Folks,
I did not even think of putting out something last night, for I was sure half the forum would be in a romantic daze over the joint ride back to the Agra fort, and the other half in an even greater daze over the precap, and neither lot would have any interest in analyses! I hope that the roseate mists have lifted by now, and that all concerned have come back to terra firma, which is why I am venturing out with this one.
I should add that the additional delay is because I was locked into my bedroom for a good part of the morning when the door lock got jammed, and then I found, to my dismay, that I had left my purse in the bank yesterday afternoon, and was able to retrieve it, and my assorted pieces of plastic, only past lunchtime (this being Gandhi Jayanti). I am waiting for the third calamity to arrive before nightfall!😉
The title might seem a tad premature as far as the beloved part goes for, as I had predicted yesterday, the CVs have brought our self-crossed ( NOT star-crossed, for as Shakespeare puts it, The fault, dear Brutus , in not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings ) lovers back into bickering mode, especially Jodha. But it sounds so appealing, and so I sacrificed accuracy for catchiness!
The precap: Let us, like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, begin at the end, with the (literally and figuratively) slippery precap. I am sure 99% of the forum was in ecstasies over this first ever semi-embrace between our warring couple.
It was a very charming scene, lit up by Rajat's mischievous smile, and the comic element was delightful. Along comes Begum Hoity Toity, her disdainful nose well up in the air, affecting to ignore the fact that her obnoxious patidev is openly contradicting his earlier assertion and niharofying her unblinkingly. She sails past him with no acknowledgement of his existence, the ungrateful little wretch, and bingo! Fate deals her a googly, and she slips, right into the aforesaid patidev's arms. Poetic justice, if ever there was one! Jalal, being a Rhett Butler in temperament, was enjoying himself thoroughly.
Jodha being back in sniper mode, as I had predicted, was only to be expected, and she sounded extra peevish and illogical, for I did not understand what a kaanta had to do with her slipping on wet grass. The girl was evidently at a loss for a snappy comeback, plus she is now clearly on the backfoot.
I loved even the takeoff on the RK Films logo (the man holding the girl bent backwards over one arm, and taking her as low down as possible without dropping her ) as much as all of you must have done, but perhaps for a slightly different reason.
This is such a tired staple of romantic scenes in films, and even more so in TV serials, that is it very difficult to keep oneself from laughing at it. The poor actors, especially the girl - who is stuck in that that awkward position for as long as 2 minutes at times just because that is the director's idea of the high romantic - struggle to look lovelorn. All the while, the one is hoping that he does not suddenly drop her, and the other saying to himself Lord, she weighs far more than I would have imagined!
But Jalal and Jodha manage to make even this old chestnut look fresh.
Lastly, it does not hurt that they are a remarkably handsome couple. It was noted by a film critic, after watching Jodhaa Akbar with Hrithik and Aishwarya, that Salim must have been the most beautiful baby in the whole of the Mughal empire. One could say the same of the Salim-to-be here!
The pre-pool doings - Jalal: I liked the way Jalal snarled at Moti & Co for leaving their mistress alone ( they could hardly have flouted her explicit command to that effect, but a man in panic mode is hardly logical!), his rage in direct proportion to his fears. I liked it even more that when Moti petitioned him tearfully to look for the heartbroken Jodha himself, as only he would be able to do find her, he actually listens and then moves swiftly into action.
By contrast, his patience with the hapless guard who was unable to stop Jodha from leaving the fort on horseback was exemplary. Here is a just ruler, who does not penalize an underling for failing to stop something that was beyond his ability to handle.
His action plan was impeccable, but still, it was pure serendipity that he happened to land on the same track across the hills that Jodha follows, and that too well in time to see her do that jump (not a dive, a dive is what Jalal does) into the deep water. But then Lady Luck, though a fickle jade, must have a soft corner for handsome young men.
As I had noted about the previous day's precap, Jalal's shouting after Jodha, who is doing an Usain Bolt to the pool, Ruk jayiye Jodha Begum!Yeh hamara hukum hai! was proof positive of how a person can be hard wired, in this case to command. I have not laughed so much since Alakh made Jodha lecture Mohan about his being ehsan faramosh (krutagnata heen, to be precise), unlike the atyant krutagna Ameri variety of sher!😉
The pre-pool doings - Jodha: It is a relief that the Agra fort security was not to blame for Jodha's careening off into the wild blue yonder, and that it was merely our Amer ki Mirchi almost riding down the guards. She seemed to be bouncing too much in the saddle, probably the effect of inadequately assimilated, recent riding lessons; she was out of sync with the rise and fall of the horse's back.
