Yes, it is me again, like the proverbial bad penny! This was not really going to be my comeback post after nearly 2 weeks. That one is half done and is, for the first time ever for me in this forum, in a Trishanku-like state, and will probably stay that way.
I changed my mind about it when, after a quick survey of the forum last night, during which I was almost swept off my feet by the high tide of relief and near jubilation over the Jalal-Jodha nok jhok, I fell to thinking about what we really expect from the script of Jodha Akbar, as distinct from what we say we expect. By "we", I mean the majority of the forum, not yours truly.
I also pondered about how Ekta and her CVs routinely manage to diddle the aforesaid expectant majority with lollipops, even as the main underpinning of this supposedly historical "epic" love story,the character of Shahenshah Jalaluddin Muhammed, soon to be Akbar, is being rapidly eroded.
Yes, there have been protests against this ongoing process, even howls of anger, but see, a couple of Jalal-Jodha scenes, and the young ladies who were in the vanguard of the save-Jalal campaign have not just been silenced, they seem to be in ecstasies over The Handhold ( a consummation of hands, as one admirer put it, in a clever if somewhat edgy phrase)
They were also busy finding excuses for Jodha putting down her patidev by informing him, eyes cold and angry after a recap of her wedding, that Shivani's bridegroom-to-be, Mirza Hakim, aapse achche hain, and some, to my surprise, were even mildly critical of her. I personally saw nothing worse in that than in the hundreds of insulting things Jodha has hurled at Jalal's head over the months, the most demeaning of which, for sheer insensitivity and stupidity, was the SKLL (stree ke liye lalasa) charge the morning after The Shove. Jalal must by now be used to all this, and his self-esteem would surely be able to survive this snide comment.
And yet, in yesterday's episode, the standing of Jalal, as the Shahenshah-e-Hind, and the head of the Mughal royal family to which Jodha Begum also notionally belongs, was shaken to its foundations. The worst of it was that no one seemed to notice it, or if they did notice it, think it worth bothering about. Not the majority, and not even Jalal himself. And this last is truly the unkindest cut of all to the minority in the forum that includes me.
Jalal-Jodha: But first the Two Scenes between our to-be-epic-lovers (when they will finally attain this legendary state is on the lap of the gods, or rather of the CVs).
Scene 1: As I said, I was amused by how easy it is for the CVs to please the young ladies here . The same tired old repartee shown for the nth time, but provided the CVs have Jodha and Jalal in the same frame, most are in the fifth heaven at least, if not quite the seventh! Not that I have anything against young people enjoying themselves, and I have no desire to emulate the Grinch who stole Christmas. So do bear with me, my young friends!😉
I am perfectly prepared to accept that, though not nearly as good as some earlier scenes between them, the first one last night was not at all bad, if entirely predictable.
The snippet when Jodha was teasing Jalal about Mirza's supposedly superior qualities - Rajat's head rolling at this point was a first for him, and sheer delight to watch - was great fun, as was The Handhold. But this was solely due to the chemistry between the pair of them, not to the material they were given to work on. It would be more appealing, to me at least, if their undeniable chemistry did not always work on negative lines!
It is the predictability that riles me.The "Jodha's jealousy of Benazir" line has been done to death, and her snide remarks about Benazir were undignified, childish and unnecessary, and that too right in front of the latter. Hardly the kind of behaviour expected of a Shahi Begum in front of a "mere daasi' , showing as it does to the daasi that the begum is bright green with jealousy because of her.
Her comment about Jalal not respecting women because he came into her room and made (unwelcome) advances to her was far worse. It shows that Jodha has understood nothing of what went wrong between her and Jalal that night, and sees no need to make any effort to that end either. Nor does she have the feminine intuition or the perceptiveness to realise that everything that Jalal has been doing to her since that night is directly related to his acute sense of humiliation about The Shove, and not, as she assumes, to the advent of Benazir, who is merely a symptom, not the cause of Jalal's alienation from Jodha.
