The Week that Was - Page 8

Originally posted by: docgirl

Diya, take a bow for a marvellous roundup of the week. Your analysis is nuanced and delicate and I loved reading it and all the interesting reactions that followed. 👏👏👏

A trifecta of immediate thoughts - I'm sure there'll be more, since you given us so much to chew on 😊

1. The confrontation with Shyam was not unwitting, Arnav deliberately engineered that and tried to pin Shyam to the ground. However Shyam, who as you rightly said was using his dimag (as opposed to abusing his as Arnav was!), got the better of him and how! Had Arnav tried to confront Khushi in the same manner even if in outrage, we wouldn't have this mess ---- we also wouldn't have a story, so I can see why that didn't happen. 😃
Yep, misunderstandings ... the fodder for every daily soap 😆 ... have to happen! And just think, if it hadn't happened, ArHi marriage wouldn't have happened, and Khushi would have had to find another reason to haunt RM ... so all for the bigger good! 😆
Did Arnav engineer the Shyam showdown, or did Shyam just get in the way when he was going to talk to Anjali? And because Arnav was all fired up, he just took the plunge immediately ... he might just have done the same with Khushi, except that he saw Anjali just then, and decided to talk to her first.

2. I differ from you a bit about the motivations for the forced marriage. Ostensibly it was all about Di but perhaps in truth it was all about ARNAV --- his needs, his ego, his passion, his sense of betrayal. There too Khushi is simply a pawn. Isn't love not only about trust but also about putting your partner's happiness above your own, securing her well being above all else? Khushi doesn't even figure in Arnav's equation. So, yes he has Mt Everest to climb to find true love and redemption.
Very true ... and that's exactly what I meant ... he did it to punish Khushi for what he saw as her betrayal ... and that has to do with his ego ... but also, I would add, his sense of loss. But as you rightly said, love is about putting your partner's happiness before your own ..."if you love someone, set her free, if she comes back to you, she is yours, if she doesn't she never was" ... And Arnav is not giving Khushi that choice. He is in fact not thinking about her and her POV at all ... that's why I said, dimaag gone on holiday here.

3. The sentiment towards Anjali has flip flopped quite a bit --- first it was all concern, "Oh no, she is so sweet, let her not die", to now "she's a nuerotic, selfish, dimwit who is responsible for this mess." Writers, kudos for playing with our emotions 😊 . While she may be inconsiderate, neurotic and blind to her brothers needs and her husband's treachery Anjali is NOT responsible for this mess. It isn't her fault that her husband is a psychotic, cheating, obsessive creep. Plus she's programmed to see the best in him - it's her survival mechanism. Which brings me to the point that writers have been hammering us with from the start ---- a most depressing one for me--- that we are prisoners of our past. We can run but we cannot hide from the influences, people and events that shaped us early on. So Arnav can flirt, be passionate, caring, protective but he CAN'T trust. The way he coped with his childhood trauma is to MISTRUST. It's too deeply embedded in his being to change easily. Likewise Anjali - she coped by becoming overly dependent (in an almost unhealthy way!) on blind faith in her god above (and the accompanying rituals) and the two men who define her roles in life as sister and wife.

Very true, but Shiela, this has to be the change, doesn't it? That a man as scarred as him LEARNS to trust, to believe in everything he has lost faith in, all over again ... that is his journey ... and his guide and teacher is that young girl, who has suffered almost as much as he has, but has emerged with her sirit intact. Although yes, she had the better experience - a loving adopted family to replace the one she lost ... but losing parents is a trauma like no other ... the same for both of them.
And again I say - he prefers to mistrust and be the one who hurts the other, rather than trust and be the person hurt ... again because of his past. I find the fact that they brought the fb's of the past back into Arnav's realization very telling ... and encouraging ... at least we know they haven't forgotten about his past and it will surface sooner or later.
As for Anjali, I really don't know how they will show her changing - if she ever changes. I think her end point has to be the death of Shyam ... he is unredeemable, and she will never be able to stand the truth about him ever.

