Friends, those who had the stomach to watch yesterday's episode will surely have noticed that it was such a busy episode packed with so much detail that it literally raced ahead towards the "future" with unrelenting speed! I have no hesitation is saying that this "future" it was whizzing towards is the BIG LEAP which now seems absolutely imminent!
In a very rainy scene at the start of the episode, the dancer woman is seen telling her husband in their hut that she intuits that her child was not just going to be an artiste like her and her husband but also somehow quite famous.
Added to this sanket we had a scene where Jodha was holding Salim to show him the rain when the dancer woman was juxtaposed against this scene standing in her own hut telling her unborn child almost the same romantic tales of the rains as Jodha was telling Salim. In addition the dancer lady told her baby "I have the second taveez identical to the one I gave Prince Salim, which I will tie on your hand when you are born." If all this isn't a clear enough indication that the CVs were setting the stage for a "divine bonding" between Salim and Anarkali even at the just born and not-yet-born stage, what was it?
It isn't insignificant that a taveez is being brought into all this to give the "pre-ordained union of souls" of Salim and Anarkali a touch of religious sanction!
One other part of the episode I found rather gross to watch was when after the mandir trip and all that Jodha invites the dancer lady to visit and see Salim for herself, and even lets her carry Salim. And then Baby Salim reaches out to touch the pregnant tummy of the dancer lady as if seeking his heart's companion there! Gawd help me, what was that disgusting looking scene for? Had the CVs not already rubbed it in that Salim and Anarkali were bonded from pre-birth? Did they have to show something as far-fetched and unaesthetic as this?
What is happening here is also Naatakiya Rupanthar of gross proportions, because the story of the antecedents of Anarkali is being completely twisted around to show Anarkali as younger than Salim and "bonded to Salim from birth" which I have never seen in any history book nor heard about from those who know history better than me. In fact, the story of Salim-Anarkali is all about how mismatched they were and hence the parental and societal objections later to their union. Just to get a future story that is yet another "epic romance" we are seemingly getting a Naatakiya Rupanthar of a piece of fiction. If we are going to watch all this as fiction, fine. If we are instead looking for history in all this, we are sure to land from a height on our sore bottoms!
But please don't all of you think that all history has been forsworn. Whenever convenient, history versions that are convenient have been pulled in to provide story value, as you will see below.
Two, Jalal is shown as beholden to the dancer lady for saving Salim's life, and he does his usual ... gives her a wish without an expiry date
There goes Jalal again handing out wishes without expiry dates. So thankful is he that the dancer lady saved Salim's life (by exposing Sharif and his dad BigBeard and their posse of assassins plotting Salim's murder) that he says to the dancer lady, "Ask me for any help you ever want. And along with giving you my finger ring, I also grant you one wish to use any time in your life which I promise to honour!"
It's a well known fact that one version of history (the one shown in the movie Mughal e Azam), suggests that when Akbar has finally decided to "get rid of Anarkali" from his son's life he punishes her by saying "deewar pe chunwaya jayega" ("you will be plastered into a wall to die"!). But then Akbar actually acts on a promise given to the mother of Anarkali not to kill her by making the wall a kind of hollow structure inside which a makeshift lift is placed leading down into the dungeons. And thus Akbar actually helps Anarkali reach the dungeons via the wall, unknown to Salim, wherefrom she takes one of the surangs that lead out into the countryside far away - and thus she and her mother are allowed to escape on condition that they get out of Salim's life! What is this wish given yesterday for, if we are not soon going to be shown the way it is redeemed by Anarkali and her mother? Does this event in yesterday's episode not smack of a soon to be shown future where Anarkali becomes the "one to be sent away" post-haste by Akbar?
Are we to believe that the Creatives merely intend to show the childhood of Salim and Anarkali and focus only on Jodha and Jalal's story, even after seeing Jalal give this wish which has only a "future" relevance in the story?
Accha, talking of the history of the "deewar pe chunwaya gaya" event, another tidbit from history has also been conveniently absorbed into the Naatakiya Rupanthar. Some historians suggest that the name Anarkali was given to the girl child born to the dancer lady by Jalal himself. And that bit of history seems to have been retained with the dancer lady yesterday asking Jalal for a favour to be the one to name her child - and his readily agreeing!
