Posted:
"Mera tujhse hai pehle ka naata koi,
Yoon hi nahiin dil churaata koi,
Jaane tu, yaa jaane na
Maane tu, ya maane na..."
Instead of going charging at Saleema ( who hopefully is innocent and is being framed ) or doing a brain-walk in the palace to reflect on the situation , the first thing that Jalaal does is to go and confront his darling Jodha Begum. Khoyee hui aulaad ke mujrim se zyaada iss baat ki taqleef thi ki Jodha Begum did a lie-to-me on him. Like, i almost killed you !
Instead, of keeping her arrogance and disgust in place , on seeing Jalaal and hearing his lie-to-me questions, you see a tearful and WOUNDED Jodha who for once lets her vulnerability show.She lets Jalaal know how much he has hurt her and how much she misses the respect that she should have gotten as his wife. Her shaken yet angry voice, tearful eyes and her "Ek aisi patni jiska patee hi usse nazar bandh kar de" puts Jalaal on silent mode. In short, she conveys it to Jalaal, that she lied to him because she was frustrated and finished on the inside.
Jodha was on an EMOTIONAL MIXER GRINDER today- a wounded brother , Sukanya's dicey future, death of daaku Ratan, her helplessness in the situation and Jalaal's cruelty had pushed her off the edge. Hence , the impulsive but natural decision to go and tell Jalaal - End all this for once and all. Kill me , am the one who has kept you childless . Release my brothers and drink my blood. You cannot expect any logic from Jodha because Jalaal has pushed her back to the vintage GHRINAA mode, just when she was almost beginning to see him in new light. She really didn't mind getting killed by Jalaal , in place of leading a life that kills her and her loved ones everyday... Don't judge her. A caged bird, fluttering her feathers is never a happy sight. It only knows that it wants to be free, and it does not understand the logic of a cage - even if it is made in gold.
As for Jalaal, until the Hamaam-fiasco, he was stuck in the Rajput flashback. He can't forget the courage and commitment of Jodha's brothers. You cannot say how exactly he is processing all of it , but his mind refuses to let go of the compassion and loyalty that Jalaal witnessed for himself at the hands of the Amer gang in the battlefield. Its another thing , that Jodha came and ruined the sweet memory flashback with her ghisaa-pitaa 'humein sazaaa dijiye' rant. ... She instigated him so much on the matter that is a Septic to him now, that he raised his sword at Jodha to kill her... and the hand-of-destiny or poetic justice as you would call it - it was the same hateful and spiteful Ruqqaiya who took the blow on herself to save Jodha.
Ruqqaiya is the writer's secret card. You cannot form a definite opinion on her . One week, she is a brainless bloating arrogant Mallika, next week she is a maternally hungry mother and later , she shows sparks of kindness before returning to her Veronica Lodge shades. I am not saying that she saved Jodha because she is in love with this deer-eyed girl or has had a sudden change of heart. Its just that letting someone die when she knows that the person is innocent is a little too much for her conscience to take. Ruqqu is not an evil woman, essentially. Its just that her pride , might and over confidence of owning Jalaal is so high that it takes away the light of goodness from her... Today's act of Ruqqu shedding blood for Jodha is a small flicker of hope that Ruqqu can still evolve into a better person. ... And Ruqqu did see a fleeting glimpse of Jodha's kind heart when Jodha instantly took Ruqqu's hand to see with concern and worry that she had injured herself... It will take time for Ruqqu to see and accept that Jodha really is an angelic soul. But she will.
Coming to Saleema, she may or may not be guilty - and looking at her persona, in all probability , she is innocent. She cares two hoots about Jalaal as a husband. Her heart was and is with Bairam Khan, as was highlighted today , again. Raheem is not her blood either that she will go around killing embryos to make him sit on the throne . Saleema taking revenge for Bairam is valid but does not go with her personality. She is happily living her life with Raheem's upbringing and Bairam's memories... A woman who has loved someone with such beauty is unlikely to have that kind of a dark side.
I liked Jodha's handling by her brothers where they told her that cursing Jalaal is against their 'maan-maryaada-pratishtha' and that they did no favour to Jalaal. In their true Rajput spirit, it was their duty and they were pretty cool. Its the loose emotional electron Jodha who was going all hip-hop-skip. But i wonder why didn't they tell Jodha about Ratan's ke daaku-traits. Kyun kartee Sukanya aise aadmi se shaadi?
Anyway, the scene of the day was surely the last one. Jalaal putting Saleema and the embryo-ka-badlaa on a backburner to confront Jodha. More than the revelation of his baby's story, Jodha's lie-to-me had stung him. And Jodha's speech to Jalaal was NOT a hate speech at all - it was an emotional rant full of pain where you can clearly see that no matter what Jodha says in anger , iss shaadi ki bahot keemat hai usski nazar mein. Jo na hotee, toh kabhi aise chhote baby ki jaise shikaayat nahiin kartee...So, dear Jalaal and Jodha, you reacted the way you did, because whatever happened hit you both ... ON THE INSIDE...Jaane tu... ya jaane na...maane tu... ya maane naa...
That said, i love the fact that Saleema is still in love with Bairam and only Bairam. Its just beautiful.😳
P.S- Being a Rajput does not mean you cannot have your weak moments or have vulnerability. So, don't judge Jodha. Its not always about being fiery and combative. Its also about dignity and pride. And for me, Jodha has kept that UP even in her weakest hour. Insaan hai, koi Jinn nahiin. Rajput honaa koi Mount Everest hone ka certificate nahiin hai.
P.P.S- That HILARIOUS moment when Ruqqu says - " Pataa nahiin aapki begumon ko ho kya gaya hai? Ek jhooth boltee hai aur doosri hamaare bacche ko maar deti hai."😆
Jhanak
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