Marvelous Monday? ---- Not quite, but one that was satisfying in that at least it was truth or dare time. I found it telling that Arnav had a ton of time to tell Khushi some of the truth, but instead his silence dared her to jump. But once she was jumping off he swooped in and saved the day. A classic case of "pehle aap baat ko bigaadtey hain, phir usey sudharte hain"? She's always accusing him of it and he obligingly delivers yet again!
Blessings: The wretched comedy track seems to have gone on a brief holiday. Some of the truth was finally out and Barun and Sanaya got a chance to sink their teeth into some meaningful ArHi interaction - thoda kadwa, thoda meetha this time. 👏
Yet, this epi was less than stellar - even less meaningful to me than the Tuesday epis we've seen in the last 2 weeks. For one, it was tonally awkward - very, very awkward. It began with suicide humor (Khushi pondering modes of suicide and saying her goodbyes) and then switched to suicide pathos (Arnav finding her note and the taarey) and went back and forth for a bit. So when we finally switched to drama all the way, the setup had been diluted. We were left feeling a bit confused on whether we should be ready to be amused (?) again. 😕
The second reason was the poor staging - back again to the absence of skillful direction. Sush, we really are seeing this thru different lenses! 😆 When clearly Sanaya and Barun were at the scene why did we get so many solo reaction shots? The scene would've had more impact if they filmed the two of them in one frame and shown their contrasting reactions. Perhaps, there were constraints - Sanaya returning from her trip, Barun planning to leave for his? But beyond that, the scene seemed to lack the emotional punch that we've seen many times before this. The poignant moments seemed to come from the flashbacks that we now know as well as the back of our palms rather than from anything that transpired on this terrace.
He has a saansein ruk gayee moment when he thinks there's a possibility she's in that ambulance (which felt OTT to some of us at that time!) yet when she's going to jump and he has clear visual evidence that presumably he'll lose her forever, he switches into truth mode? Also, when they are lying entangled on the hard terrace floor and the immediate danger has passed, why didn't we get a chance to savor that relief? These two feel so deeply for each other and neither has a clue how deep the feeling each has for the other. There was much to rue and sigh about, but again the staging seemed rushed. We got too much lame comedy and too many facepalm moments. There was not enough time for the audience to despair at the fact that there are none so blind as those who will not see.
By far my biggest peeve though is the inelegant and clunky plot progression. Yes, it's a matter of taste and several of you may have no problem with how we get from point A to point B, as long as point B is on the road to unraveling this flimsy MU. But for the process oriented like me, it was a huge disappointment. The whole suicide and kundali- dhosh drama was to set up the symmetry in their takes on the so-called truth, but their diametrically opposing reactions to it. She too thinks his love belongs to another (Lavanya) and he's trapped her into a marriage to further his plans. But where she is hurt, she is not aggrieved or vengeful or jealous or bitter. She is generosity itself, willingly sacrificing her love for his happiness. All this I presume is done to make his RTR a tougher one.
Could this not be accomplished through more elegant writing of the plot? Did we need so much flab and so much suspension of disbelief? This makes me scared, very scared for the kidnapping drama --- the plot progression promises to be every bit as torturous and clumsy as this suicide nonsense. But that's a worry for another day ' why borrow trouble? 😉
Tailpiece: Arnav looked scrumptious in his white shirt and Khakhis. That always helps to redress the balance! 😛 Also, we got a pure ArHi dose - no toxic or useless RM residents. I wonder if we're being softened for the big blow that is Sobti's prolonged absence. Given that he is glue that holds this creaky enterprise together, it'll be a real test of the fans loyalty. It'll be fun to see what gives! I'm feeling like something of a genius - I think at least some of my 11 day vacation starting May 19 coincides with Sobti's absence. Whattay planning! ⭐️
Edited by docgirl - 13 years ago