Friends, first of all a big "sorry" for not replying your posts on my thread yesterday. I had a full day power cut and could not manage replies with my mobile though I read all your posts!
Coming to the episode of last evening, it also was an episode full of quick happenings. Things escalated so fast that it left not only Jodha and Jalal in a tizzy, but also the viewers at the edge of their seats. We all knew from the precap of the previous episode that Shehnaaz was going to be unmasked, but we didn't know how. So we were waiting to see exactly how Jodha would get to know that Shehnaaz was not the silly childish person she knew. We thought of all kinds of complicated possibilities, but in the end it was really simple.
Jodha was walking past Shehnaaz's room when she heard Shehnaaz refuse some food from the bandhi, and then after the bandhi left Shehnaaz was heard telling herself in perfectly adult tones, "These bewakoofs don't understand if told once, how many times do I have to put on this childish voice and continue this tedious disguise?" Jodha was hearing from just outside her window, and the whole mystery of Shehnaaz started unravelling then in under ten minutes.Jodha then walked into the room with all the disgust at her command, and slapped Shehnaaz twice - once for her own self, and once for Jalal, I am sure. Shehnaaz bore it all with more childishness "What are you doing Jodha?" she cried like a small child. But as Jodha was poised to strike the third time, Shehnaaz suddenly became all adult, fended off Jodha's hand and showed her true colours!
Now came the real Shehnaaz into action. She tied Jodha's hands behind her with a dupatta, then proceeded to tie Jodha's mouth and feet as well, and then subjected Jodha to her full life history. "I am Nigar, the daughter of Humayun and Chand Begum. I am the elder sister of Jalal and the real haqdaar of this whole Sultanate. Jalal has imprisoned my mother and converted her into a mad woman. I have seen my mother for myself, she is in shambles due to mental torture. Jalal has also hidden the naksha to my mother's place of incarceration, but he doesn't know I've already been there once. And he'd better now hand me back my inheritance." Shehnaaz held a sharp knife to Jodha's throat and somehow had found the farman from Humayun which she held in her other hand!
Jodha was stunned. But in the meanwhile Rahim had run up to Jalal with his two dolls, with their heads screwed off, to complain about Shehnaaz. "Look what she's done!" said Rahim. Jalal was initially nonplussed, but within a moment the "murderous intention of Shehnaaz to the Jalal doll and the Jodha doll" hit Jalal like a ton of bricks. He ran to Shehnaaz's room to accost her, but lo and behold ... his own Jodha was tied and gagged was writhing under the grip of a bullying Shehnaaz with the knife held at her throat. "Stay away if you want her alive," said Shehnaaz to Jalal. Just then the dupatta tying Jodha's mouth fell loose slightly whereupon Jodha told Jalal the whole picture.
"This girl is my sister? Oh my God", said Jalal, "but I know nothing of her mother's whereabouts. In fact I am searching for her mother myself!" But Shehnaaz would have none of it. She kept on hurling accusations at Jalal that he was a "mother-snatcher, a takht snatcher and an audha snatcher". "I want my audha and inheritance back. I know you want to now finish me off as I am the only contender for your takht!" she said, still holding Jodha captive. But then on a sudden change of plan, she gave Jodha a push towards Jalal and ran out of the room knife in hand eager for escape for she must have remembered that Mahchuchak's army was waiting for her outside the city limits.
Jalal was so thrown by Jodha being thrown at him that he screamed blue murder as he untied Jodha with haste. But Jodha cautioned him "Run after her, but do not kill her, she is your sister!" she said. Jalal ran behind the berserk Shehnaaz, calling all his sipahis also into the chase.
Unfortunately poor Rahim was sitting in the Angoori Bagh and Shehnaaz saw her chance. She grabbed Rahim at knife point and the last thing we know in the precap is that Shehnaaz had ridden off on a horse holding the hapless Rahim in her clasp and was flying away at speed from the palace on thesteed!
So much for the high action in the second half of the episode. But here's what happened earlier when there was no hint of trouble in the earlier part of the day ...
Jodha woke up uneasy for she had slept the night very ill thinking of Jalal being so distressed by the death sentence he had given Todarmal. She then instinctively went to Kanha to try again to light His eternal diya, but even though the storm outside had stopped the diya wouldn't catch the flame. Jodha's feelings started sinking as she said to Kanha "The storm's gone but your diya will still not light up. Something horrible is to happen for sure. Kanha please show me the way!"
Later as Jodha made her way to the tulsi plant to do her outdoor puja, she saw a ferocious looking Jalal doing his swordfight practice with an unusual vehemence. Jalal was venting, it was clear. His heart was heavy and his body was trying to shed its nervous tension through some very vigorous and unbridled sword practice. When Jodha offered him the prasad and aarti he came and took it ... but returned to his sword practice without a word to Jodha - which added to her great unease.
Just then Munim Khan arrived to tell Jalal that all preparations for the execution of Todarmal were ready. Jalal's face grew pale as did Jodha's. As Jodha went away on her way from there she thought to herself "I am as upset as Jalal about all this but Kanha you have to help. " And then she decided to look up Shehnaaz to see how she was this morning.
