Friends, did I hear those words in the precap? Did you? OMG, OMG, OMG, is that much-awaited SR finally on the way? Riyya, where are you? You can start your heavy breathing, child!
Okay, okay ... let me stop my excitement and jingoism and get back to the analysis of the episode yesterday.
Was a reasonably good episode yesterday if you consider that there were only four main scenes. I am detailing all four scenes below with extra emphasis on the Jodha-Jalal dialogues because I loved the dialogues. There was a certain extremely heart-warming camraderie between Jalal and Jodha that showed how close they have become - and this was very evident in the way they were exchanging words even if they weren't exactly hugging or holding hands.
The first scene was the opening scene where Jodha and Jalal were distributing clothes to inmates at the jails on their annivesary - and they saw the plight of poor little Zakira there and released her
Jalal and Jodha were distributing clothes and sweets to the jail inmates on their anniversary, when Jalal was suddenly reminded of how he had seen Jodha do the same thing long ago at Amer. He said to Jodha "Do you remember that day when you too were doing the same thing at Amer?" She thought about it and remembered it all too. "Oh yes, do you really remember that?" she asked. "How could I forget when you put a sword to the neck of the great Jalaluddin Mohammmed! I was unable to live that down for a long time" he replied with a grin. "But Shahenshah, " she protested, "that was a long time ago, and now I feel all different". "What's changed now?" he asked her, "what do you think about me nowadays?" "This is not the place to talk about all that" she demurred.
"Just tell me this" he persisted, "if that day you had known I was the same Jalaluddin Mohammed whose head you wanted to keep at Devi Ma's feet, what would you have done? You surely would have killed me" he grinned again. "Even now I feel like killing you" she said mockingly "in fact every begum at least once a day feels like killing her husband!" He was mightily amused. "Oh ok, once a day" he said, "but what about the rest of the time?" She had to answer honestly "I feel like doing just the opposite". "Is it like you have to care for my wounds, apply your lep, look after me and do all such services for me?" he asked. "Shahenshah" she said getting close to him and almost whispering "That is not called doing services' it is called prem' ..."
Jodha then saw him looking at her with gleaming eyes and tried to explain the point fully to him on how women use their wiles on their husbands. "Waise Shahenshah" she said "a lot of women first give their husbands trouble to get them to come near them, and then use TLC to get them even nearer". He heard that with glee, but soon rounded back on the original point "You are going everywhere but not answering my question: What do you think of me these days?'"Jodha again evaded the question neatly by saying his clothes need a bit of tailoring finesse to make them fit even better. He realised that she was a good one for avoiding any topic. "You still haven't told me what you think of me" he insisted again, this time with a plea in his voice. He so wanted to know the answer. "Some answers wives don't have to give, it's up to the husbands to figure out for themselves" she said archly. He smiled knowingly, getting huge thrills from baiting her.
They then went forward into the jail. Just then they heard shrieks of agony from one of the inmates who was being tortured endlessly by a couple of women sipahis. It was none other than Benazir's dwarf baandhi Zakira, still in incarceration in the jails.
"Help me, save me" Zakira cried, unable to bear the torture. Then when she saw Jalal and Jodha she went into a weepy explanation. "I am sorry I didn't personally do any harm to both of you. It was all Benazir's work, and I was just her servant who had to do her bidding. In fact with my inconvenient body size and handicap I couldn't get work anywhere else and so I stuck with Benazir. But I sure didn't mean to hurt you and I was not party to Benazir's evil ways".
Jodha and Jalal took pity on Zakira and Jalal immediately ordered the stoppage of the torture. "She's right, she did nothing" he declared much to Jodha''s happiness too, for she was feeling proud of Jalal being fair to Zakira. Jalal then explained his justification to Jodha "I remember once someone has said that the handicapped should be spared!?" Jodha realised he was again alluding to the old days at Amer when his henchman, the disabled Abdul, was caught by the Ameris and her father Raja Bharmal was about to punish him with beheading. Jodha had intervened then to tell her father that their Rajvanshi ethics did not allow for the handicapped and the less able people to be punished heinously. Jalal had been part of the onlooking crowd then. Jodha was gratified that he remembered.
They both then gave some sweets to Zakira and declared her freed. Zakira was ever so grateful to the two of them and prayed wholeheartedly for their happiness, health and well-being. Jodha said to Jalal, "See how this has turned out so well. You have now earned grateful prayers from her for your fairness".