Three, Shaguni's prophecy is clearly again an indication of a "future" not far away ... when there will be bad blood between Salim and his parents
In the precap we have yet another clear indication that the future of the grown Salim-Anarkali story is not far away. Jodha and Jalal are discussing a Shaguni prophecy that has bewildered them for Shaguni seems to have prophesied that despite their great love for their son Salim, in his adolescent years there will be bad blood between Salim and his parents.
Where was the need to bring this in if the Creatives were not planning to migrate fast to the grown Salim-Anarkali story?
Four, Jalal's friendly banter with Jodha regarding his spending time with other begums if she doesn't have time for him is significant!
Folks, many of you may have missed the significance of that casual banter we saw between Jodha and Jalal in Jodha's hojra towards the end of the episode. It looked like jovial nok-jhok between Jodha and Jalal but it was a loaded scene.
Jalal sees Salim grabbing his mother's dupatta and acts like a jealous husband not liking any other male pulling his wife's dupatta. Jodha says he's jealous for he loves her a lot and cannot watch another male flirt with his wife. Jalal then says after Salim's birth Jodha has distanced herself away from him and is giving more attention to the child. Jodha says "You have so many Begums and kaniezes, why don't you go to them if you want more "time" and "attention". " And Jalal says that's just what he will do!
In this banter, folks, I see how the role of Ruq in Salim's life will get enhanced by Jalal and Jodha themselves. The Creatives no doubt intend to show this jealousy of Jalal for Jodha's attention and time as one of the reasons why they often let Salim be taken care of by Ruq - so that Jalal gets more time from Jodha without distraction. On the surface, we fans will be told that the romance of Jalal and Jodha is being furthered and as we all want more romance, the CVs are giving us that. But look at the implications. Jodha and Jalal will only find more time to be by themselves if Salim's care falls into the hands of others - Ruq, Salima, the bandhis etc. And Ruq is just waiting in the wings to ensure she gets enough time with Salim to be able to corrupt his mind against his mother.
The CVs say they intend to show that Ruq tries hard to corrupt Salim against his parents but does not succeed. Okay, so they have declared their story intention (and perhaps tried to stay true to one version of history that says Salim, despite all brainwashing by Ruq still reveres Jodha more than Ruq). But the fact is that the Creatives are going to make Jalal and Jodha play into Ruq's hands by saying they need time for their own love - and thus ceding the care of their child to others while they make demands of attention from each other! Jodha is probably going to be shown all the time as tossing between spending time with Salim or with Jalal, and choosing the latter, and thus by default giving Ruq the advantage on a platter!
I think it also happens that the subsequent children of Jodha and Jalal were also brought up largely by others, so it wouldn't be wrong to say that in growing their "epic love" Jodha and Jalal ceded their children into others' hands often enough to later rue some of the consequences of loss of respect from their own children, notably Salim.
In a typical loving family the parents can have their love and still hold their children close to them, but here by giving Jalal that tinge of jealousy of Jodha's time spent away from him, the CVs are making Jodha have to choose between husband and children. The alternative before Jodha is also not very pleasant. If she does not give time to Jalal, the CVs are hinting that he has plenty of other women who will give him their time. So does that mean that Jodha, despite her dilemmas of time distributed between husband and children will always have to react to "competition" and choose Jalal over the children, and thus let her children be raised and/or corrupted by others? I don't like that angle being hinted at by the Creatives!
Five, in all the rest of the Salim-Anarkali centic episode yesterday, the fleeing of Sharif and his father has been achieved at speed along with the side-changing of Bakshi!
Needless to say, that while the focus of the episode yesterday was not even Jodha and Jalal - but was Baby Salim and Unborn Baby Anarkali - there was a sideshow that took care of the fleeing of Sharif (which has to happen if history is even mildly to be followed).
The Creatives, I guess, will thus make Sharif's fleeing and Sujamal's death etc .into sideshows as they stay centred on Salim-Anarkali, while pretending the show is still about Jodha and Jalal.
