In all her outlandish expressions, Maham Anga was a treat to watch! As Jalal was emotionally declaring how much she means to him & how he would do anything for the ones he loves (Jalal very much has a heart & sometimes I strongly suspect he knows just how weak it can be, and thus often repeats how he doesn't have one..) he was cradling her in his arms.
And it struck me how much it looked like a snake being cradled. Jalal doesn't know yet what his "Badi Ammi" is but the day he does, he will be horror-struck at the black cobra he was cuddling in his arms! This image was reinforced by the tiny snippet of Maham Anga doing a swivel in her rooms right after this scene. She looked like the famed mamba , right before it strikes down its prey! And strike down she did. Her poor servant & eunuch's deep belief in how close she is to the Mughal Sultanate's Wazir-E-Aalia. And Resham's horror-struck face was over the top but matched Maham Anga's, step by step! While Maham Anga was over the top & vulgar(?) in her expressions I wasn't surprised that she by expression '& tone nodded in the affirmative when she looked at Jodha. And the reason is simple-In all her insecurity ( it stings anew each time she realises that at the end of the day she is after-all, just a servant. This is her vulnerability & in her eyes, her biggest setback. But also the very reason that gives her strength to display an impetrenable facade & a Will stronger than steel!) her ruthless itntelligence & villainy; she is very vain. Too confident over the hold she has over Jalal, her assured position as Wazir-E-Aalia bu most importantly (and as you rightly said) she underestimates Jodha. Not Jodha per say, because it is the Jodha's purity & goodness of heart that she's scared of as she realises that this alone is what can truly win Jalal's heart; but of Jodha's intelligence. She simply doesn't believe that Jodha has that kind of cunning & snake-like intelligence that Maham Anga has got as a gift from Satan himself! Am sure you noticed that, she never gave an inch away to Ruqaiiya. Why? Because she well knows what Ruqaiyya is capable of if she wants to get down to it. It is this, more than anything else that makes her feel secure, secure enough to reveal to Jodha & infact, take pleasure on seeing Jodha's furious helpless & Jalal's livid diatribe, that yes! YES Jodha Begum! It was I! I who was responsible for killing the beloved foetus of Jalal!
Whenever I see Maham Anga with Jalal I see a woman who in her schizophrenic mind does care a lot about her Imperial son, might love him too & yet there is a certain resentment. And I feel the resentment exists because of all the time that was taken away from her own flesh & blood useless son, Adham Khan, and given to the future Emperor Jalal, to secure her shining future in the Mughal Sultanate that that 6 year old she cradled from arrows , is shaping today.
Jodha's scene with Moti was revealing. In all her "grihna"mode inadvertently am sure , Jodha revealed her true feelings towards Jalal, something I see her do nowadays with more consistency. She is Jalal's shubhchintak & at some deep level. , has begun to care about him. Even I was very surprised that she never displayed any emotion or even a slight feeling towards the hapless & abused 6 year old that her husband was, but I think the realisation is at a much more subconscious level Aunty, but despite not saying it, Jodha feels it. And unwittingly, displays it through word, and sometimes action. 😊
Moti Bai will be the biggest mirror for Jodha's feelings & I can't wait for the day she turns around & tells her, "Aap chahe maane ya na maane Jodha, Aap Shahenshaah Jee se adhik prem karti hain."
P. S. the precap has me sighing! I can't wait for tonight & so I shall not say one bit. These CVs I am convinced stalk these forums only to come up with promos & precaps that have us laughing, anxious or feeling pink; and then when the episode has been aired, sit afar & laugh at us! 😆
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