Friends, not only am I hungover from my New Year Party with my cousins last night, but the same hangover seems to have hit the serial as well! Yesterday's episode was a trifle better than the one before. But yet there is a pall of irresolution on the state of affairs of the Ben track ... and things moved just about a few inches, so all in all things looks sluggish on the episode as well.
With a wish for everybody's happy New Year (may 2014 be a great year for you all!) I'll keep my analysis short out of fear that my head may burst.
Let me start with my pet peeve: how Jalal again seemed to be portrayed as mighty dumb as he started getting advised first by the Ladies Club - and then got successfully lalkaro-fied by a wandering pehlwan!
Even if Jalal countered the ladies with some biting comments, and countered the lalkarer with his own reverse-lalkaar, folks, was it nice to watch a Shahehnshah of a great Sultanate thus get rattled by the Ladies Club and the Unwelcome Visiting pehlwans? What is he ... a King or a bullied overgrown baby?
Anyway, utter stupidities aside here's a low-down on some of the scenes yesterday ...
The Pehlwaan and the Pahelwaani!
Suddenly there appeared from the lurking shadows a larkaro-fying pehlwan itching to do malyudh with some able-bodied young men from the Sultanate. Maham instantly thought of her incarcerated son Adham being a good candidate and hoped that if she made much of this pehlwan and his lalkaar, Jalal would be forced to let Adham out of his cage to fight, and then maybe if Adham won the fight, he would be set free as an award for saving the face of the Sultanate. In that fond hope, the Lady pehlwaan of the Sultanate (i.e. Maham) sat in glee at the arrival of this man from nowhere! As Wazir-e-Aliyah, should not have been the least bit suspicious of such a stranger in their midst. No, boy, she wasn't!
The Ladies Sabha summons the Shahenshah!
Hardly had Jalal time to breathe after army discussions with Atga, when the Ladies Mahasabha of the Sultanate "summoned" him to the harem to give him their two bits each on the lalkaro-fying man! Maham said he must accept the lalkaar for the prestige of the Sultanate. Hamida said he shouldn't. Ruq said she supports Maham. Jodha said she supports Hamida. Even Ben had a piece of mind to give! She said she supports Maham. I thought Jalal would thus declare that Maham & Co had won 3-2. But no! He shouted at his mother, Jodha, Ruq and Ben for needlessly doing "buttinsky" in political affairs which were none of their concern. He said only Maham had any say on the matter. And that he would accept the lalkaar. Matter over. Why that scene was needed I don't know. Maybe because we were all saying Jalal needs to be more masterful, he is shown being a bully with the ladies to appease us. I liked the way one harem lady, who was told by Resham that this excitement (malyudh) was to happen, asked "Oh, another Meena Bazaar?"
Scenes at the Diwan-e-Khas!
At the Diwan-e-Khas, it was interesting to see the terms set by the lalkaaro-fying pehlwan! He said "I'll have three matches. If your guys persistently lose to me in the "best of three" you'll have to eat dust and declare your loss of face to me!" (Notice: Mansingh was shown four times?) A suddenly all-bristling Jalal swung into counter lalkaar and said "I accept your challenge. Imagine, I thought, the Shahenshah of the Great Sultanate feeling all challenged by a lone lalkaro-fying sandow! Is it believable or does it show him as a smart Emperor? Another of Ekta's belittling of Jalal?
The Sandow and Ben s Abul Mali connection!
Out came the truth yesterday that this Sudden Sandow and the Burinazar Ben were both henchman and henchwoman of the Great Absconding Abul Mali. At first there was a silly garden scene where both Ben and the Sandow exchanged fleeting nods, supposedly to raise our suspicions, and then Ben and the Sandow actually met (despite the sipahi cordon) to tell us all with open talks "We both are Abul Mali's gang here to kill Jalal and his wafaadars." Meanwhile of course as Atga told Jalal at the start, this Abul Mali has gone faraar after Sharif got caught in the war, and Abul Mali is a really rotten egg. Jalal merely replied that he had to stomach rotten eggs if they were his brothers-in-law unfortunately!
The Hakim Mirza-Atga talks on Mali!
More words were exchanged between Hakim Mirza and Atga on the rottenness of Abul Mali as Hakim Mirza confessed he was in Agra only to warn and defend Jalal against Abul Mali, and Atga should be more careful of insiders than outsiders right now! Hakim Mirza also seemed to think Maqsood'd death (the sipahi) by the snake bite on the lips was a bit too strange to swallow. From all this I deduce that even if Hakim Mirza seems to be on Jalal's side for the time being against Abul Mali, history shows that Hakim Mirza's own mother gave her daughter in marriage to Abul Mali as she wanted to support anyone against Jalal. So my watchful eye is still on Hakim Mirza to see if he's using a "fake-loyalty" strategy to lull Jalal against his own impending treachery!
Jalal-Jodha talks - more banter, less clarity!
Okay now I'll come to the meatiest part of the episode - or rather the only part that interests us - the Jodha-Jalal talks. Jodha, having heard from Moti that Jalal has accepted the lalkaar comes to warn Jalal against falling for such ruses from unknown men who may well be enemy agents. Jalal instead starts insisting she attend the malyudh, which she has no taste for. Then she says "I thought you wanted only your "khas" ones" to attend? You send me out of Tansen's conncert but invite me here?" He takes umbrage at the word "khas" and says "You too are one of my khas-begums. But I suppose you are still jealous of Benazir?" Then he claps his hands to produce an award medal/pendant for the winner of the malyudh and says Jodha must hand it to the winnner. Jodha says "Surely this was not your idea?" Jalal falls back on his age-old excuse "No it was Hamida's idea!" Eventually Jodha agrees to go to the malyudh but with enough parting words at Jalal on the sheer stupidity of what he was allowing to happen. He thinks hard after she's gone. Meanwhile in a small aside in the precap, Hakim Mirza is seen quizzing Jodha aboout her "fight" with Jalal, and she is forced to ask herself "How come everybody senses this fight between me and Jalal?" Ha, what else is there to watch in this show?
Anyway, what was all this Jo-Ja scene that about? I tried hard to think through it, with a hungover head, and came to the conclusion that the Creatives had shown Mansingh's face at least four times in close up yesterday. So I got the feeling that maybe in this malyudh Jalal may surprise Maham - and everyone else too - by making "Mansingh the Puny" fight with the "Lalkaro Bada Sandow" in which Mansingh may surprise all and win? And thus Jodha may give the prize to her own nephew after first hating Jalal for putting her thin and scrawny nephew against the robust pehlwan?
I wonder if Hakim Mirza will offer to also fight the pehlwan as the second contender? If he wants to prove his loyalty he may - on the other hand if he demurs, what do we make of him?
And the lalkaro-fying man asked for three contenders ... so who will be the third "mard" to acccept his lalkaar from Jalal's side? Rahim?
Ooh, I live in suspense! Not of the serial, but of Ekta's diamond-bright creative mind!
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