Friends, despite the new promo where Jalal shakes up Jodha saying "Who were you meeting at the mandir?" I still think there will be no MU. The promo could be Jodha's dream that Jalal may be angry with her. But if you see the promo in the context of yesterday's episode, the promo looks like a deliberately misleading promo.
The absolutely remarkable thing for me was that Jalal did not seem to get angered at all. In fact, he seemed like he was almost expecting the news from Maham. Already he had come to Jodha's room well before Maham sneaked to him about Jodha. He has already figured out that Jodha was missing in her hojra the previous night when he came to talk to her. The question arises, why did Jalal thus decide to check on Jodha's availaibility at night in her room?
The meeting between Jodha and Jalal in Tuesday's episode took on the same colours as that meeting between Jodha and Jalal in Monday's episode. He gave the distinct impression that he already knew of her movements and had come personally to cross-examine, double check and warn her to be careful!
In Monday's episode Jalal came in just as Jodha was planning to go to meet Sujamal, whereupon he said to her (with a semi-knowing look) "I came to tell you about Sujamal. Atga tells me he may still be in Agra. He may try to contact you, so be careful". He even picked up the leaf paigam and with a sort of thoughtful look at it, left it on the table nearby without saying a word .
In yesterday's episode Jalal came to Jodha's room almost similarly, saying "I came for you last night, where were you?" Jodha said that since she couldn't go to the Ambe Ma temple by day she went at night for peace of mind. Jalal then probed her story further and gave another sort of warning "In doing good for others don't do bad for yourself".. He then said "How about a game of chausaar today, then?" and she said "I am too sleepy. I want to make up for the sleep I lost last night." He said "Okay, then take rest" but there was such a look of knowing in his eyes that he couldn't hide it!
Later of course Maham came to Jalal to sneak about Jodha's assignation with a secret "gair mard" who seemed to have some connection to her Amer days. She said it was not good for the respectability of Jodha nor her safety - and that's why Maham followed her. Jalal took in the whole story with a look not of anger, not of pain, but of thoughtfulness and mental calculation. He looked like he was trying to piece together a puzzle and getting all the ends in place. When Maham told him not to tell anyone what she had said. He agreed.
Later when he was alone in his room, Jalal did a bit more thinking and then made some self-talks that were extremely revealing. He said to himself "Jodha would never do anything wrong. I trust her and there must be a good reason why she is secretly having these meetings. By and by in her own time she will tell me everything. But meanwhile I am worried for her safety, as she is going out alone at night." That was all I needed to know folks to know for certain that there was not going to be an MU. He did not try to stop her going out at night, he wanted to protect her during these outings!
Do you all know another absolutely sensational thing that happened yesterday? Did you all hear it? Right from the moment Jalal came to Jodha's room to check on her absence during the night ... to the time Maham sneaked to Jalal and Jalal became all thoughtful ... and even afterwards as Jalal was mulling things over on his own in his room ... till his revealing self-talks ... throughout all this the Amer music of Jalal and Jodha was playing in the background. Those who didn't notice it should see the whole episode again and you will see what I mean.
This music always plays when there is a hint of love, intense attraction or good and close feelings between Jodha and Jalal. So it was remarkable that even with all the aspersions being cast on Jodha's character, rather than get upset or furious, Jalal was thoughtful, concerned for her safety and harbouring feelings of love and trust in Jodha - as exemplified by the strains of the Amer music throughout in the background.
Throughout he had a dual expression on his face. If you saw that expression without the music it looks like silent anger, suspicion and angst. But see the same expression with the Amer music in the background, and you see only thoughtfulness, reflectiveness and heartfelt feelings for Jodha. No anger or upset is visible when you see the same scene with the music!
Now there are some people still not entirely convinced that an MU has been averted by Jalal's trust on Jodha. Let's wait and see, they say, to notice how Jalal feels when he knows it is Sujamal, his enemy, that Jodha is seeing. Will he still be unconcerned and not angry with Jodha?
