Director's Cut - Oct 01, 2012

I have a big smile on my face today... as I am sure most of you do. Arnav-Khushi - Married.. not yet with Children.. but marriage is good.. We'll take it... any day.

Arnav Singh Raizada has a never say die spirit. No matter what the demons are facing him, he faces them head on, with no one to witness those battles. In the middle of a road. In his mother's rose garden. On a terrace busting stools to light a flame. The whole story began with Khushi claiming they were not married. Not Married?! For six months, they have roomed together, but they had not made love.

The first time he carried her to his room, dressed as a bride. But a bride in name only. Behind closed doors, she was nothing but an object to him, his hatred of her eating away at him. His disgust for his own feelings for her, fueling his anger - at her and at himself. He threw her out to sleep by the poolside. She shivered in the cold, and he couldn't sleep knowing she was cold, knowing that he was hurting much more than he hurt her. He gave her the blanket which she threw aside. The next morning, he woke up to his sister calling him, while he slept on his couch. He had destroyed the decorations the night before, when his demons were clawing at his innards. He woke up and picked her up and brought her into his room. And thus ended the first Suhaag Raat of Arnav Singh Raizada and Khushi Kumari Gupta.

The second time. Ah! The second time. This time he knew he loved her, was in love with her. He knew she loved him, was in love with him. There was nothing standing in the way of taking this one momentous step between a man and his wife. As soon as she realized they had not taken the pheras and therefore hadn't had a Suhaag Raat, he had moved in with his usual smart attitude. He proposed starting the rituals backwards - first Suhaag Raat, then pheres, etc. etc. etc. She was appalled and he was adamant. He planned it all carefully. The beautifully decorated bed. The red wedding lehenga - so she looked like a bride. The candles, the flowers. It was perfect. The only thing that he had not planned for was the moral compass of the woman he called his wife.

Khushi has always had a strong moral foundation, a firm belief in right and wrong. And many a time, she has corrected his actions by calling them out and making him see where he was going wrong. She was the only person who had the courage to tell him all the things he didn't want to hear; to point out all the unhappy truths about himself. And in the process, she had revealed and reveled in the innate goodness of his soul.

So when he planned for this Suhaag Raat - the real one, he forgot to factor this in. As he moves in to kiss her and complete their union, she stops him. She tells him no. She tells the man she loves more than life itself that she cannot indulge in a union with him, when in her heart their rituals are not completed. And so ended teh second Suhaag Raat of Arnav Singh Raizada and Khushi Kumari Gupta.

This also brings us to the terrace scene, a scene which will remain etched in both their minds, as he finally spoke of his feelings to her. The four words that will forever replace the three - I Love you, Dammit! And he leaves her alone. But all would have been fine if Dadi had not shown up during the impromptu pheras and thus forced them to go through this long, very long celebration of marriage.

The long awaited night is finally here, and Arnav carries Khushi to their bed. It has been a long and exhausting day for them, one that has taken its emotional toll on them. She dresses his wounds and once more he opens up to Khushi, sharing a little of the painful events of the evening. They sit together drawing comfort from each other, when their siblings come in, with Akash and Payal for a bit of teasing. And as they leave, NK bumps into a boquet of flowers and drops it on the ground, before he entire group leave.

So why did I choose to talk about the three different Suhaag Raats that these two went/are going through?

The first time a woman is with her man, is probably one of the most memorable times for her. No matter what has gone before and what comes after, the complete surrender of one's body to another person for the very first time is not just a physical experience but an emotional one as well. And almost every woman remembers her first time - whether it is consensual or not.

To me these scenes show Khushi's growth as a woman in love. Even though she was in love with him, she could not take it to the next level, simply because, her morals dictated that they were not married. To all intents and purposes they had been living in! The very things she accused ASR of doing to Lavanya - he had ended up doing to Khushi. But then the dynamics changed. Love came into play. It only seemed logical that Khushi would have given in to Arnav at the second SR. Instead she backed out, forcing Arnav to look at his premises and finally understanding her principles. He didnt agree with them - but neither did he belittle it. He understood that for her it was critical to have the stamp of approval of society. And he wanted to do it, so that never again would any one ever be able to say that she was not Mrs.Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Riazada. But most importantly. that Khushi was satisfied in every way that she is Mrs. Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada.

Finally alone, finally married - is there anything that will now get in the way of their hopefully Third Time Lucky Suhaag Raat?

Apparently there will.

Shyam is watching through his hidden cameras and they become aware of his antics. So now the bride and groom leave their wedding suite and go outside to talk, because they are unsure as to where the cameras might be.

At this point - just a side note about Shyam. Yes, he is confident that he is a master player. But has he forgotten so quickly that when they are apart, Khushi and Arnav are formidable opponents. Now that they are together and thinking and sharing together, will he be able to still beat them? He wanted to come into the Raizada Mansion so badly and now that he is here, will it finally become a trap for him? He is determined to take his revenge on Arnav. Will Arnav and Khushi together turn the tables? Or will he once more slip through their grasp? Will Anjali ever find out the truth about her psychotic husband?

One interesting point to note is that Arnav is convinced his sister lost her credit card - the one which had the camera equipment charged to it. Was it really stolen by Shyam? Or did Anjali give it to him?

The mysteries are deepening, and now the newly-married Singh Raizadas plan on taking the battle into the enemy camp. Let the games begin!