It says much for the show that an episode shot with BD , rife with discontinuity, shoddy direction is still hailed as a good episode ... A reflection on how badly things had got out of control..
The episode opened with the usual I, I - You You game being played.. Khushi has cluttered the room with her things, strewing it haphazardly over her side of the room..Arnav walks in, looks at the disarray, grimly orders Khushi to clean up the mess , A petulant Khushi , busy on the phone refuses to do Arnav's bidding ... Arnav snatches the phone away from her, while Khushi struggles to get her prized possession back ... Khushi struggles for a brief while then spots her guardian angel walking by, calls out to Anjali ..This distracts Arnav and he yields the prized possession ...
Of the whole episode this was the my most favorite scene..A symptomatic reflections of the upcoming upheaval in Khushi's life !! ... This scene highlighted the fundamental difference between Arnav and Khushi..Arnav a methodical man, slotting everything in its place, not liking clutter in his life.. each and everything cleanly defined.. mess to be cleared up and then move on be it Lavanya's engagement or getting Khushi to come home, or prevent Payal from leaving the home..Clean the mess and leave !! whilst Khushi is the type who accumulates mess, does not clear up, piles it viz Shyam's ID , His advances , Arnav's indifference bordering on cruelty ..She does not let it bother her and gets on with her own thing , oblivious to the Snafu ....
It takes Arnav for her to get the focus back,meaning it will be Arnav who will trigger her onto the correct path , the path to which she has all the keys. Arnav makes her realize that things are haywire by withholding a vital piece of information from her ..An information she already has but has not been enlightened...Khushi becomes aware of the importance of the information but not about the impact.. she struggles to tease it out of him but Arnav obdurately holds on and it is the advent of Anjali the releases that information ...but does this information help her , smoothen her path ..NO..it leads to greater explosion ...Things will not go smooth for Khushi from now on and it has been signaled today .
Death, Distance, Rejection has always been the greatest fear of Arnav Singh Raizada ...To day he was unable to control himself when Anjali blessed Khushi by adding her own life line to Khushi ..Khushi feels moved at the generosity of Anjali, As is her wont , Khushi immediately shares this nugget of information with her confidante, her friend Lakshmi , never expecting the maelstrom that she would be facing in few seconds ... Arnav who had been listening to her conversation yells at her to stop her babble , his expression mirroring the distaste, anger, the pain of betrayal .. woth controlled fury , Arnav informs Khushi that he is aware of her crime and that he will not stand by and allow her game to continue with a puzzled Khushi retorting that it would be better if Arnav comes clean ...
Today Both Arnav and Khushi had their first inkling that things are not what they seem...Khushi has witnessed the almost paranoid reaction of Arnav to Anjali's banter ... Khushi now knows that Anjali induces extreme reaction from Arnav ...coupling this with the fact that Anjali has an almost insane attachment to Shyam and SHE, Khushi is an object of Attraction and lust to Shyam...Khushi could and can deduce that Arnav's extreme action is bec of Anjali and that can come about only if Shyam is involved ...to put it plainly , Arnav knows the truth about her and Shyam!!...Similarly the uncomprehending queries of Khushi shud have triggered Arnav's thought process unless he were to think that this is a deliberate ploy of Khushi to lull him [ n in his present state of mind, he is liable to think this ]...
He drags Khushi out and shouts at her , tells her angrily that she cannot make him weak any longer nor will he believe her words anymore ... despair mingles with anger forces him to blurt out that he cannot even reveal her despicable acts to anyone and nor will he allow her to have what she wants ...All this are overheard by Shyam who listens with a satisfied smirk ...He leaves to get Anjali and intrude in Arnav- Khushi's life !!
The banishment of Sita !! That is what came into my mind when I saw this scene ...Khushi was wed and brought into the house and into his room by Arnav ..Today it is he who takes her by the hand and leads her out !!
He walks back into the house , securing the door behind him ...thinking about their past action's .. I am reminded of Khushi closing the door on him and then it is the turn of Arnav to shut the door on Khushi .. what was notable on both this occasion was the doors remained shut , but this was the first time that the doors opened immediately, but only for Khushi to reject him for the immense lack of trust, faith in her ...