My answer to that is: I think Jalal already knows enough to know that it is Sujamal that Jodha is meeting. He already knows full well. Why else did he come to Jodha's room the previous episode to talk of Sujamal being likely to try and make contact? Why did he decide to pay Jodha a night visit the next night to check if she was still in his room? What was his reaction when Maham said a paigam had come on a leaf from the mandir to Jodha from a "past contact from Amer"? Why did he not wince when he was told that Jodha and this man seemed to be very close indeed? All of this didn't make Jalal sit up in surprise. He just became deeply thoughtful as if he knew the pieces were all adding up. And finally he talks of protection during her trips rather than stoppage of her trips!
Friends, my hunch is that Jalal knows fully well that Jodha is meeting Sujamal, and I suspect that though Jalal was initially angry with Sujamal, after later cooler thinking his own mind must also be asking him over several days "What proof do we really have against Sujamal? We only saw the bodies of my brothers from Mewat and saw signs of backstabbing. But how do we know Sujamal himself did this? How do we know Sujamal was the attacker on the day of the jashn.? We only have Sharif's word against his? And have we asked or given Sujamal even one chance to declare his side of things, which is only natural justice? Sujamal may not come and tell me anything for I have been an adversary of his so far. But if Sujamal is telling Jodha everything, perhaps that is right for her to know ... for she has already been vouching for his character to me even before. I think Sujamal may confide only in Jodha and he may not like to tell me anything as he perceives me to be his enemy. So if he and Jodha are working things out to clear his name to me, it can be a good thing for all of us and help nail the real culprit too." I think this is the position Jalal is in now!
Maybe a twinge of anger in Jalal may surface that Jodha did not tell him about Sujamal's original entry into Amer and her first meeting with him before the jashn. If he gets to know that he may get a wee bit angry. But now, after the jashn attack, and after the blame has fallen on Sujamal, I suppose even Jalal may have a different mind about Sujamal's culpability if he has really started questioning his own beliefs about Sujamal. Cooler thinking must have hit Jalal that there are many loopholes in the theory that Sujamal was the culprit, for how much proof was really there? It is also possible that some sign of the warning paigam given by "some man" to Atga may have also come to Jalal's notice ... we do not know. If it has, then again it would raise more questions in Jalal's mind as to whether that warning man could have also been Sujamal? Once Jalal feels that his grounds for anger against Sujamal are built on shaky beliefs, there is no saying what all his mind may now be thinking and whether he himself wants to hear the Sujamal side of the story via Jodha?
So my feeling, folks, is that Jalal's own sense of personal justice will have also kicked in and made him think that, just as Jodha has been saying, Sujamal may have the truth on his side and it at least deserves probing. Maybe Jalal won't like two things however that cause his uneasiness: the fact that Jodha hid her first meeting with Sujamal when he first came to Agra and the fact that Jodha is not taking her own safety seriously and is venturing out at night alone to meet Sujamal.
(Some theories are also afloat now that maybe Jalal will feel so uncomfortable with Jodha's safety being on the line that he may stop her nightly visits to Sujamal ... but some other people on the forum also have the idea that Jalal may then surreptitiously allow Sujamal to come in disguise to the palace to meet with Jodha in order to facilitate their meetings at a safe place under his own eye. Hmmm ... that too is possible, I guess?)
In fact, anything is possible now. The question is:
a. How much does Jalal already know of Jodha-Sujamal meetings?
b. How is Jalal now feeling about Sujamal after re-thinking about accusations on him with a cool head?
c. Does Jalal resent Jodha meetings with Sujamal or does he feel its OK to encourage as Jodha can get the truth from Sujamal more easily than he (Jalal) can?
d. Is Jalal uneasy about Jodha's safety making these nightly visits to Sujamal in secret - and will he (Jalal ) actually surreptitiously facilitate Sujamal's visits to the palace in disguise?
e. Will he understand the vachan that Jodha has given Sujamal to keep secret all the information from Jalal?