@Swetha: 😆😆😆 at Arnav chaneling Nirupa Roy! I too am ready for the glycerine bottles to find a trash can --- for both Khushi and Arnav.

Originally posted by: GanBarunFan

Wonderful and very poignant analysis of the week that to me was the most significant week of IPKKND.👏

And what a week of excellent acting it was! Barun's depiction of transition from a guy in deep anguish,shattered helplessness to one in revenge mode was simply mind-blowing. I also loved how we saw glimpses of softness, anger and guilt in his eyes when Khushi finally gave in to his blackmail and covered her face,when Garma slapped khushi and Khushi's families anger at her not being able to answer to their questions. It gave me hope that not all of Arnav is taken over by ASR. Barun's expressions the whole week have been spot on. When you have eyes that do all the talking, who needs dramatic dialogs or sound effects?

Sanaya's acting was also the best so far. Her role till now has been very verbal...this week it was about Khushi's expressions of love, confusion, dream shattered, helplessness and shame. She was at par with Barun in that.

This is what sets IPKKND apart from other soaps: it's leads who take their acting to a level we don't see in Indian small screen. So no matter how cliched the storyline gets to get TRPS, a lot of us tune in to watch the interaction of these two; their sizzling chemistry even when they don't touch each other, be it in their mutual attraction/love, their effort to hate each other and their fights ( I do hope the CVs dont change Khushi from the feisty one to a meek rona dhona bahu). I'm so looking forward to this track whatever it is as I know that I'm guaranteed some exquisite acting from Barun and Sanaya which will make every scene worth it !

In Lucknow, Khushi confronts him at the Darga and challenges that no one but God can make his destiny. In response he released the fashion show footage which led to the humiliation of her and her family. But this also got Khushi to Delhi. Otherwise there would have been no chance for their love story to bloom.

In Delhi at his office, Khushi challenges him that he cannot throw her out of the job without a valid reason and he promptly makes her sign a contract which binds her to his company for 15 days but did his best to make her resign on her own, often using devious and ruthless tactics to do so. This track also saw Arnav for the first time feeling guilty of his actions and also realise he was getting increasingly attracted to the physical beauty of the woman.

In his office store room Khushi swears she will never set her eyes on him but later ends up in his kitchen. The guy was furious and drives her out of the house. Realising that he broke his sister's heart in doing so, he had to bring Khushi back. This also set the stage for not only a beautiful bond being formed between La (who couldn't stand Khushi before) and Khushi but also strengthened his own feelings towards Khushi as he discovered the innocence of her heart and was beginning to fall in love with her.

Originally posted by: premparbat

Hi Diya,

Here comes your Sunday morning review and I stuck on my computer compelled to read and respond despite several errands requiring attention and Its ALL BECAUSE of YOU and your wonderful writing. 😛

Most of us have said so much in the past week that whatever I say will be a repitition.

The few things though that needs to be said is...At this point in time Arnie seems to be one who has made the decision, his knee jerk reaction to get married , the thoughtless proposal and his arrogant behaviour to Khushi. His road to redemption as you say is several miles long and I have no idea how Khushi will ever trust him again. But to me he is the one who really needs the HELP ...he is the lost one here with no belief system unlike Khushi who has her Devi maiyya with her and her sunshine nature. His disraught plea for help has reached the right place and answered in the form of this girl who will be his road to salvation.

Khushi I KNOW will bounce back . Its who she is . All she needs to see and undesratnd is the other side of this man and she will stand by him.

At this time its an agni - pareksha for BOTH. Arnie's mistrust in the world and its people and his need to be loved will be Khushi's mountain to climb and for Arnie to confess to her that he needs her.

I am really hoping that this MU gets cleared soon as I want both of them working together and not against each other. Also waiting to see Shyam's next plan of action.

Let me get going Diya...dishes calling.

Rgds

Originally posted by: MsUniverse

As always...beutifully captured Diya...!!! Loved the lines above and the song

Total Eclipse of the Heart indeed!

This was a huge week for IPKKND...and they delivered...

