run away. A simple warning that a normal girl would have meted out more brashly and boldly on the very first night a man commented on her dishabille state sans burnt dupatta. But Chandni is no longer normal, what is alarming to us is terrifying to her. Still she drudges up her courage in slow fits...her sisters would have her in their company 24x7, with a katta for security...but our sensible heroine wants to be secure in herself independent of another's help...and minus any kattas!
All signs of a victim who is finally trying to adjust back to society. And that she is managing it with such quiet fortitude is something to be applauded.
What breaks the camel's back are those horrible posters...that she returns to face the crowd, sullied physically by mud, and slandered emotionally by the townsfolk, so she may uphold her responsibility and do her family proud is THE turning point. Before this she was trying to get better, with this step, she is actually getting better.
That she manages this because of Dev and against Advay, the same man, is the irony at its best!
But our heroine goes beyond this. Uncaring of being seen again with the man in the posters, she faces him head on. Aarti liye bagair jaane se apshagun hota hai. An aarti she has done offered to the one she knows wants to play games with her. The most dignified way to declare that she is above his games and extend a peace-offering. Like she said to her sisters once, one need does not have to defeat others in order to win.
Anyway so this was the turning point. For after this, we do see her grow more animate. The sassy belle is no longer restricted to the room with her sisters. She talks of trying to leave her past behind. She ventures to protect her father from the enemy, and then simply ventures into enemy territory for a confrontation! Whatever our anti-hero may think he is doing, in a not-so-funny way he is actually helping bring out the chirpy, sassy trouble seeking femme from her hidden shell.
How else can we explain this tiny midget standing up to 6 feet of intimidation and declare "Main!".
I will stop you! And even when backed up, the Main still stands.
To note, I think she still has not recovered from her fear fully. She is mostly seen inside the house and it is easier to stay unafraid on one's own turf. As eldest daughter of a family in dire straits, she should be job hunting and pulling her own weight. But she has not mustered strength for that yet. She can secretly sell her cherished jewellery for her family's samman but a job demands she openly face the outer world day in an day out. That is not yet her cup of tea, or should I say, bottle of sprite?
A burly tree stands undaunted by winds and water but is uprooted by storms and floods just the same. Our heroine is no such unadaptable tree. Chandni is the resilient, adaptible grass that will bend but not break and is thus more likely to last longer against the raging storm that Advay plans to force into her life.
Or so we thought, until the anti-hero throws her a googly! After days of veiled threats and open mind games, he pops a marriage proposal out of the blue that has her spinning in a tizzy. He is now on her turf, she has now acquired enough courage to face him...so even if she is always left confused and dazed by his wooing, she manages to hold her ground. She has forgotten nothing of what he did and is wary. He is strange and mad and yes scary! he makes no sense! Why would she marry him! No is the answer that she gives him and that too in such style, albeit copied from the Ajeeb man, but style nonetheless!
What strikes me funny is how innocently she goes about pestering him to listen to her answer...then childishly deny him one...then impishly copy him to deliver the rejection. Mature she may be in many aspects, but when it comes to men and love, she is actually very innocent and inexperienced in dealing with them. No wonder that the unspoken 'No' delivered so sassily is not taken seriously. It has the opposite effect I think. Dare I say she turned him on for a moment, for to me, it sure looked like that. The anti-hero had not expected the googly to rebound on him that too so charmingly!!!!
Our heroine has said yes...but to someone else! A man of her mother's choice. It is plain that there is no expectation or investment from her side in this relationship. Through thick and thin, this mother has always been there for her. This is the least she will do for her in return. The idea of disappointing her mother is horrendous and unimaginable for Chandni. So she goes about doing all she can to make this venture a success. Keep an eye on Atrangi Singh Raizada, keep him away from PP, keep his food away from PP, and if not that...have that food herself!
Alas, she might want to keep away from the man but her eyes have a mind of their own. They follow him always! She is more affected by his antics than she cares to admit!
One understands to what degree in the bed scene...hypnotism and subtle seduction work like a charm...momentarily she gives permission for him to sweep her off her feet...and is then surprised by her own action and withdraws the hand on his shoulder...poor Chandni...can anyone blame this innocent for following the piper's tune when he plays his hand so expertly?
Still, her dazed moments are just that, momentary. What enmity does he have against her, she asks. Note, she never asks, why do you like me, why do you want to marry me...she asks why are you doing all this?
Seduced she may get at times, but she hasn't lost the plot. His motives are suspicious and she wants him to stay away from her life. His words are like riddles and she has no interest in solving them. Our heroine is a straight thinker and thus no match for the convoluted alleys of our anti-hero's secretive mind.😆
Hence why she falls for his tricks again. The belled Chunari crowns her head and she is momentarily lost in his eyes. The song that plays is a romantic one, playful yes, but with alarming lyrics.
Lal dupatta ud gaya re bairi hawa ke jhoke se, mujko piya ne dekh liya hai re dhoke se,
Mana ki mujhe dil dega woh, magar meri jaan lega woh.
Yes, this song is a representation of the deceptive seduction going on in her life. The music is the chalava and the words are the tez manja.
And then comes the realization...that the man has succeeded in doing what he claimed despite all her efforts...the innocent tears that ask so vulnerably in silence, Why? Why do you do this to me?
The inability to express her quandary to her questioning family, the inability to even think of where to start about the problem that this man has become! If she had had eyes only on her Atrangi throughout the ritual matters not, she has not realized the significance of her responses to his advances yet!
Oh poor belle, what a twisted web you have ventured into. And still you do not learn. Invariably you seek him out for answers again, the sensible fixer in you persists in her quest to come to an understanding. Chhichhora, thats what he is, she decides, the shameless man, but one last ditch effort has her asking him to not try her patience. He decides to do just that, try her patience. The cursed dupatta she resolves must be thrown on his face once and for all! And from the precap, I gather, she has had it with the Chhichhora and his blasted dupatta. Something has to be done about him!
On a side note...I must say Chandni has this innocently cute way of fighting that no one will take seriously! Like a kitten pawing at the feet of a tiger. Cute but futile. No wonder Advay couldnt help that smile!😆
So there we have our heroine as of now - the calm to our hero's tempest, the sass to his style, the innocence to his worldliness and the damaged light to his own wounded darkness. Gul Khan has created two really beautiful characters. I hope IPK3 continues with its good plot.😳
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