Hello People.
So here is my piece on Jalal. I really had a difficult time writing this, because unlike Jodha, he is not transparent. He has got many layers forged by various experiences in his life. Unlike Jodha he has seen world at its worst. I am still not sure if I have managed to do justice to him with this article.😳
His childhood was filled with emotional trauma which shaped him in many ways. He was separated from his parents, influenced and raised by two selfish and cruel people, he grew up in war filled zone and saw bloodshed and violence at a tender age, took on the burden of a vast empire when his peers were still playing and learning. No wonder he is so angry all the time and he has difficulty in trusting anyone.
That he is capable of tender feelings towards Ruku, his childhood friend, his badiammi MA and to his sister BB, itself is a proof that he is a strong person indeed. But are these tender feelings Love? Or is it just affection? Can we really expect any emotion from him which he himself is not a recipient of? Will he be able to understand such emotion even when it is dancing naked in front of him? Time will tell.
Moving on...
Characteristics: Astute, brave, strong, honest, manipulative, arrogant, egoistic (this is true for Jodha also), proud, has huge temper, thinks himself as a great king, can look beyond superficial mask, aloof, reserved, introvert, passionate, prejudiced, a rouge. He is Darcy to Jodha's Elizabeth.
Jalal is a person who was filled with lies. He was told repeatedly that he is a great king. There is no better king than him. Sometimes I wonder if the dream to rule over the entire Hindustan was actually his or of the others who forced it on him with clever manipulation. His adolescent was filled with wars and violence. BK and MA did take care of him in those days. They filled his head with what is it to become an emperor, i.e. conquer all of Hindustan with war. He is all powerful after all. So he became a war machine. He thinks that being a great warrior and winning/adding states under his belt is his duty as king. But did they concentrate on his growth only a king (not a good one at that)? What about his personal growth as a boy, as a man, as a human being? No, he raised himself there.
Many of us wonder why he is so attached to MA. Why not? She was his safety net isn't it? She was his home in his formative years. He himself said that he felt lonely, did not belong anywhere when he was growing up. She was there with him then. May be her affection was genuine at that time. May be her growing influence on him and her good for nothing son not having a prosperous future made her twisted.
Another important aspect is Ruku's influence on him. She cares for him as a friend, always a well-wisher. She will not back-stab him. But she fills his head with lies too. She is not strong enough to stand up to him and says where he is going wrong.
If left to all these people in Jalal's life, he is only next to God or God himself who can do no wrong. However both MA and Ruku are incapable of enabling his personal growth, providing stability. Both see him a king and use that status for their own advantage. Being astute, Jalal does know this to some extent. Of course he does not find this wrong because he does not know anything better. So, he has everyone catering to his whims and fancies; making sure his every need as king is met. But what about his need as human being, the man behind king's mask? Who is taking care of him?
Then he meets Jodha.
When he meets Jodha, he has a physical attraction towards her. Next he comes to know of her hatred towards him. His ego, his pride is hurt. How dare she, a common Rajput princess, hate him, the all mighty emperor? Why does he take her hate so personally when he know whole of Rajput clan hates him? Is it because of the attraction he feels towards her?
He marries her to break her, her pride, her ego and own her. He wants to teach her a lesson for hating him. He is making her an example out to all rajputs? He manipulates her, plays with her emotions, blackmails her with her family. Ah... but what he did not account for was that she is no mild mannered, sweet delicate princess. No, she was this brash young woman, who defied rules, who was bold and expected, no demanded that he treat her as his equal. What pleasure he will have breaking her.
Is she broken yet? Is she ready to accept his greatness? Everyone respects him, treats him like a king is supposed to be treated, other begums just trip over themselves to please him as he deserves. But this Rajput princess defies him at every turn. Treats him with contempt and whatever comes to her mind she just blasts him with it. She does not want anything from him. She does not want wealth, nor do his attention and nothing expect her family's safety and happiness. How refreshing is that? Is family that important? Is it how family should be, so concerned, so loving and sacrificing your own happiness for them? Is there anyone in his circle who will do that for him? Can such a person really exist?