Another thought strikes , Arnav after revealing the truth of her actions to Khushi, condemns her and throws her out of his life, bruising her but not cutting her, cutting the bond between them but truth cannot be kept quiet any longer, it emerges triumphant ..Arnav rushes back repentant, guilty to tend to Khushi's wounds but Khushi has had enough , She will not be toyed around anymore, angrily rejects his ministrations ..She not only punishes him but also herself ..
Ironical is it not , Khushi was in the yellow color suit of hers when the first wedge begun between them..It was on that day Khushi's Bangle cut into the skin of Arnav and his blood poured out when he thought he has lost Khushi and today Khushi is bruised by the action of Arnav !!
Anjali come in followed by Shyam, Arnav tries to assure Anjali but Anjali will not be mollified , she reaches out to Khushi , Khushi does not let down her husband and stands by him ..Anjali and Shyam leave sensing something afoot but not able to pinpoint the source of discord ...
I really liked the way this was shot, Anjali comes in like a Arrow let out of the bow , followed by the archer Shyam who sent the arrow [Anjali] ..The arrow tries to pierce through the veil but is not successful ..Khushi blocks Anjali and sends her back and indirectly Shyam empty handed thereby proving that come what may , Khushi will always shield Arnav despite the many bruises he may give ...
The second thing I liked was the removal of colors [ in the form of Khushi's dupattaa's] from Arnav's garden, The colors that had intruded into his room,infused his room and every nook and corner with life those .. colors are leaving again, leaving it bare, bleak, colorless and dull...
What I did not like was ; what was the need to get Khushi out in the open if he wanted privacy ...Pool is open and accessible to all ...and the dialogue .." Don't Shout" ...for the love of Mike, she was absolutely silent in that moment , was silent for a while so why don't shout except to attract Shyam's attention ... it was quite weak...
What should have been and would have been an intense and poignant scene was marred by the use of Body double ... esp the way Khushi's BD points the finger.. terrible .. ..when there are intense scenes to be shot, do not approve of leave... u need to do a proper scheduling of Actor's dates ...
Shyam will not be stopped so easily , he is successful in rousing grave suspicion in the bosom of Anjali , who immediately plans on involving the family members.. The family assembles and Nani decrees that the newly wed pair will be leaving on Honey Moon ..
This scene begun to show the growing influence of Shyam over the family via Anjali .. Shyam's words in that cradle scene to see only what he wants her to see in coming true. Shyam has begun to deploy Anjali as a weapon, he is getting her to see what he wants her to see, is not allowing her to form her own judgement but is imposing his views on her ...Anjali in turn is pulling the whole family into the morass ...
There is another significant moment .. notice the way all are assembled ...Shyam-Anjali together, and to the right of Nani, Maami to the immediate left of Naani, Akash-Payal next to Maami but Khushi away from the circle, in the middle , in the distance to all signalling her position that she is outsider ..Did she became an outsider by choice after rejecting the overtures of Arnav or does circumstance force her to become one... whatever it is , it is Nani who finally chooses to bring her into the fold, reminds Khushi that she is the eldest DIl [ first time this was used IMO] and summons her closer .. A reluctant Khushi finally walks towards her family!!
Khushi accepts the Honeymoon ticket for both the couple while Arnav pours cold water on it !!... In PAYASH bedroom, Payal and Aakash are rather philosophical about the cancellation of the Honeymoon trip ...
A beautiful illustration of how the lives of this four are intertwined ..An action by one member has ripple effect on them all ...IF Khushi and Arnav were to grow distant and signs are growing that they will be then it will be PAYASH who will be bringing them closer ...I also liked the Mirror motif of PAYASH.. Akash is sitting on the bed, Payal in front of the dressing mirror ... Payal's half body appears superimposed on Akash .. Payal being the significant other half, the heart of the relationship ..and also conveying that they are equals/ a single entity !!
The Sleeping arrangement which caused so much heartburn amongst the followers of the show has been resolved quite amicably and also quite clearly showing that the final call is always made by Arnav and Khushi gives in !!
Blooper Alert ;
first scene the table is empty save for the HM ticket n laptop, Arnav comes in holding the cup in his hand , satnds holding ..Khushi looks down on the coffee table , sees the ticket envelope , miraculously in the interim the coffee cup has winged its way there while in the next shot we see Arnav placing it on the table
Arnav does not see Shyam peeking ;