TW: Mental torture, abuse.
Today's episode scared me, in a similar way to yesterday's. I felt horrified for Atharv yet nothing for Vividha, literally NOTHING, which is something that has never happened before. I know her circumstances, I've hypothesised that they are showing regression in her character as she literally is a shell without Atharv's, or her soul's, presence. It is horrible to witness but I am hoping we will get her back when she sees Atharv, when she finds her will to fight again.
But my post today isn't about her directly, today's episode highlighted something else to me - beyond the nice' army guy persona we are seeing the beginnings of another side to Ravish. A side that scarily reminds me of the oppressive nature of Kailash Kashyap. Both began with good intentions', yet just as Kailash tortured Uma, Ravish is torturing Vividha. How, I hear you ask? Outwardly he's nice to her, but it's in the subtleties we are seeing, the way he is refusing to listen to her (regardless of his reasoning), the way he is convincing her that she's imagining everything, he is questioning her mental state and suppressing her freedom of thought. He is shattering her confidence and her belief in herself by making her think she's hearing things. She knew someone touched her in the corridor yet Ravish, as Atharv was chained up, immediately told her it's impossible. Again he made her think she was imagining things rather than listening to her, when Vipul really is making inappropriate advances towards her. This was reminiscent of how Vividha didn't believe Atharv over Chintu, but at that time she wasn't playing with his state of mind, Atharv was confident in his belief that something was wrong. Vividha has everyone around her telling her Atharv being there is impossible, only her heart and the signs he's left are telling her she isn't imagining things. This is really a lone battle she's fighting, and because of Ravish she is losing confidence in herself, but she has to find her strength for Atharv. If she has no self-belief left, where will the belief in her love come from? Is it not a matter of time before she starts questioning whether her love for Atharv was vehem' too because of the damage that is being done to her sensitive state of mind?
I digress, back to Ravish. A highly revered and respected army captain, just as Kailash became a revered and respected businessman. I am sure that when Kailash first married Uma he wasn't like he is now, he must have offered her support and protection to some extent, or so she thought. Through the initial mental torture he inflicted on her, in a way I'm not sure is dissimilar to what Ravish is doing now, he moulded her to become the wife he wanted. But he was always nice', why would she have any need to question his intentions, he was nice to her. He built her trust in him and abused that trust to shatter her within herself, until she had no thought of her own because she didn't feel worthy of thought. He took her when he wanted her, she became his puppet. I see striking parallels, Vividha is a puppet right now. She went along with the birthday celebrations to keep Ravish happy, where will the adjustments stop? Will she give him whatever he wants, whatever he desires, because he's a nice' guy and she wants to keep him happy? She's feeling obliged to him just as Uma always did to Kailash because she can't see what he's doing. If this doesn't stop soon, if she doesn't suspect him and find Atharv soon, she will be in too deep in this life of adjustment and see no escape, just as Uma did. Vividha hasn't even opened her mouth yet because she hasn't been allowed to, she hasn't expressed an opinion about anything, will Ravish still be as nice' as he is now once she does?
I haven't even brought Atharv up yet. What began as good intention, Ravish wanting to fulfil his father's final wish, has taken a more sinister turn. He is chaining him up with reluctance, yes, but it is a way to show his need to control the situation. He chained Atharv up because he can't deal with Atharv potentially being seen by his family, not for his own good. He'd already sedated him, Atharv would've been calm after waking up from the sedative, but that wasn't enough for Ravish. Seeing Atharv helpless made him feel in control of the situation.
I am not saying Ravish is evil, but I'm saying his need for control is rising, as control is all he's seen in his army-based life. When something doesn't go his way he suppresses it, be that a terrorist, Atharv acting up, or Vividha speaking. He's already inflicted physical torture by injecting and chaining up Atharv, regardless of his good intentions. He is asserting his power over Atharv, over Sujata. And he's asserting his power over Vividha's mind. Both Atharv & Vividha are victims of torture right now, everyone is against them except each other. They must find each other and rise through this, defeating every hurdle that comes in their way. They can't let the side of oppression, backwards mentality and control win. Atharv and Vividha need freedom.
Hindi TV Shows
Bindi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Jodha Akbar