I saw enough yesterday to get the drift! The Creatives' letter to fans may have been one thing, but actions speak louder than words, and the episode yesterday showed us what the real intentions are.
All that happened in yesterday's episode:
The tabalchi and his pregnant dancer wife take shelter in a broken down hut. The lady tells her husband she has an instinct that her child will not only be a good artiste but also famous. Since its very rainy and bad weather outside the man leaves to find firewood and food.
In the Palace Salim is crying so Jodha carries him to the terrace outside the room to see the rain. From there Jodha is able to see that pregnant woman in her hut trying to shelter herself from the rains, and Jodha tells Zakira she feels sad for that woman in this weather.
That lady is also talking to the child in her tummy just like Jodha is talking to Salim. Both mothers are telling their children about the romance of rains. That other lady also tells her child "I have an identical taveez for you as i gave for Prince Salim. When you are born I will tie it on you.".
Suddenly then that lady overhears two men plotting to kill Salim when Jodha and Jalal take the baby to the mandir. She follows them and finds them taking refuge in a safe house.
The lady decides she must inform the King and runs to the gates of the Palace in the rain saying there is khatra to Prince Salim. The guards recognise her from her morning visit, and ask details. Meanwhile Jalal and Jodha are talking about their naughty Salim, when they spot the commotion near the gates. Mansingh investigates and lets the lady in.
The lady tells Jalal all that she overheard of the Salim murder plot and to validate that she is telling the truth she says "A pregnant lady will not come in heavy rain to tell lies". She offers to show Jalal where the murderers are hiding in their safe house.
Meanwhile Sharif and his maulvi father (Big Beard alias Moin Khan) are discussing that it is their men ready to kill Salim during the mandir trip. Bakshi Banu overhears all this.
Jalal goes with Mansingh and Todarmal and a posse of sipahis to the house the lady shows - and after a fierce swordfight they kill the men inside. One man there admits that the masterminds of their plot are Sharif and Moin Khan, his father. Jalal runs back to the palace to catch Sharif and his dad. He orders all the gates be closed lest the culprits try to flee the Palace.
Meanwhile Bakshi tells Sharif she is going to tell all she overheard to Jalal . Sharif immediately snatches their deaf daughter Mehtaab, and threatens to kill the child if Bakshi spills the beans. Bakshi throws an object at Sharif and when he ducks momentarily, she releases the child and tells her to run away. Seeing this Sharif bashes Bakshi's head on the wall and she falls to the ground with a head wound. Sharif and his father then flee into a surang that sharif knows.
Meanwhile Jalal, Mansingh and Todarmal reach Bakshi and save her - but find that though all the Palace gates are locked Sharif and his dad are not to be found. Bakshi apologises to her brother for her husband's evil and Jalal says it's his fault he chose this husband for her.
Jalal is then seen conferring with his courtiers including Mansingh and Todarmal on where Sharif may have hidden himself. He draws a sketch of the wall markings of a particular secret surang they should look for.
Later Jalal and Jodha go to the Kaaali Mata mandir with Salim, when they perchance again meet the dancer lady and her tabalchi husband. Jalal gives a ring to the lady in thanks for saving Salim's life and gives her husband an audha to come and live in the palace as artistes. Jalal also promises he will grant one wish for the lady anytime during her life. Jalal says "Ask me if you both need any help at any time". The lady says "I wish you would name my baby when it is born?" Jalal says he surely will.
Later Jodha is with Salim in her hojra when that dancer lady visits. Jodha has allowed her to see Salim and even lets her carry Salim. Salim reaches out and touches the lady's tummy. Both ladies laugh that their children are already friends.
A little later Jalal comes and tells Jodha she is so busy with Salim she has forgotten her husband. Jalal jokes that he has many begums who will give him time and Jodha jokes that he should go them . He goes ... with a laugh at Jodha's rueful face.
In the precap, Jalal and Jodha are concerned about some Shaguni prophecy. Jodha says Shaguni is never wrong. Jalal says "We both love Salim so much ... then why did Shaguni says that we both will have bad blood with our own son?"
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
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