The child actor is not too bad.. But why was mami instigating Babli? Payash's saccharine smiles leave me with a feeling of diabetes. Although I quite like Akash and Payal but can we have less sugar piliij..
Near the poolside in their small little world .. an almost demure wife walks up behind Mr Raizada.. tender halting "Chai?" and you can almost feel something ticking in Arnav's brains.. In a deep voice masking hundreds of emotions causing hundreds of emotions "Swami nai kahogi?" ..calculated expression.."kaisa laga bina galati kiye guilty feel karna?" Unknowingly Arnav gives us a glimpse of what is in his heart. His belief that Khushi deserved all the sadness yet his inability to remain unaffected by it. The guilt eating him up from inside of causing pain. The har baar of how her tears discompose him. And in the foreground the fluid graceful movements of taking a glass of water and having his medicine. Maybe his subconscious self already realizing now he has all the more reason to take care of himself for the sake of one other.
Their hands have to touch because of all the searing untold unexplained chemistry. We hear a familiar strumming of the title song and look upon a flustered wife unsure of where all this is leading. "oh tum pareshan ho ri thi"? The last time he said this in the exact same place it was followed by some of the most breathtaking moments the show gave us. A name on someone's crimson mehendi adorned hand..and a lagi shart which spread a blazing crimson hue on a cheek and kept us all sleepless with dhak dhaks for nights to come.. Khushi can't seem to decide between hurt or anger as she points out how chalaak the man is. "chalaak" nai "shatir" .. after all I am Arnav Singh Raizada ..the pretense of nonchalance.. The hint of a smirk is the only clear sign of the pride he wears in the name he bears and all that he has made it stand for. Am trying to remember if I was convinced that he was lying the first time I watched this. I think I was as clueless as Khushi. Though unlike her I had a strong unshakable belief that even if he was tricking her he must have endured torture each second of the endless night.
Arnav Singh Raizada jhoot bhi Bol Sakta obviously just for Khushi for stopping the caring drama of Khushi. He just couldn't see anyone and specifically not Khushi feeling guilty and being restless. He knows how it taste and he surely doesn't want Khushi to know it but Khushi tu essi hi hai. I totally agree with your statement that like Khushi he must have been gone through torture previous night.
When for the first time I saw Anjali peering from far was wondering what all would she end up overhearing. Would something else slip from the lips of this estranged couple ? Would the heavily guarded almost forgotten secret of the contract marriage come out in the open? Then for quite some time I thought Anjali herself would be hurt or enraged on behalf of Khushi that Arnav tricked them all. So what happened next was quite a surprise and a really heart touching one at that..
I guess whenever Anjali wears this yellow saree she is extra wise like the time she tried to explain to Khushi how her brother did not like display of love but needed it just the same. They are wrong when they say the photograph, a memory of yesteryear, is the only thing they brought with them from Sheesh Mahal. They brought something far more precious.. They brought each other.. And the love that helped both to survive. In one case a love that ensured a person would be able to keep her innocent idealistic beliefs.. And in the other case a love that ensured a person would leave no room for luck..no room for failure.. the certainty to excel.. "matlab?".. rueful and abashed chote stood in front off the all knowing gentle condescending di.. A heavy weight settling in.. constricting breath as he utters an urgent "Khushi?".. An irrefutable irrepressible eagerness to know whatever di has to say about her.. Am surprisingly touched by this beautiful depiction of what some might consider an almost mundane relationship. His sister understands him. "Ab bhi humein humare chote ki jhalak in aakhon mein nazar aati hai"..
Love the way you describe the sibling conversation on Khushi and the mirror scene. Mirror always speak truth even he sees young lively chotte in his reflection in mirror.
A fourteen year orphaned adolescent could be this thoughtful and dependable. No surprises that the man we see today is this perceptive and selfless. A man who carries all burdens single handedly with such a high sense of morality in his unique way that he was in deep remorse when he did something unjust. Who forces himself to learn to say sorry and mean it. Not just with Khushi but he also apologized to Payal for breaking her wedding and to buaji and amma for unintentionally hurting them. A man capable of facing the truth head on. Be it the decision to tell di about Shyam's treachery or come clean with Lavanya once he realized how unfair he had been about their relationship. A man feared for his anger in office but also revered for his ability. Loyal to a mami whom everyone takes for granted. Kindhearted to a little stranger who wanted pigeons to fly to be reassured that her world would be all right. A man who had confidence to engage in astonishing gentle yet drop dead teasing courting, but also a boy too new and scared to bare his soul to the one he loved still brave enough to take the leap of faith. Ok am definitely digressing now..
We get treated to a soothing shot of a brother and his sister looking into the mirror.. do they see their past? or can they visualize their future? .. A chagrined self conscious feeling of exposure seems to catch Arnav offgaurd .. On my first watch my mouth formed a Khushi style "haw he was lying?" followed by "yeaaa he said all this to make her feel better".. The sometimes bewildered, often clumsy, spirited when needed and bewitching always was the Khushi who gave him sukoon. Arnav was willing to lie so that his feisty fully of life Khushi came back. Incoherent to his own self and too scared to admit again all that is within his heart he is still ready to damn himself to spare her the guilt. And what cannot hide in the mystic recesses of those eyes or in his slightly awestruck look has been caught by his di. The complicated introvert stands enthralled by the discovery of all that he sees in Arnav's reflection and I gaze on captivated by Barun Sobti's performance..
For some crazy reason I get reminded of these lines from a comic book turned movie, Dark Knight .. "Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So, we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight.".. Aranav Singh Raizada does not need acceptance or gratitude. He will silently bear everything and go to any lengths to protect the ones he loves.
Yes Dark knight is the perfect title for Arnav. In day light he is a ruthless and arrogant business man, for whom nothing else matter and is of any sign significance. People see what he want to show, no one is aware of his other side. Just like Alfred in dark knight series Khushi knows about it. Isn't she like him bearing everything by marrying a Rakshash for her jiji marriage.
And somewhere while watching the last scene a realization has hit me that being good , as the term seems to imply, is highly overrated. You don't require to mouth promises, follow customs, like kids, be kind to everyone around you, agree to conventions or even embrace religion to be a good person or an exemplary icon of love .. it sounds like an understatement but all you need is a good decent heart.. and on this rewatch I am learning this invaluable lesson of life from a 27 year old fictional character Arnav Singh Raizada. At this point actually hurts to call him or for that matter any of them a figment of someone's imagination. In only 20 mins they manage to become more real than a lot of the real people that take up the rest of the 1420 minutes of my day..
Finally Shyam's face in the foreground and sinister music in the background leaves us with an unsettling feeling.. except that we know none of all this that Shyam did was ever significant enough to matter or actually ever made any sense at all..
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