So there is no question at all of Jodha even trying to find out how to set things right. Her very temporary morning-after regret - Kanha, hamse bahut badi bhool ho gayi! - vanished like a snowflake in the desert sun as soon as she met Mahaam, and she was back encased in her armour of self-righteousness that nothing can penetrate. In this respect, and in some others, Jodha is the biggest aimakh of the lot, overtaking even Jalal by lengths.
Scene 2: The latter Jalal-Jodha conversation was entirely logical, thoughtful and to the point on Jalal's part, bar a very major omission of which more later. It was far less logical and downright harsh on Jodha's part, not that this is anything new. The same old ghisi piti "you are responsible for all I and my family went thru before our wedding" complaints, of the kind she threw at him at the pit stop on the way to Ajmer after the would be assassin was caught.
And what, pray, was the connection between Jodha's non-sweekruti for her marriage because of (the now resurrected) ghrina for Jalal, and the adoption of Hindu rites for that marriage? None that I could see, but then logic was never Jodha's strong point.
But if Jalal himself is afflicted by a strange fit of amnesia and now seems to believe that the choice of the rites was Jodha's or Bharmal's, what can one do but clutch one's head in despair!😉
Jodha also seems to assume that the Mughal victory against Amer was some sort of wicked deed done by Jalal personally, and not the result of the military incompetence of the men in her family. So much for a Rajvanshi princess' understanding of politico-military affairs.
To sum up, nothing seems to change as far as Jodha is concerned, and the plaintive appeals to Kanha the day before notwithstanding, she comes back to the same position after a while, like a pendulum. And no, in her parting swipe at a somber Jalal, she does not stop at the very last instant; she says very cleary aap se achche hain before she departs. Not that it mattered too much, as I noted above, for Jalal is used to much worse.
The only new thing now is that her jibes at Jalal are laced with lavish praise of Mirza Hakim's supposed virtues. And this is a young man of whom she knows nothing except that he touched her feet, that he calls her bhabhijaan in every sentence, and that he butters her up to the top of her bent.
It is another matter that when this paragon of a devarji drags her away to stop her from stepping on the (dead) snake, she immediately suspects him of inappropriate behaviour. The woman thinks the whole male population of Agra is after her virtue. I found that instinctive reaction of hers both typical and very off putting..
But given these Two Scenes, almost no one seemed to mind that this 'sweet episode' was devoted 60% to the pudding faced Shivani and her kaarigar boyfriend. And to my utter bewilderment, I even heard him described as handsome!
Now for what was really wrong with last night's episode, in reverse order of seriousness.
Hamein koyi aapatti nahin hai: I was surprised at the lack of comment (so far as I could make out) about the single most ridiculous point last night. Not only does the whole Amer clan descend on Agra, having presumably ditched the traditional beti ke ghar ka paani bhi nahin peete rule, but all of them, down to my favourite and otherwise very wise Daadisa, repeat Hamein is vivaah se koyi aapatti nahin hai.
Aapatti nahin hai, when they would have been hard put to it to find an even halfway decent Rajvanshi groom for Shivani, just as they could not find one for Sukanya but a bandit prince, or persuade the Rat King to accept her without the Ratanpur fort as dowry?
They are condescending to approve of her marriage to a Mughal prince of the blood, who is, at present, the heir apparent to the Mughal empire? Why, it is Jalal & Co, who should be saying that, for they would be entirely within their rights in thinking that the alliance is beneath them. Even among the Rajvanshis, what is Amer but a small tinpot principality? The Rajmata of a powerful Rajvanshi kingdom like Mewar would have certainly looked down her nose at such a choice for her son, and here we are talking of the prince next in line to the Mughal throne!
Moreover, I wonder how the gushing Hamida Banu presumes that Mirza' s very ambitious mother would be pleased with such a daughter in law, and a kafir at that! How is it that her consent is apparently takem for granted? Hamida is neither Mirza's parent nor his guardian, and she can hardly stand in for his real mother who, as soon as she got the paigham , is probably on her way to Agra post haste, to try and ward off this marriage that would bring no political gains to her son.😉
In fact, if one was to go just by what Jodha says, echoed by her cheerleader Hamida Banu, all that matters is the approval of the portly Bharmal, and no one else counts. It was all most unrealistic, indeed ridiculous. Since when have traditional marriages in India, that too in the 16th century, been decided solely at the pleasure of the bride's family? They are mostly the ones ever eager to please, bending over backwards to accommodate all the whims of the groom's family. Remember the way the Rat King and his entourage behaved?