They both then proceeded from there, but I suspect that the very, very grateful Zakira is now going to become one of their most trusted henchwomen. If there's an opportunity for Zakira to help fob off the sinister plots of Shehnaaz, she may well come in handy. Many of us saw the spoiler picture of Shehnaaz with Zakira and thought the opposite - that these two could be in cahoots with each other. But I suspect that Zakira is now going to start tailing Shehnaaz to help save Jodha and Jalal!
The second scene led from the first, when they discovered the surang Humayun used to use leading out from the jail corridors, and they almost saw Maham and her captive there
Jalal and Jodha walked away from the jail cells through some jail corridors smiling and talking to each other, when Jalal suddenly saw a stone embedded emblem on the walls and showed Jodha how it absolutely resembled the genstone bbedecked emblem on his kada which he was wearing. "This is a sure sign that there is a secret passage somewhere here" he said to her. "Oh Shahenshah, show me where it is" she said with childish excitement. "Why should I?" he quipped back jocularly, "You still haven't given me an answer to the question I asked, why should I now answer your request?"
But nevertheless, they both smiled and carried on turning into some passage ways. "Somewhere here is a passage so secret that my father used to hide here and use this to flee from his captors. The surang leads back into the palace" Jalal said. "I am myself intrigued to now find it." They proceeded further on when they came to a bit of open space in the surang that looked like where Humayun had spent time hiding from captors. Jalal felt his father's presence there as he and Jodha walked gingerly through the cave-like area as if to avoid obliterating Humayun's own footsteps there. "I feel very special today, Jodha Begum, walking where my father once spent a long time" he said. "Who knows what other secrets are going to unfold before me today!" Walking on they came to a wall covered with jungle ivy. "Oh, this looks like a wall" Jodha said, "looks like a dead end". But Jalal started slashing at the ivy with his sword to look for some opening.
Just as they were making their way through the surang area, Maham was there in that inner part of the surang too (in fact, on the other side of the wall that Jodha and Jalal were facing). She had come to meet her captive. She gave the captive a baleful look, and said "This is it, I have reached the end of my tether. The time has now come for me to get what I want from you" And then to her guards she said "Start shifting this captive". The light was too dim in that surang for us to make out if the captive was a man or woman. Maham was all set to transport the captive when she started hearing some sounds and got alerted.
The sounds were actually coming from Jalal's sword slashing through the thick jungle ivy vines on the other side of the stone wall that separated Maham from Jalal. Maham with her captive in tow, ducked for cover close to the dark recesses of the surang to hide from view of Jodha and Jalal whose voices she had by now heard. Meanwhile Jalal and Jodha heard some muffled noises too. The captive of Maham was making muffled groans as Maham ducked with the captive.
Jalal and Jodha got alerted and since the wall was too hard to break through they went to an aperture in the wall to see if they could peer through. Maham was just on the other side of this aperture but Jodha and Jalal could make out nothing in the dim light. They then murmured to each other that it looked like nothing, and may just have been some wild rats. Jalal said "It's a false alarm. If only my father and Bairam Khan knew of this place, how could anyone else have come here?" As they left, Maham heaved a sigh of relief and continued to push her group of sipahis and the captive on their way.
Nothing came of this adventure for Jodha and Jalal, alas, but they were that close to Maham and her captive. Phew!
The third scene was of Jalal and Jodha dressing to be ready for the jashn when Shehnaaz conveniently dropped some kheer all over the floor and ensured that Jalal forbids her from attending the jashn
Jodha was in her room getting dressed for the jashn when she heard the already dressed and ready Jalal shouting out for her. She grew flustered as she was barely ready, and she saw him about to enter her room. "Moti get some sweet kheer for the Shahehshah" she directed as she fumbled with her jewellery to get ready fast. But by the time the finishing touches were almost over, he entered the room and came and stood behind her as they both faced the mirror.
"What is this? Not ready yet?" he asked. She stood up and turned around and took a good look at him for he was looking smashing. "Just look at you" she said "all dazzling from head to toe". He grinned with pleasure at her compliment and made her sit down again. "When the begum is so beautiful, the husband has to dress up well, so that he can stand beside her with pride" he said with a flourish. They both smiled at the joke. "You are teda and your compliments are teda too" she said. He bent his head towards her and whispered in her ear "If I was not teda, if I was just a straight guy, would you have fallen in love with me?"
He then set his face straight and said with a great deal of earnestness "Jodha Begum this is a very special day in my life and I want to spend it memorably. It's our wedding anniversary and I want to spend not just this day but the rest of my life with you". She was moved and touched - and her hands went to hold his fingers that were placed on her shoulder.
