Friends, today's episode was a sweet one, because it took a few minutes for me to realise that it was Jalal's birthday already ... and everything I was going to see on screen was about this lovely day for a lovely man! So I settled down to forget all the Sharifs and the Adhams and to focus solely on Jalal and all the people close to him trying to make the day special.
In the midst of all the arrangements that were being made for his birthday celebrations, one thing was very poignant. Jalal seemed so much to want to be a happy person, free at heart and with a family surrounding him with care and love and all nice things. But the truth, that we viewers could see underneath all the spectacular wealth and pomp of his life, and his coterie of family and wafaadars, was that he was "a poor little rich boy".
He had all the material things one could need, all the power one could strive for, and all the sterling qualities in himself that any valorous emperor would want. And yet as he stood forlorn in many of the scenes today, there was a tinge of sadness in his eyes, and a loneliness in the depth of his soul. Not all his sadness was because of Bakshi Bano. There was a deeper void within him and one could see it in the wistfulness in his eyes, especially in one very, very beautiful scene.
Jalal was seen standing in his dark room, with his face pressed against a latticed window, looking out on all the preparations for his birthday. A voice - his voice - seemed to say (speaking in the past tense): "I remember all my birthdays as special days. But this one felt special somehow. All arrangements had been in the making for a week. But I had no clue that this day would turn out to be the most unforgetful day of my life!" It sounded like his heart was expressing his longings. It also sounded like a hindsight view of how the day turned out!
I am now all agog, to see what exactly made this birthday so memorable for Jalal ... but that's for tomorrow to show us. Meanwhile let's look at today's episode in a bit of detail!
On his birthday, Jalal had to be many things to many people!
The episode opened on a scene that graces the life of a many an Emperor on his birthday. At the crack of dawn, the flags are usually hoisted and the armies assembled for a rousing address by their Commander-In-Chief. Jalal's men greeted his arrival with rousing chants for his welfare, and then he proceeded to give them a short but very important speech. In his speech he seemed to cover two things that he undoubtedly learnt directly from Jodha, which was exceedingly gratifying to me:
- He told his men that to fight for victory was what war was all about. Seasoned veterans knew that. Young recruits would soon learn that. But grandeur of victory should not be despoilt by an army's reprehensible conduct. Enemy men were fair game in war - but not their wives, children or their possessions. This speech looked like a continuation of Jalal at Amer talking to Atga Khan just after the temple visit with Jodha (when he had heard of the misdeeds of his army men and decided to see that they never repeated such disgraceful conduct again)!
- Jalal also told Maham later that he had learnt something during that kite flying scene earlier. He had learnt that "... if we don't keep a grip on the "dor" and also an eye constantly on the kite itself, the kite could well take off but fall again. It is important therefore to see that one is in control of both the string and the kite, without letting one's eye get distracted." He said, in much the same way, he too needed to keep control and firm eye on his men. Where did we hear this before? It sounded word for word like Jodha's lessons to Rahim, and Jalal has taken it all to heart!
After the army address, the scene between Jalal and Bakshi was another grand one, where Bakshi arrived with a simple but beautiful gift of cowrie shells (maybe something they both played with in childhood?) Jalal refused it - but also appeared as if he couldn't help wanting to feel the gift in his hands. Jodha reached out to his tortured soul literally, placing her hand on his shoulder to tell him that he must forgive Bakshi, if not for her sake, at least for his own happiness and the happiness of all around him. He almost shouted at Jodha in refusal, but when she removed her hand from his shoulder he looked like he had lost a vital support! At the end of the scene, he was left thinking, which is all that Jodha wanted him to do really!
A little later Jalal was seen in deep prayer when his mother Hamada Banu visited him, planted a kiss on his forehead and wished him with all her heart. That was very nice scene too, when his mother reminded him how big a King he really was. She suggested charities for the poor and the freeing of prisoners as activities of largesse for the day, to which Jalal agreed.
Later, towards the latter half of the episode, Jalal was also seen integrating with various members of his family in a beautiful scene that the Creatives must be given credit for. He was sent on a treasure hunt by Ruqaiaya to find her gift. Clues were hidden with the various members of his family he had to visit to collect their gifts from - and to get more clues from - for the rest of the hunt. Through the journey of Jalal's treasure hunt we got to see glimpses of the different kinds of love people showered on him wholeheartedly - Ruq (with a hug and good wishes and flowers), Hamida (with a taaveez), JiJiAnga (with her lovely words), Salima (with her precious necklace), Maham (with her genuine emotions), and even little Rahim (with his cute painting!).