Lots of shortcomings, misunderstandings, misconstrued actions...finally Arhi are together as a married couple...

but with a bitter taste in everyones mouth...I really wanted it to be not so bitter...I wanted to see something that underlines the bond between Arhi...irrepective of all the misunderstanding...CVs triedo do that with Garima thappad and Arnie's angry look...but that was notenough for me...that was not well done...I would have liked to see a more conflicted Arnav ..every step of the way...when he was forcing Khushi...even if Shyamu's poison overpowered his judgement in the end...

This week left me wanting...it made Arhi marriage...a sad experience...We deserved a bit better...

Originally posted by: jasw

Very nice and comprehensive analysis, DiyaS. Can I add my views on the mistakes..

1. Arnav's 1st mistake: He did not wait long in the terrace..

Although I wanted a direct confrontation of the trio, I can understand Arnav's reaction. Khushi's damning words about leaving Anjali was too much for Arnav and he could not make himself stand there any longer.

Point taken. He was too dumbfounded and heart broken to stand there and hear more. He may have feared that he may overhear her declare her undying love for the creep if he stayed any longer.

2. Mistake 2: We need to understand that Arnav is actually a damaged person. He did not believe in love, marriage and the rituals because of his mother's trauma. He has seen the ugly side of love ie the betrayal. He lost his mother for the same and is carrying an emotional scar ever since. It was hard for him to believe that now his sister is becoming the same victim as his mother was earlier. The person whom he respected as his Jijaji showed him again that nothing is trustworthy in life! So when he saw the ugly side of Shyam, a person whom Arnav had known for long and respected can be like this why not Khushi?? It is very evident after the terrace incident that Khushi has some sort of relationship with Shyam of which Arnav had NO clue.

I do not think he had no clue as to what sort of relationship Khushi and Shyam had because he should know now that this was the man Khushi was engaged to. He already knows the man's name was Shyam. He also knows that he stayed at the GH as a PG. He can still misunderstand her despite this knowledge because of the reasons I gave here in this post.

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/iss-pyaar-ko-kya-naam-doon/2785393/why-would-arnav-misunderstand-khushi

3. Mistake 3. I agree with you on this. If Shyam had been lying earlier, he can lie now too! But the very fact that Arnav is not sure about Khushi's love says about Khushi too! The girl so far has a faster heartbeat whenever Arnav is in close vicinity. But has she ever demonstrated the love? If yes, then do you think Arnav would have had such doubts? Love needs to be expressed too so that the other person knows about it.

Yes, love needs to be expressed but I thought that the girl was expressing her feelings for him in her own way. She was in tears to see him in another woman's arms after doing her best to get them together. She rushes into his arms to have her emotional breakdown after her father is admitted in the hospital. She was so happy wearing those bangles he got for her. He saw that glee on her face himself. This when she already suspected that he had got them for her. If she was in love with another man, would she have worn those bangles with such a suspicion on her mind? She couldn;t take her eyes off him when he had come to her house on the wedding day, so much so that she fed the leaf plates to the cow. Her love was written all over her face. Later when he turned around to check her reaction to the bindi on the mirror, she looked happy that he had placed it in such a way it was directly over her forehead. Now a woman who is in love with another man would be annoyed at the sight wouldn't she? Granted that his anger and feeling of being betrayed did not let him think much at the time but now that he has done the deed he needs to introspect and think back on all these instances which clearly show that the girl just couldn't have betrayed him as he thinks she did.



This is why I love this track as this will pave way for both to express their love although maybe in anguished manner, but it has to come.

Yes, I too want to see them express their love in more ways than one.

I don't think he thought about marriage in the car scene. He was scared of losing his sis like his mother so the anguished cry, then he realized Khushi the girl he is in love with is the culprit, he sits down on the road, defeated but then raises his head, bloodshot eyes with revenge in his head. But I think the scene after that when he come home and witnesses both Shyam and Khushi that he plotted marriage. Khushi's reaction were her 2nd mistake. If Khushi thought Shyam will change towards better after the news of baby, why was not she happy? She was showing an hurt expression when she came to know about Anjali's pregnancy. The look was not missed by Arnav, who looked at the expressions of both Khushi and Shyam and his belief that something is brewing between them strengthened!