Jodha talks with Sujamal
Sujamal is waiting at the mandir unable to sleep, wondering if Jodha has received the leaf paigam and whether she will come to meet him. Some sipahis at first think he is a suspicious vagrant but he manages to allay their suspicions. Jodha meanwhile turns up with Moti, and as Moti stays back at the halfway point, Jodha proceeds on to look for Sujamal, well covered in a shawl.
Soon a hand touches her shoulder and it is Sujamal. "It's me Sujamal" he says to her simply as she says "Bhaisa" with a great deal of emotion. "This place is not safe", he says, "we may be seen, let's go to the back of the temple." Maham is peering hard through a latticed window as both brother and sister embrace and Jodha breaks into a bout of weeping. "What can I do" she asks, "I am caught between my husband and my brother! Everybody says you attacked the Shahenshah. Just reconfirm to me once that it was not you." Maham is by now all ears. "Let's go somewhere inside and talk, Jodha" says Sujamal and he takes her to a broken down hut and secures the door of the hut leaving them alone inside. Maham follows and can still peer into the hut from the gaps in the woodwork.
"Bhaisa" says Jodha "is it true what people are saying that you attacked the Shahenshah?" Sujamal says "I know your mind is conflicted on this. That's why I called you here to talk about it. I did not attack the Shahenshsh. I know in war I can take the life of any Mughal, but never the Shahenshah, because of the vachan I have given you as a brother to protect your suhaag." Relief washes over Jodha. But she continues "But why were you at the jashn? You told me you were going away from Agra after you last met me. Then why did you stay back?" Sujamal quickly replied "Because of the vachan I gave you to protect your husband. That day I was planning to go back when perchance I came upon Abul Mali plotting with some man to kill the Shahenshah. "
Sujamal then went into mute mode, and accompanied by several flashbacks he gave the whole story to Jodha of how he had seen Mali plotting, how at the jashn he was looking out for the attacker and saw him ready to blow a poison dart at Jalal, and how he then accosted that man, pulled him outside the jashn mandap and had a fist fight with him and even killed him. He continued on about how Sharif and his men then encircled him, and how he had to run to escape them just as Sharif was telling Jalal that he (Sujamal) was the attacker.
Jodha was moved. She said "If that's the case we must tell all to Jalal and make him take back his farman". But Sujamal said "There no use doing that. The situation is such that Jalal will not believe you for he thinks I am the killer of his two brothers at Mewat." Jodha saw the merit of Sujamal's argument for she too remembered Jalal s anger at that incident concerning his brothers. Sujamal continued "Anyway see the situation now. There are many who are against me, not just Jalal. There is also Abul Mali, Sharif, your own father Raja Bharmal ... but I don't fear death at their hands, as a Rajvanshi it would be my pride. But I have given you a vachan to protect your suhaag which I will do to my dying day." Jodha looks very grateful to Sujamal.
Sujamal then adds with a note of seriousness, "Jodha I called you here to tell you that Jalal's real enemy is someone inside the palace." "Who could it be?" asks Jodha. "I have no idea" says Sujamal, "but promise me one thing, that you will not tell Jalal what all I have told you here." He extends his hand to get her vachan on this, and reluctantly Jodha gives her hand. "Go now and take care, he says, and she replies "You too take care Bhaisa, I will do my utmost to clear your name."
Maham who has been listening hears even this last "Bhaisa" and immediately understands that Jodha has been meeting her brother Sujamal, but she decides not to give Jalal this vital bit of information. She decides to tell Jalal that Jodha was out at night meeting some "gair mard", some past Amer contact, after receiving a leaf paigam from him (that Maham had seen).
My comments on this scene:
This scene was straightforward for there were no gaps in Sujamal's storytelling to Jodha. He bared everything to her. She did the right thing by saying they should tell Jalal, but he had valid reasons why Jalal would not be too ready to hear all this.
But the part that confounded me was when Sujamal extracted a vachan from Jodha not to tell Jalal any of this? Why? Why did he tie her down with a promise? This promise give scope for a later MU between Jodha and Jalal, if Jalal were to be angry with Jodha for half-truths.