Except, it seems, when it comes to the Amer lot and the Mughal royals. Then the rules, and the roles, are reversed!
The Shahenshah sidelined: Now for the real shocker of the evening.
You would all agree that Jalal, as the elder son and as the Shahenshah, is the head of the Mughal royal family. No alliance of any member of his family can be contemplated, not to speak of its being decided, without his explicit prior consent. And one does not have to go to a 16th century imperial family for this ironclad rule. My grandfather was just as strict in this and in far lesser matters in our family.
Yet, the Shahenshah's wife (even if only in name, and for proclaiming, when necessary, that she is a Shahenshah ki Begum, with all the privileges appertaining to that rank ) does not, going by what was shown last night, consider it necessary even to consult him, not to speak of getting his approval, before she proceeds with the proposal.
Then again, how come even Hamida, who should be familiar with imperial protocol, does not tell Jodha to get the Shahenshah's approval of the idea before she writes about it to her bapusa? She merely tells her to mention it to Jalal after writing to Bharmal! So much for the Malika-e-Azam!
Even if Jalal was not the Shahenshah, and in that sense Mirza's guardian, would it not be the proper thing for Jodha, as his wife, to check whether the idea is acceptable to her husband before she goes ahead with such a major move concerning his brother? If a wife did any such thing even today, most husbands would cut up rough at being thus sidelined, and this is an emperor, for Heaven's sake!
Instead, when she finally turns up in Jalal's chambers, after having informed the ecstatic Hamida that it is her Bapusa who would take the final decision in this matter (as if he would not jump at it, like a drowning man at a rope,seeing what all he went thru in the case of Sukanya! ), Jodha never asks him whether the alliance would be acceptable to him. She merely parrots the Ameri mantra "hamein is rishte se koyi aapatti nahin hai", and then in effect instructs the Shahenshah to get together with her Bapusa, if the latter approves of the idea, and finalise the matter.
This brazen disregard of the most elementary family etiquette vis a vis her husband, not to speak of imperial protocol, quite took my breath away. It is the height of (hopefully unthinking) impertinence. Is this what the sanskaars she is always boasting about have taught her about what is due to the position of a Shahenshah and a husband? Would any Rajvanshi royal husband tolerate any such agaopana without reacting harshly? I simply cannot imagine any of Maharana Udai Singh's queens, not even his unquestioned favourite, daring to even contemplate such a thing.
But of course anything goes for an Ekta heroine, and so Jalal does not raise this cardinal point and ask her bluntly What gave you the idea that you had the right to do anything like this without my prior permission? Instead, like the doormat he has become, he smiles obligingly at the Amer contingent, and only talks feebly of Shivani's approval, and there too lets himself by overruled by Jodha.
It made me feel deeply disturbed to see what the Shahenshah has been reduced to. Uski begum ne na kewal use dhakka dekar apne se door kar diya, as he says with searing bitterness time and again, par uske hi parivaar mein,uska auda, uska rutba, uski shaan, sab ko puri tarah se mitti mein mila diya. Aur is lallu ko is beizzati ki parwaah bhi nahin!
And it is not just Jalal. Practically none of those who were lamenting his downward slide of late, from an imperious, arrogant, decisive, and withal just emperor to a clueless, directionless, passive changeling, seem to mind this latest and worst blow at his status, whether as an emperor or as a husband. He has now been reduced to a ventriloquist's dummy, and that too one that does not even voice his manipulator's views, but simply nods his acceptance with a pathetic, sheepish smile.