I loved the way the whole episode walked us through the many levels of relationship the Emperor had with his people and his army and his family. It was all demonstrated via a "birthday round" that saw him do some duty, have some private time and also spend some time chasing down his family members! Lovely idea from the Creatives to show us how Jalal meant many things to many people!
The treasure hunt: is there to be a route diversion at the end?
I thought the idea behind setting up this treasure hunt (as Ruq's puzzle for her best friend) showed some key things and also threw up some questions ...
a. Did you all like me feel that somehow Ruq showed her childishness with a game like this one for Jalal? The idea of the treasure hunt was very sweet, per se, but if you noticed Ruq and her childish eagerness for Jalal to play this "game he's always loved from childhood", I got the distict feeling that this girl has never grown up at all. She gave Jalal a flower-shower welcome and noted that she was among the first people he visited for his gift on his birthday. She gave him a friendly hug and got a forehead kiss in return. She chucked his chin with her fingers as she spoke to him. But behind all this clear friendship, there was not an ounce of passion. The game, the idea, the way she spoke of the rules, the way they both interacted, it may well have been a 12 year old boy and an 8 year old girl enthusiastic about a treasure hunt "surprise birthday gift"! That said, the game itself was creatively used by the Production Team to take Jalal on a journey from one family member to another, so while it served its overall creative purpose in the episode, as an interaction between a grown husband and wife, the idea seemed to have more childish fun than adult depth!
b. It is remarkable that Rahim was the last post in the treasure hunt, strategically placed by the Creatives in a position where he could conveniently forget that the clue was supposed to be "neem ke ped ke pass" which he then converted to "tulsi ke ped ke paas" after seeing Jodha there! What an obliging little Cupid! And what a nice twist we are in for when Ruq's carefully laid plans are all on the verge of going asunder! Now Jalal has spotted Jodha near the tulsi plant as his last stop, and he may either think Jodha is the prize that Ruq intended ... or else he may go to Jodha expecting a further clue. Obviously, Jodha may not have a clue that she is supposed to offer a clue. So she may instead grab the chance to take him to her own special gift for him ... and then poor Ruq may be standing under the neem tree, gift in hand, waiting for the arrival of Jalal, who has been waylaid by Jodha. And when he appears he may arrive with Jodha and her gift in hand? I shudder to think of Ruq's wrath if all this happens as I have imagined!
Let's wait and see what the treasure hunt leads to ... should be interesting, because we can all already see that Ruq's puzzle will fizzle out, and Jodha will win the round somehow! That's the advantage of being the heroine of the show!
I hope to God Jodha's gift to Jalal is not just the reconciliation with Bakshi!
One horrible feeling hurting the pit of my stomach is that somehow Jodha should not end up presenting Bakshi as the gift she had in mind for Jalal. I don't mind Bakshi being part of the gift package, but I so want Jodha to give Jalal a lovely gift to match the quality of the gift he chose for her birthday! Otherwise it would be a bit of a damp squib for me, and I would feel very bad for Jalal somehow!
My worst nightmare would happen if a huge gift-wrapped parcel arrived in the garden, and Jodha would lead Jalal towards it (as in the precap) saying "I have something very special for you" and then show him Bakshi Bano emerging from the middle of all the wrapping!
My fears are well-founded. All through the scenes today that involved Jodha she has been preoccupied with Bakshi - and the reconciliation between Bakshi and Jalal. She went to discuss this birthday invitation to Bakshi with Hamida, only to be rebuffed by Hamida who told her to keep out of the affairs between brother and sister. Then she was privy to Bakshi bringing a gift for Jalal which he refused - when again she tried telling Jalal to forgive and forget, but to no success. Jodha was also seen doing some very determined self-talks that this situation between Jalal and Bakshi had to be solved somehow, or it would continue to fester like an open wound!
Later when Jodha and Moti were discussing a good gift for Jalal, it seemed like Jodha was looking at Kanha for a ideas! So we still have no clue what Jodha may have in mind, and I am trusting the Creatives more than I am trusting Jodha at this stage. The Creatives have produced a good gift idea once already and they can do it again!
The only big hope I have that Jodha may produce something truly spectacular for Jalal comes from that scene I described in the opening section of this post, where Jalal is seen in his dark room, near the latticced window saying "I had no clue that this birthday would turn out to be such a memorable one that I would cherish for life". Therein lies a clue I am hanging onto that Jodha may turn up trumps and unleash something truly amazing for Jalal! I don't think he was referring to a reconciliation with Bakshi as the "most memorable moment of his life" so hopefully the gift will be "Bakshi plus something else very unusual and valuable to Jalal"!
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