Just then there was a commotion in the room, because Shehnaaz, in an act of continued childish glee, had grabbed the bowl of kheer from Moti's hand and insisted on giving it to the Shahenshah herself. In the process, much to Jalal and Jodha's consternation she upset the whole bowl of kheer on the floor at Jalal's feet. Jalal became very miffed and Jodha didn't know what to say, for she sensed his anger and any attempts to defend Shehnaaz seemed in vain. "I think Jodha Begum, this girl should not be brought to the jashn", Jalal said with force. "She is bound to embarrass us there with some other unbearable misdemeanour". Jodha reluctantly had to agree. "Okay, I will see she doesn't come" she told Jalal. He then left the room in a bit of a huff saying "I'll see you at the jashn", and Jodha looked resigned to Shehnaaz's confounding unpredictability and her husband's justified anger.
But folks, I think Shehnaaz has played a master hand here. She has ensured that Jalal banishes her from the jashn, perhaps so that she can freely roam the palace rooms searching for the farmann or whatever she wants, when all the rest of the family are at the jashn. What a clever girl!
The fourth scene was of the jashn, the sulking Ruq and the tantalising precap when Jalal started boldly suggesting to Jodha that they should start talking about babies that night iself
The scene shifted to the DEK where the jashn was to be held. Everybody was assembling there when Sharif was seen in a corner leching away at the thought of Jodha and rueing the fact that she was all Jalal's. His wife Bakshi caught him talking to himself about "shaadis" and he quickly covered his tracks saying he was remembering his own shaadi with Bakshi - but Bakshi did not look like she was buying that explanation.
Hamida and Salima too made their way to the DEK murmuring that it was such a lovely day but poor Ruq couldn't attend because she was unwell. After everybody has settled down at the DEK, Jalal made his grand entrance and sat on the throne, and then Jodha was announced. She was a picture of beauty and grace as she entered and Jalal didn't take his eyes off her for even a second as she made her way down the aisle and sat down beside him. Even after she did so, Jalal continued to look at her like he couldn't bear to look anywhere else.
As this happy tableau of people were thus preparing for the pleasurable evening ahead, Ruq in her room was looking down at the arriving assemblage and throwing a huge tantrum. She again knocked down a host of objects before her in a gesture of churlish jealousy. "Jodha, Jodha, Jodha" was all that she had heard people say and she was seething with fury. "I will not allow Jodha to take Jalal away from me. He is mine" she said in her anger-choked voice. "I know, Jodha, that you will end up with a broken heart, but what to do, he is mine and I will always be his Begum-e-Khas" she cried in her fit of mad rage. Her eyes looked like they were plotting something nasty.
What happens at the jashn and what tricks Ruq resorts to to get Jalal away from Jodha we will have to wait for the next episode to see. But in a delightful precap (which was the show stealer for me) Jalal was seen leaning close to Jodha (both of them wearing the crowns Hamida had gifted them). Jalal sidled up to Jodha's ear and said "Tonight, Jodha Begum, we both have to discuss this important matter of children". "Jodha looked at him archly and said "Oh, so that is why you made sit close to you to tell me this?" "Yes of course, this is a such a delicate matter, we cannot afford to waste time on this" he said grinning from ear to ear at her discomfiture. Jodha tried to sit further away from him in a gesture of mock-anger, but her dupatta got caught in his attire. "See", he said "even your dupatta wants us both to do some shararat".
Naughty boy! But don't waste words on Jodha, honey bunch! She looks ready! Get moving into action!
My comments on the episode:
I have two types of comments to make today ... the very pleasant kind and the ominous kind:
What I found to be extremely pleasing:
The relationship of Jodha and Jalal yesterday was really heart-warming. There was no hugging and hand-holding or any such physicality, but still I found myself hugely enjoying the talk between Jodha and Jalal. Sometimes the dialogues of lovers is almost as caressing as their physical touches. There was easy banter, a bit of tana maroing here and there in good spirits, and a lot of eager looking into each other's eyes. There was this elusive thing that people call "bonding" which is often hard to describe but easy to recognise.
The joint trip to the jail, the fond memories of Amer that cropped up there, the release of Zakira by Jalal that got Jodha so happy, and then the surang discovery trek ... everything was sweet and perfect. I loved the nostalgia that Jalal felt as he looked into the surang where his father had hidden years ago, and I loved the sympathetic reactions of Jodha as his moods changed. When he bantered with her she played along mocking him back, she felt proud of him as he remembered their Amer meetings, and she felt his feelings for his father. She was in every way an "ardhangini" I thought, because she seemed to sense his changing moods and seemed in step with him.
