Posted:
Friends, I found the episode yesterday rather average. The only three points to note were:
1. The Salim-Nadira confrontation at the archery/barthan shop
2. The Ruq jealousy at the closeness between Salim and Jodha and the afeem ka dibbi idea of hers to addict the child
3. Jalal crowning Salin as walihaad and responsibilities he was dumping on a "childish" boy of nine years
Out of all this, the third point was at least a wee bit interesting to me because I was thinking how sad it was to take away the childhood of Salim by putting a crown on his head and saying "From now in my absence you will have all the duties of a King".
For a while the child did not even know what a walihaad was and thought it was a punishment for stealing mangoes. And then Jalal explained to him what it meant and his response in a heart-breakingly childish way was "Till now I was responsible for my grandmother only but now I will be responsible for all". How sad!
I can understand that at his age Jalal was already being dumped similarly by Bairam Khan with the position of ruler of the Sultanate. But then I get a feeling Jalal must have been a more hardship-hardened boy than poor soft-hearted Salim is! This little walihaad looks like a baby that even the tiny Murad can gobble up with his wiliness!
Anyway, whether it also happened to Jalal or not it was sad to see Salim being saddled with the "honour" that simply weighs him down.
I can understand why Jalal had to do it though. In those days having a waaris and then investing the waaris with the walihaad position was tantamount to telling the public of the kingdom and the enemies at large that the Sultanate's ruling dynasty was intact, had a succession plan in place and couldn't be sneered at.
Now the entire value of having a walihaad on the ready is going to be ruined by Ruq's extremely ugly plan of making him an opium addict. What is worse? To have no walihaad or to have a walihaad that is an addict? Poor Jalal and Jodha seem to have no idea that the crowning of their waaris is going to concurrently turn him into maybe a "mulish and obstinate" and "suddenly belligerent child" thanks to the drugs, and for a long time Jalal and Jodha will think its because they gave him the crown that he has suddenly become a radically changed and disrespectful son!
Yesterday's spoiler that an MU is coming soon is not surprising, because I suspect that with the opium addiction, Salim's entire soft personality may change into a nasty-tempered boy, oor maybe go the entire opposite way into a sullen, dull boy disinterested in anything except the tailing of Nadira and Ruq! Jodha may blame Jalal for ruining his childhood with too early responsibilities and Jalal may blame Jodha for Salim's change in personality after the crowning.
The only hope is that (as the CV tweeted once) Ruq will try her chaals but will not be successful ... so I am hoping against hope that it means that Salim will not fall for the opium gambit! Fingers crossed, let's see ...
Already I don't find the serial interesting enough. Now to have to watch a small kid get pushed into addiction is to say the least extremely depressing. Hope Ruq is not able to make it happen ... that's the only lingering hope.
If Jodha and Jalal must have an MU let it be for some other petty reasons and not because Salim has changed into a cantankerous out-of-control kid or into a depressed dullard!
Incidentally, this actor-boy Ayan (Salim) seems to have been signed on for another historical show and that completely declares his role in JA as a cameo. This seems to me to underscore the fact that this phase of the young Salim is soon going to be changed (leaped) to show the grown Salim. What do you all think ... will this baccha phase last longer than one month before the Big Leap?
Cricket