The only significant point in her repeated flashbacks during the ride was that Jalal's long ago assertion, that he married her only because he has beinteha nafrat for her, ranks, in her zehen, on par with her mother's homilies, as the trigger that drives her to such despair. Usually, it is she who dishes this line out to him; it is the first time that she is shown to be obsessed by his hatred for her. Very interesting.
The pre-pool doings- Mahaam: Jalal's Badimmi proves once more how remarkable is her understanding of the vagaries of the human heart, when she warns the purblind Ruqaiya that Shahenshah khudh nahin jaante ki unhe Jodha Begum ki kitni parwah hai. No wonder she has ruled the roost in Agra for so long! Ruqaiya , for her part, proves the truth of the old adage None so blind as those who will not see.
And if I am forced to listen once more to her Jalal ka dil hi nahin hai.. aur unke dimaag par mera hukum chalta hai, I shall summon the spirit of Ruqaiya Sultan Begum to clobber the CVs!😉
The pool and its aftermath: Three rounds of solid applause would be the minimum due for Jalal's comprehensive dressing down of an ungrateful and resentful Jodha (I would not hold that against her, for no one attempting suicide is grateful for having been saved; usually the opposite).
His blaming her for putting a sword to the throat of the Shahenshah is illogical, for she did not know then that it was he, and he should be grateful for that. If she had known it, he would surely have had no head at all, and thus no way of yelling at her now!😉
Be that as it may, he makes it a point, despite his justified anger, to reassure her that even if she was unwanted in her maayka, she still had a place in the Agra palace, with all the honours due to a Begum. That was very thoughtful and indeed kind. Perhaps later, Jodha will think things over and concede, at least grudgingly, that it was considerate of him to have welcomed her back, and that too in a matter of fact manner that would cause the least embarrassment to her.
If the Shahenshah harps repeatedly on the Mughal shaan and guroor theme to explain why he had rushed to rescue her, adding a categoric refresher about how much she gets on his nerves and how much he hates her, why, that is the only defence mechanism he has!
He could hardly confess, even to himself, that when Ruqaiya had finished with her dire warning, the breath had caught in his throat as an insensate fear of loss had clamped icy fingers around his innermost being. So the Amer ki Mirchi had to be paid back in her own coin, sood samet.
One wonders what happened to the other horse, but I presume Jalal takes Jodha with him on his so as to prevent her from running away again.
Ah, the ride! Straight out of the 1950s Errol Flynn golden oldies of Hollywood. They looked spectacular together, even in the less than optimal situation of being sopping wet. But for this, one had to watch them long distance, as the amused peasantry was doing. Their indulgent smiles proved anew that all the world loves a lover, and if there are two of them, why they love them twice as much!
We were not so fortunate, for close up, Jalal's face was grim and set, and Jodha , apart from peeping up at him hesitantly once, looked as crabby and sullen as is her wont when with her patidev. It resembled nothing so much as a truant schoolgirl being taken back to school under duress😉.
An impression that was only reinforced when he drags her thru the khufiya raasta back to the palace. Her hanging back and demanding to know where she was being taken was silly even by her recent standards. What did she think, that he was going to feed her to Mohan in the forest?
It was again thoughtful of Jalal to have thus shielded Jodha from the endless, and often malicious questions and lamentations that would have bombarded her if her suicide attempt had become public knowledge. He does not want it known for his own reasons as well, of course, but he does make sure she is spared a very rough time of it by keeping out everyone, including even his Ammijaan and Motibai, and proclaiming that Jodha was being punished for playing truant from the palace.
I loved the way in which, despite his welling irritation - which, in such cases, is only redoubled by the relief felt after the crisis is past - Jalal took the time to reassure a weeping Moti about the welfare of her Ranisa (a graceful adaab to Rajput mores), and even more so his proud assertion Mughal sultanat ki begum hai, implying that he would not allow anything to happen to the Mughal sultanat ki begum.
Aftab ka pehla noor: So the Ajmer Sharif pilgrimage beckons for Jodha and Jalal, with Mohan, Mohini (the snake in the tent), an assassin, and other assorted threats to life and limb on the way.
The way in which this was set up was far better than Hamida Banu proposing it on her own and coaxing Jodha to go along. The CVs do have brainwaves at times! Mansi, your mended glass vase might have to wait for another day!
I am very curious to see how the aftab ka pehla noor falls first on Jodha, since Ruqaiya must have been parked in the gardens since 4 am with Hoshiyaar for witness!😉
Question of the day: When Begum Jodha sails past the Shahenshah is full disdain mode, does she already know that she is going to Ajmer Sharif with him? If so, that prospect would explain the extra vim with which she affects to ignore him. A return visit by the Green Jodha is clearly indicated.
So, folks, en avant to Ajmer Sharif, and a possible shift, even if only slight as yet, away from the enemy' and towards the beloved' !
Shyamala B.Cowsik
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Bindi
367