I could not connect much with Fridays episode! I liked the promo shot of Arnav with garland in his hand coming matter-of-factly way better than the episode! I know I am in absolute monority, but for me ASR displayed too much of emotion confronting the family. I though he will be businesslike, the way he was when he broke his engagement with Lavanya!😊

The fact that he couldn't be businesslike about this marriage like he was in the breaking of his engagement with La shows that his heart is far more involved with the woman he married. He could not divorce his emotions from his actions.

I understand Khushi's plight but at this point I don't expect Arnav to understand her plight, for him she is still the person breaking his sister's marriage.

Yes, he may like to believe she is the person breaking his sister's marriage but I think his gut feeling tells him there is more than meets the eye. He just could not totally believe in the culpability of Khushi in this act of betrayal. This is a starting point for his redemption.

Originally posted by: jasw

Very nice and comprehensive analysis, DiyaS. Can I add my views on the mistakes..

1. Arnav's 1st mistake: He did not wait long in the terrace..

Although I wanted a direct confrontation of the trio, I can understand Arnav's reaction. Khushi's damning words about leaving Anjali was too much for Arnav and he could not make himself stand there any longer.

Agreed ... he could not stand to watch and listen any more ... and that was the mistake. He got an incomplete picture ... a wrong one, as it happens. But like I said, if he had stayed there, there would have been no misunderstanding, so no track ... ergo, he left too early and of course Khushi said the ONLY damaging words she did when he was there to hear them. That's why I called this part cliched. If he had stayed there and listened, he would have heard her talk about Anjali ... if he had confronted there and then, Khushi would have rushed to him and Shyam wouldn't have been able to lie about her feelings. Shyam would be exposed and there would have been no way to get ArHi married so fast 😛

2. Mistake 2: We need to understand that Arnav is actually a damaged person. He did not believe in love, marriage and the rituals because of his mother's trauma. He has seen the ugly side of love ie the betrayal. He lost his mother for the same and is carrying an emotional scar ever since. It was hard for him to believe that now his sister is becoming the same victim as his mother was earlier. The person whom he respected as his Jijaji showed him again that nothing is trustworthy in life! So when he saw the ugly side of Shyam, a person whom Arnav had known for long and respected can be like this why not Khushi?? It is very evident after the terrace incident that Khushi has some sort of relationship with Shyam of which Arnav had NO clue.
Agree again ... but then he confronted Shyam ... why not Khushi? And the answer, according to me is not just that he believed Shyam implicitly ... but that because of his past, he was afraid to trust Khushi ... because she meant too much to him.
If it had been any other girl, who meant nothing to him, there would have been only anger, no hurt ... and he would have thrown the girl out of his life, as emotionlessly and cruelly as he did by releasing the videotapes of Khushi at first go. The whole point is, he can't do that sort of thing with Khushi now - he can't throw her out of his life.

3. Mistake 3. I agree with you on this. If Shyam had been lying earlier, he can lie now too! But the very fact that Arnav is not sure about Khushi's love says about Khushi too! The girl so far has a faster heartbeat whenever Arnav is in close vicinity. But has she ever demonstrated the love? If yes, then do you think Arnav would have had such doubts? Love needs to be expressed too so that the other person knows about it. This is why I love this track as this will pave way for both to express their love although maybe in anguished manner, but it has to come.

I don't agree with this one, tbh. What has been happening between them the last few days has definitely been two-sided ... Khushi admitted in words that farak padta hai, she was worried about him, she all but told him she fed the cows the pattals because she was too busy gazing into his eyes, the sari-choosing, the bangles scene by the pool, when he told her he wanted to talk, she was ready to listen ... if he chooses to ignore all those things, and only go by a half baked conversation which he didn't even fully hear, then he is being a fool.