Later when he came to her room as she was dressing and spoke into her ear saying "You wouldn't have fallen in love with me if I wasn't a bit teda!" I thought it was such a cute moment. A little earlier she had surprised him by looking him up from head to toe and saying "Now look who is dazzling here!" Oh my gosh, the moments of mutual admiration were awesome.
The kind of easiness they had with each other through the episode was what gave him the courage to move into a higher gear with her in the precap. Can you imagine, folks, he actually said to her brazenly "Tonight we have to have this discussion on babies. It's a delicate matter but it can't be pushed any more. And as for your trying to put a distance between us, see even your dupatta seems to suggest that we get into some shararat!" Look at the way he was openly propositioning her for a night together, on the strength of the whole day spent in talking, teasing, flirting, joking!
I was so taken by the nuances of the dialogues and the overall collection of memorable shared moments, that it was only when I got some PMs and messages on my phone asking why were there no physical contact moments between them in this episode, I realised that physicality had been missing. To me it never looked like anything was absent in the depth of their love for each other, because I got all engrossed myself in the myriad colours of their banter throughout the episode.
I don't know why, but the Creatives of serials hardly ever give us this kind of high quality "verbal closeness" between the lead couples. It is always seen as too lukewarm when loving banter replaces physical chemistry. There is always more TRP for racking sobs, vehement anger, crying, wailing, desperation, the pull and push of physical chemistry and other OTT types of love scenes. These kinds of episodes where pleasant and friendly chatter between lovers shows how they vibe with each other always passes us by as a less than memorable part of the serial.
But even in just talking, look at the variety of moods and nuances that Jalal and Jodha went through. I think every couple have their own kind of "verbal vibing" and part of the joy of enjoying the love that a couple bring to the screen is in seeing how unique is their own style of mutual bonding.
All this also reminds me of a passage I once read about a perfect formula for romance:
PLAYFUL BANTER + SEXUAL TENSION + VIBING COMFORT = ROMANTIC BOND!
The explanation for that was:
"Playful Banter. Sexual Communication. Flirting. Teasing. Messing with each other. Joking around. That special type of communication that takes place between a man and a woman is very important - more so than physical chemistry - because it unambiguously shows "interest". It helps lovers test and discover the subtleties of each other's personalities. It helps escalate the bond between them both, and lets both of them see what kind of chemistry, or vibe they have. Banter helps them answer the question "Are you compatible?" Bonds are created by shared experiences, whether pleasant or harsh. Banter and laughing creates happy times, good times. The more 'good times' you have, the stronger your bond."
What I found to be very ominous:
Maham, Ruq and Shehnaaz are all in a raging mood. Maham is all set to unleash some "finality" to the terrorising of the captive, and I fear this issue is going to now explode on the scene imminently. Shehnaaz has ensured that she will have free run of the house to ferret for the farman, and God knows what shape the family will find the palace in after the jashn. And Ruq is planning something so disgusting to separate Jodha from Jalal that I fear is going to be this miserable fake pregnancy idea.
In yesterday's episode even as we enjoyed the moments of togetherness between Jodha and Jalal and liked the level to which their mutual bonding has risen, we could not help but notice these three snakes in the garden of Eden.
I wouldn't mind so much if these three evil witches were going to do their nasty bits sequentially, but my greatest disgust is that they are all going to unleash their worst sides simultaneously. What can be worse for a Happy Wedding Anniversary and the prospect of spending a lovely nigh together for Jodha and Jalal than to have these "Teen Deviyaan" all raising their ugly heads at the same time.
If after all that these three do, Jalal still has eagerness and bandwidth to placate a miffed Jodha and have an SR with her on the Weeding Anniversary night itself, I would give him a gold medal as the World's Most Persevering Lover!
To add to this if we have a leching Sharif also having "wild thoughts" in his corner of the palace, it would despoil the whole Wedding Anniversary SR excitement for me. His leching makes me feel sick.
Overall there are now so many villains and villess in this serial, that I have a feeling that whenever Jodha and Jalal unite in bed, they have to get used to things going CRASH, BANG, WALLOP in the background. They - and we - are never going to get a night of unadulterated peace!
My big hope now is that Jalal will think of making Zakira his "reconnaissance inspector" in the palace whenever he plans to bed Jodha. The pint-sized Zakira can undertake the mission of sanitizing the palace from the "teen deviyaan and the lecherous lout Sharif" every time before Jodha and Jalal get into the act!
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