Meannwhile, Adham went to his mother to say "One sudden thing has come to mind. What if Jalal and Shehnaaz discover they are brother and sister and decide to be on the same side and discover that you have incarcerated Chand Begum all this while. " Maham shrugged off her son's doubt. "No fear of their ever finding out", she said rather arrogantly, "Jalal has now lost Todarmal and slowly he will lose all his men, and will only have the two of us with him, and that's when we show our colours! Soon Mahchuchak's army is to be here too to help Shehnaaz battle Jalal, did you know?"
At Agra Mahchuchak was giving departing instructions to her armies (actually Haider's armies) and was standing on the ramparts of her palace shouting and screeching at the soldiers. But even so, she had some distrust of the loyalty of these men, for she told Fazal to bodily kill any soldiers who were seen not doing their utmost for her! Haider watched all this in utter disgust!
At the prison, Zakira saw Todarmal being led off on his "last trip" and she said fervently, "Trust in God, I will also pray to him, you will be safe!" Todarmal replied "I have also prayed to my God and I have faith he will do the right thing. I trust God and accept my fate!"
Jalal was then seen touching the ""paak Koran" in his hojra and praying to God, "Please show me the way my God, for I am very uneasy about my decision. Every fibre in my body opposes the decision I have had to make. If I have done the wrong thing, please show me the way. Let not one innocent die today even if hundreds of real culprits get away."
All this kind of preparatory rev-up of the situation filled the first half of the episode ... and that's when Jodha decided to go check on Shehnaaz ... and the whole genie escaped out of the bottle!
My comments on the episode:
The episode was obviously intended to be building up towards a high climax at its second half and that tempo was well-maintained by the Director, I thought. He was intermittently showing heartfelt thoughts of Jodha and Jall mixed between action shots of Jalal's sword practice and Jodha's prayer rituals. All the while the unease mounted - and for us audiences,who were eager to see exactly how Shehnaaz would get caught, it looked as if every moment was "that" moment!
In the end I thought the way Shehnaaz actually got caught was rather tame. She just was overheard by Jodha letting slip her usual childish language for just one adult sentence she uttered cursing the bandhi, and then all hell was let loose.
The remarkable thing for me was that once Shehnaaz was unmasked by Jodha's slapping her , she then actually vomited out her full history in one go and all was on the table for Jodha and Jalal to see. There was no more intrigue left concerning her persona. That is why I got the feeling that the Creatives must have sensed the public weariness with the elongation of this track and must have decided not to make this unmasking of Shehnaaz and her subsequent actions long drawn.
What will happen now? Here's my prediction:
Now that Shehnaaz has bolted on a horse with Rahim, I expect that in today evening's episode Jalal will chase her. She may drop Rahim midway as she sees the waiting armies of Mahchuchak. and she may decide to go and Join them. Jalal will save the poor kid Rahim (dropped like a hot brick along the road) but will be aghast himself to see a whole army ranged against him outside the gates of his palace. Jodha too meanwhile may have got onto a horse to follow Jalal and she may take Rahim from him and see this battle spectacle herself.
Even as Shehnaaz keeps giving lalkaars at Jalal from the other side, Jalal will probably say "I cannot wage war against my own sister, and that too a woman". But Jodha may say "Even if you can't fight a woman, I can fight for you" ... and she may reply Shehnaaz to await her arrival as she is to fight on behalf of her husband.
And that may lead to the war scenes. Meanwhile Salima and Ruq may also don war dresses as they are inspired to help Jodha ... and Jalal may give instructions to fetch the Amer war machinery too ifor added assistance and thus he may summon Jodha's brothers to help out Jodha. (Or else maybe the Amer clan will arrive having heard rumours of Mahchuchak's army going for battle with Jalal.)
Hamida will do her usual melodrama, but the full scale war going on will drown her tremulous voice. I am quite sure she will give some dialogues like "On one side is my son and on the other side is my daughter" ... blah, blah, blah ...
Meanwhile Jalal will await the death of Shehnaaz at Jodha's hands, and the minute that happens (I think it's going to happen!), Jalal will then enter the war himself, and things will begin to change after that.
Seeing his brute leadership, the rank and file of Mahchuchak's army will fall into retreat and Jalal will win the war.
Soon after the war is over, the situation minus Shehnaaz will force Jodha and Jalal to discover Chand Begum in the surang for Hamida may say something about Maham going towards that place often. Or maybe the Gwalior Hakim will make an timely arrival and let slip that he has come for one last treatment of Chand begum at Maham's behest ... and thus unmask Maham.
If the Zee man is to be believed he also told me again in my phone call yesterday that 100% Maham would also cause the downfall of Ruq, so I wait to see in what situation Ruq also gets unmasked as a domino effect of all this systematic unmasking of Shehnaaz, Chand begum and Maham. The Zee man said that one month is the maximum for all this to happen, so I expect July to be an action packed month!
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