Bbut I am less worried about an MU at this stage for I feel still that an MU will NOT HAPPEN. I am actually wondering whether Sujamal wants time to do his own investigation on who may be the real culprit in the palace gunning for Jalal's life. Sujamal's own vachan to protect Jodha'a suhaag even at the cost of his own life, is probably making him prevent Jodha from prematurely telling Jalal anything till he himself clears his own name and protects Jalal by nailing the real culprit.
This approach of Sujamal is to be lauded since his intentions are right. But the negative part of it is that until the culprit is nailed, he and Jodha will have to continue meeting in secret and thus there is always fear that they may cross the threshold of tolerance of Jalal. It's a tricky situation if it becomes a prolonged exercise. If on the other hand the real culprit can be nailed fast, then Sujamal's approach is probably for the best. The odds now are 50-50 whether the real culprit can be nailed as soon as possible.
What will Sujamal have to do to nail him? Is that where this disguise as a female comes into the picture? Will Sujamal now try to gain entry into the palace dressed as a lady to investigate the real culprit further? And most important of all, if Jalal knows that Jodha has been meeting Sujamal, will he also openly or surreptitiously abet Sujamal and Jodha's tehkikaat and turn a blind eye to Sujamal's presence inside the palace? Or will Jalal decide enough is enough and incarcerate Sujamal (for Jodha's safety and to prevent her nightly trips) and do the tehkikaat himself?
Somehow my hunch is that Jalal may know that Sujamal is operating inside the palace to nail the real culprit and Jalal will knowingly give him and Jodha the chance to do so, even if he outwardly does not give tacit permission to both of them. Jalal may become a silent supporter of Sujamal and Jodha, not letting on till the last that he knew all along that they both were on an investigative trail. The Creatives want to create an MU like situation so I feel they will deliberately make Jalal look like he is not abetting Jodha and Sujamal, but all the while silently he may be knowing and supporting their efforts.
Jalal talks with Jodha
Moti is in Jodha's room with her asking if she was going to tell Jalal everything Sujamal said when Jodha says she cannot do so. Just then Jalal is announced and enters after removing his footwear. When Moti discreetly leaves the room, Jodha summons a smile to her face to greet Jalal with. He says to her "You look so at peace and happy today." "All thanks to you, Shahenshah" says Jodha, asking him to sit down. They both sit. Jalal then says "I wanted to ask you one thing, Jodha Begum. Where were you last night? I came here to meet you last night, but you were not here."
Alarm bells ring for Jodha. "With a stutter she replies "I went last night to the Ambe Ma temple, to pray for my people ... because I couldn't go by day, so I went at night for my peace of mind." He looks at her as if he knows she is waffling! "No problem" he says eventually, "As I told you it's not easy to manage the affairs of the harem. You are a person very driven by your feelings. Just bear in mind my words that in doing good for others you should not do bad for yourself." He gives her time to digest that bit of advice and then adds "With your harem duties you usually have no time, but today I have made time for you so how about a game of chausaar?" Jodha is uneasy with his words but demurs "Sorry Shahenshah, but I slept ill last night and am not too well also. So I cannot play the game with you today." "No problem, take rest ... maybe some other time." He then takes leave of her - as she says to herself "Forgive me for I am vachan bound not to tell you anything!"
My comments on this scene:
That sentence by Jall was ostensibly said about the harem people ... that "... in worrying about others' good, please don't do bad to yourself". But I think Jalal was really talking about the Sujamal visit that Jodha made at night. This is one of the key sentences that gives me a clear sanket that he already knew about Jodha's meetings with Sujamal, or at least he deeply suspected she was doing this, and he wanted to warn her that in trying to help Sujamal, she should not bring harm to herself.
Added to this were his eyes, with that look of knowing even when he was asking innocuous sounding questions. But above all this knowingness in him, the big query in my mind is: How come he chose yesterday night of all nights to come to her hojra to seek her out and then he found her missing? Was it something to do with that leaf paigam he had seen with her that he did not read - but looked as if he knew what that was all about?