I don't think he thought about marriage in the car scene. He was scared of losing his sis like his mother so the anguished cry, then he realized Khushi the girl he is in love with is the culprit, he sits down on the road, defeated but then raises his head, bloodshot eyes with revenge in his head. But I think the scene after that when he come home and witnesses both Shyam and Khushi that he plotted marriage. Khushi's reaction were her 2nd mistake. If Khushi thought Shyam will change towards better after the news of baby, why was not she happy? She was showing an hurt expression when she came to know about Anjali's pregnancy. The look was not missed by Arnav, who looked at the expressions of both Khushi and Shyam and his belief that something is brewing between them strengthened!

Khushi was confused in that scene, and any reaction of hers would have been taken as one of guilt by Arnav. Here this guy just told her he wants to get out of his marriage and he doesn't give a damn about his wife, there his wife is pregnant, and there she was ready to tell Arnav all about Shyam, and she knew what Arnav's reaction would be ... murderous to Shyam ... how could Khushi be undilutedly happy about the pregnancy? None of the Guptas were ... She was completely confused that now what should she do, tell Arnav or not, risk breaking Anjali's marriage or not, with a baby on the way, things just got a lot more complicated ... and she just didn't know what to do. And anything other than pure joy would have been misinterpreted by Arnav ... in the mood he was in, even joy would have been misinterpreted ...
I felt he made his decision on the road ... the decision to punish Khushi, not marriage as such ... but like I said, the scenes are open to many interpretations because they were all silent ...

I could not connect much with Fridays episode! I liked the promo shot of Arnav with garland in his hand coming matter-of-factly way better than the episode! I know I am in absolute monority, but for me ASR displayed too much of emotion confronting the family. I though he will be businesslike, the way he was when he broke his engagement with Lavanya!😊

I agree ... I felt the same ... at least I felt he would be more in control ... I guess the point was to show that he was actually taken aback by his family's reactions ... because that's the way it came across ... that he hadn't thought this through completely ... With Lavanya, again, his emotions were not involved ... although he started liking her as a person, he didn't love her so he could stay aloof all through the proceedings, do what was to be done and get it over with ... here his emotions ARE involved, if Khushi hurts, it hurts him so he can't stay emotionless ... again, that's my interpretation 😛

I understand Khushi's plight but at this point I don't expect Arnav to understand her plight, for him she is still the person breaking his sister's marriage.
Nope, he's not ready yet ... but as long as he hurts with her and doesn't hurt her ... and starts thinking at some point ... using his brain ... then I'll be happy ... although again, almost any reaction of Khushi's will be enough to reinforce her guilt, unless she actually says it in so many words - you wanted me to marry you, didn't you know I would say yes instantly, why the urgency, why the blackmail ...
And also, she's not just the person breaking his sisters marriage, she's also the one who just broke his heart when he just about learned to love again ...
Thanks for your take ... great discussing with you! 😃

Originally posted by: meens80

Brilliant post Diya for an absolutely mind blowing week.
This was probably the most heartbreaking and angst filled week so faqr and we may have another one or two coming up so i would suggest that all be prepared!
I for one loved it. It truly showed that these are human flawed characters and not "the hero can do no wrong" kind of boring bland leads.
I agree Arnav was very wrong in judging Khushi and admonishing her to such a punishment without giving her a chance to even explain. But this is the character the CV's have built up for the past 8 months. I think this week brought out his protective instinct towards his sister, his own insecurities, his mistrust in the world and his fear of losing a loved one like no other. I think Barun was brilliant all through the week. He has truly set a new standard for performance and intensity on Indian television.
Just like the CV's took all this while to develop Arnav's character they have done the same for Khushi to establish her as a fighter, one with a forgiving nature and a never say die attitude. I'm sure that though she might take a couple episodes to recover from this inner turmoil and heartbreak she will bounce back. She will prove to be the guiding light in Arnav's life and he will shower her with EVERYTHING she has and ever will dream off.
We are in a difficult phase of their love story. This is what we signed up for so we should not back down now that difficult times are here. I'm sure they will get through it and we will enjoy viewing their journey!
This track will provide ample opportunity for Barun and Sanaya to show their acting skills and after last week I'm sure we are in for a treat performance wise. Besides the latest spoilers for Zee_news says the track won't be as dark and will not be stretched. I'm all for it!