Political imperatives and the Jalal that was: As loveanime has pointed out correctly, there could be many raisons d'etat (reasons of state) for Jalal to oppose this marriage. Mirza is currently the heir apparent to the Mughal throne, and even if Jalal were to have a son later, he would always be a powerful figure. Jalal might have contemplated an alliance for him with some other powerful figure's family; this was the rule in those days for royal marriages, not the exception.
Even otherwise, how would marrying his brother into the same Rajvanshi royal family help Jalal extend his influence in Rajputana ? He himself was telling Atgah Khan some time back that his plans for his own marriage with Jodha had not worked out as expected, seeing that he had only Amer and Dhawalgarh under his aegis as at present. How then can it be presumed that he would accept this idea at once?
Morever, as loveanime has also pointed out, Mirza should have sought his brother's permission first, not Jodha Begum's. If Jalal had objected on the above grounds, a scene of Mirza convincing him to change his mind, citing both strategic and emotional reasons,would have made far more sense than the unbelievably stupid track shown yesterday.
It would also have reinstated, to some extent, the Jalal who was a shrewd politico-military strategist, who could see all the angles involved in any given situation and integrate them into one cohesive and bold course of action. That is apparently not to be, but at least let us not pass over this further downgrading of his status and prestige without protest.
Discordant expectations: This brings me back to my title, and my question about what we really expect from the script of Jodha Akbar, as distinct from what we say we expect.
We are constantly complaining that the historical angle is downgraded and historical characters distorted, that there is too much harem politics and not enough rajaneeti aur jung. That Jalal's character has been diluted to the point of total unacceptability. This is what we say we expect, what we say we cannot accept, or even tolerate.
But let the CVs include 3 minutes and 13 seconds of Jalal-Jodha nok jhok, and all this seems (and please correct me if I am wrong) to have gone with the wind, swept away by a tide of near universal exultation. So it does seem that what we really expect is more of the same, and if that is available, historicity can take a backseat, if not a toss, and the Shahenshah can have (whatever remains of) the stuffing knocked out of him without bothering us.
I am NOT saying that any of this is wrong, let me be quite clear on this point. Every viewer has a perfect right to make his/her choices and have his/her preferences.
Only then, let us stop abusing Ekta and the CVs for ruining this "epic historical love story". It is no such thing, but she knows her onions, does Ekta, and she knows what works. Let us just accept that, and go with the tide, patiently and without complaint. That will spare our nerves, if nothing else!
Schadenfreude (malicious delight): I confess that like Sandhya, I too am just waiting for Shivani to run away with her proletarian lover. He is evidently an aimakh to match her, for he actually expects that she would be able to get her parents' consent to their marriage. Why, if she had so much as hinted at it, she would have been locked up and her lover boy thrashed to within an inch of his life!
Mahaam will very likely facilitate the elopement (incidentally, how was Shivani planning to have her letter to the kaarigar boyfriend delivered? By owl post a la Harry Potter?😉), for it will serve both her purposes: to prevent this most unwelcome (to her ) marriage, and to humiliate Jodha and her whole family.
I half hope nothing happens to stymie it, for it will be a treat to watch Jodha's face when Shivani goes missing, and the edifice of the Rajvanshi sanskaars she is always boasting about comes crashing down on her head. On the other hand, if the marriage plans have been announced before the runaway bride takes off, the public humiliation for the whole Mughal royal family will be acute, and one does not want to wish that on Jalal, who is hurting enough as it is.
In any case, I dare say the elopement plan will flop. The CVs will hardly allow their hunar ki malika aur gunon ki khaan to be thus humiliated. So I expect Jalal will get wind of the whole and, with his usual do gooding, will stop both the elopement and the wedding to Mirza and unite Shivani and the kaarigar. Nice, modern democratic stuff: emperor approves of princess sister in law marrying a working class groom.
Would never happen in real life, then or even now, but who cares? I can then wash my hands of this man of straw who passes for a Shahenshah, for he will soon be beyond recall, and rest in peace!
Wonder what apni Jodha, who speaks so contemptuously of a 'mere daasi', would say to a kaarigar brother in law. It will be something for the record books!
Shyamala B.Cowsik
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