Was he already in suspicion over Jodha's movements and thus keeping an eye on her? If yes, was it curiosity regarding Sujamal's story (which he could be sure Jodha would be told by Sujamal), or concern for her safety?
With his questions like "Where were you last night? And did you have to go to the temple at night?" he had given her just that hint that he was not buying her answers. She too knew he knew, I guess ... which is why in the end she says "Forgive me, but I cannot tell you all that you want to know!" Both know that the other one knows what is going on, I think!
Maham talks with Jalal
Maham rushes to Jalal's room like she cannot contain herself. She greets Jalal and says I need to talk to you about something". Jalal's eyes narrow as if almost he was expecting her? "I want to talk alone" she says dismissing all the courtiers around him. "Why do you look so troubled?" he asks. "You speak right," she says, "I am troubled and don't know whether to tell you all this or not. My mind says I should not tell you for you may think I have exceeded my position. But as your Badi Ammi and Wazir-e-Aliyah of the Sultanate it would not be OK if I hid this information either". "What is the issue?" he asks again, quizzing his eyebrows.
"Jalal, I can see how close you and Jodha are becoming" she begins "I am happy for you, and I am the last person wishing to hurt you. I can't find the words ... but Jalal, do you know that last night Jodha went out of the palace alone?" He replied "Yes she did tell me she had gone to the mandir." "Did she tell you why she went to the mandir?" asks Maham. "Yes she said she went to get some peace" he replies.
"Theproblem is not that she went" Mahamsays ,"but in these times of attack on the Sultanate, it is concerning that she went alone. I don't suspect her virtue but am worried about her safety and so I followed her last night to the temple" Till this point Jalal seems really puzzled by what Maham was getting at, what her issue was ... but at this point in the conversation, his expression changes suddenly from puzzlement and concern to a look of shrewd knowing again.
"Jalal, in the mandir Jodha had gone to meet some "gair mard"" she adds and by now there is a slight smile on his face, barely hidden. (The Amer music comes on, showing us that Jalal was not in the least upset but actually perhaps pleasantly reflective about Jodha.)
Maham presses the point further "She is after all the Begum of the Sultanate and she can go anywhere, do anything without restriction. I don't suspect her intention. I just want to know if she told you about it? That she went to meet some "gair mard"?" (The Amer music grows louder as Jalal becomes hard-thinking.) "Forgive me Jalal" Maham continues, "that I shamelessly followed your Begum as she went out. But I had a reason. In the morning from the mandir Jodha received a leaf paigam asking her to visit someone who had spent time with her at Amer."
Jalal immediately was reminded of the leaf paigam he had briefly glimpsed in Jodha's room ."I feel bad as your Badi Ammi and Wazir-e-Aliyah to talk to you, my son, like this about your wife. But neither could I hide all this from you. As her husband I think you should know when she goes out without telling you to meet some other man? It looked like they both were very close to each other. Sorry to have offended you".
Maham looks slowly up at Jalal with evil eyes thinking she's done a good job of sneaking to him and affecting him on his thoughts about Jodha. There will be a bombshell now, thinks Maham. But throughout her diatribe, Jalal has been wearing not an angry but more of a puzzled and sometimes calculative expression. "Thanks Badi Ammi" he says a trifle distractedly, and then she adds "I have one more request, Jalal ... this matter is a very delicate one so please keep it just between us." He says "Don't worry about that" but the minute she leaves the room, the Amer music grows louder as he reflects on all that she has said. The music looks like a metaphor for his real feelings and thoughts.
My comments on this scene:
Why do I get the feeling that Jalal was not all that upset with the words of Maham? Why was there that Amer music playing in the background at all the times when he was supposed to get angry but didn't? Why do I get the feeling that he was calculative as if he was piecing together a puzzle?
The very fact that Maham in the end says to herself "Now I have stirred his mind and a bombshell is about to fall on Jodha" ... at that very moment as Jalal is thoughtful and with narrowed eyes, the Amer music grows louder. Does this symbolise that even though Maham's intention was to poison his mind, his own thoughts were more caring and protective of Jodha as indicated by the presence of that Amer music?