But what happens next is so totally unexpected. Did she really kill his baby? She is cruel. She is just like everyone else, a manipulator. He will never be fooled by her act again. He will destroy her and her family. He broke her then. But wait, she is not the culprit? She was telling the truth? If so, what has he done? Did she really deserve to be broken like this? Yes, she hates him. But so does many people. At least, she is so open and candid. He should let her free. Let her go to Amer. But this did not go as he planned and Jodha took an extreme step.
This was an eye opener for Jalal. He realizes that he can make mistakes too. He could see how his anger can cause destruction of lives, how much power he has. He repents what he did to Jodha. He realizes that both are same, two sides of the same coin. He married her and she bloody well deserves his respect. So, he sets out to correct his mistakes, make amends. He wants to bring her back to the person once she was and wants to see her smile. More importantly, he no longer is the angry person he once was.
The day he realizes the reason for her hatred (Kali Temple), was a blow to him as a religious/spiritual person and as a king. He realized the glaring mistakes he did. He realized that her hatred is justified.
Slowly he starts to understand Jodha and during this he starts to understand himself. He starts to thinking on his own. He starts to think what kind of a person and what kind of a king he wants to be. He wants to have the kind of family and loyalty that Jodha have. He looks past her anger and hatred, and see insecurity, vulnerability. He sees a person who is selfless, who will go great lengths to save a maid, or a child of a maid, instead of using the opportunity for herself (during Moti's execution). He sees a person who is ready to risk his wrath to do the right thing.
At the same time, he makes fun of her too, of her rigidity, of her inflexibility. He gets a high teasing her mercilessly. He teases to get a raise out of her. He does not hide his attraction towards her just to make her uncomfortable. He knows she is too rigid and needs to loosen up a bit. He knows she sees the world as black and white. But he has seen the actual world and there are lots of shades in between. He wants to preserve her innocence and he is protective of her. He is obsessed and passionate for her.
He basks in her honesty, integrity and selflessness. Finally he sees a person worthy of his trust and to gain the trust and respect of such a person is something wonderful indeed. When he looks at her he sees a mirror image of himself; same, yet different. He basks in her fiery nature; with her he can exchange barbs. He knows she will give him back, tit-for-tat. He knows she will never hesitate to say things to his face, even if it a bitter truth.
There is a marked difference in the way he is or the way talks to other people (including Ruku) compared to Jodha. In front her, he is just Jalal. His inner rouge comes out when he is with her. His boyishness, his laughter, his playfulness is apparent when he is dealing with her.
He is shattered when his sister back-stabs him. It shook his confidence, confidence in people around him, his family and also confidence in himself. He must have questioned himself if he did go wrong somewhere. He sees that is was Jodha who was there to pick up the broken pieces. Since then, his trust in people like MA, AK has come down a little bit. In all of this, he knows he can trust Jodha. He knows she will not back-stab him. If she hates you, she will tell it in your face. You always know where you stand with her.
Only a very strong and astute person can acknowledge their own shortcomings, and have guts to improve themselves and their kingdom. All the trappings of the shehenshaw, pride and ego fell away when he faced Jodha. She bared him and showed him the man he was becoming. He did not like what he saw. All those influences of MA, BK could not snuff out the inherent fair play, honesty (with himself and others) and integrity out of him. These qualities did not let him keep quite. They pushed him to change.
Every time Jodha praises some other king as great, he pauses to think. Everyone else says he is the greatest king, but not Jodha. If he not great, then what is that he needs to do so that Jodha calls him a great king? He realizes that Jodha sees the man behind the King and that she wants him to become a better man and a better king. He himself wants that too.
The day she told she no longer hates him, he felt victorious and happy. He knows he wants to keep her close and now it is reciprocated. But, is he ready to take this forward, we will know soon enough.
Love
Kshithi
Marathi TV
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