When Maham first came rushing to him saying there was something urgent and serious to discuss, there was a kind of perplexed look on his face till he knew what the issue was. But the moment Maham said the issue was about Jodha's outing, there was a fleeting look of knowing and a half-smile ... and then for the rest of her diatribe he was wearing a thoughtful look.
The music at first looked at odds to me with the look he was wearing because I expected to see some stirrings of anger. But then as the music grew louder as if it was growing in his heart, and his face was more thoughtful than angry, the penny dropped for me. He was feeling powerfully for Jodha, not against her!
I think Maham just managed to stir the opposite feelings in him than she intended to, and perhaps to make that clear to us viewers the Creatives have used the Amer music very strategically to reflect back to us exactly what his feelings were. If that music was not there you could easily mistake his look for pent up anger (if you mute the music, that is the impression his face gives of worry and upset) but if you see his face again with the music, there's an entirely different expression you see of thoughtfulness but no anger in the eyes. Try it out and you will see the difference. The music in the episode was the most powerful indicator of the real mood of Jalal!
Jalal talks to himself
Jalal is all by himself in his room thinking about everything Jodha had told him about the night outing and then everything Maham had told him about her too. The Amer music comes on and starts playing loudly again as if reflecting his thoughts. He says to himself "No one who knows Jodha's nature can mistake her actions. There must be a good reason behind what she's doing. I have confidence that when the time comes she will tell me everything. But her safety is my concern as she is going out at night and the place is infested with enemies. I have to see that she is well protected."
Notice, folks, he does not say he wants to stop her trips! He says he wants to protect her during these nightly trips! As he thinks of her protection the Amer music grows to its loudest crescendo!
In the precap, he is then seen offering her his own protection as he follows her. His expression is enigmatic. It looks like wild curiosity if you look at it one way - and it looks like deep concern if you look at it another way.
Hats off to Jalal for wearing a dual expression throughout this episode ... and hats off to the Creatives for making him successfully do that.
It is clear to my mind (and this is my personal interpretation of this episode) that the Creatives want desperately to create a feeling of an upset or chagrined Jalal possibly heading towards an MU with Jodha. But even while giving these cues, the Creatives are also sending us the clear signal that Jalal-Jodha are not going to have an MU, by playing that Amer music as a reflection of his deepest mind. So while his expression is saying one thing, the music is saying another.
It is my strongest hunch now that
a. Jalal knows what is going on and trusts Jodha
b. He wants to allow Jodha to continue these outings for he is talking of protection during these outings and not about stopping these outings
c. He has openly stated to himself (to our hearing) that she must be having good reasons for her actions and when the time comes she will herself tell him all
It is also my hunch, folks, that there is a subtle second meaning to the Amer music. I think it hints at the fact that he knows she is meeting Sujamal, and therefore all these Ameri cues are being inserted into the screenplay, such as the background music, to give us a hint that his thoughts are all about her and her family members (i.e. Sujamal).
I hasten to add here that this is my personal interpretation of what happened in the Tuesday episode. I don't think an MU is on the cards, I think Jalal is not angry but only thoughtful - and I think the Creatives want to set up an MU-like situation to rile us up with, which will eventually resolve itself by showing us that Jalal was always aware of Jodha and Sujamal's position of innocence and was actually becoming supportive of them after thinking about that jashn attack with a cool head.
There could be others on this forum who feel that an MU is now on the cards, that Jalal looked angry and upset, and he is now following her out of angst and jealousy and suspicion. While I do not buy that argument, I am open to all opinions. So do have your say here on this thread. If you have a new angle on what's happening, I am very eager to hear it!
P.S. The only time waste was that scene of Javeeda and Ruq. What was that needed for? As for that scene of Atga and his wife, I think it was sweet. Atga's end is nearing and it seemed poignant - like Fate was talking - when they spoke fondly of their son who is all grown up now and can take his father's place at Jalal's side!
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
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