Jodha Akbar 79-81: Darkness before the dawn - Page 3

Originally posted by: adiana12

Hilarious Shyamala, I'm cackling all along. Also had a lot of fun reading the 'samvaad' on your previous post. 😆

😆Wow,it was a delght,this jodha reminds me of amrita singh of betaab,even she toned down after a kiss but not this begum,she never understood her husband like in that hindu boys case where he let his parents go nor when he gave his jewelry shes too quick to judge him,now miya biwi ka rishta i wonder how in those times a woman had 21 mi sadi ki soch and all this womens rights,now to tiger track did only mughal did shikar, one unbelievable princess,as my neighboure put so many begums yet he sleeps alone,to her salima begum is wife material baki one begudi huyi and dusri akkal wagarninon sense

Originally posted by: sashashyam

No, no, child, you should most definitely stay. You are like a breath of fresh air.

But what I would like you to do, as I told you on your Jalal's diary thread, is to think more on imaginative lines, delving into the character There are any number of young people here who can gush about Akdha with or without reason. Very few of them can write well. You can. So I would like to see you putting that talent to better use than simply saying that Akdha are gorgeous or cute.

Do you understand what I mean? Analyse and dissect a character, being as objective as you can. You can then write regularly here, and I can retire!

Lastly, I did not comment on the rest of your post because I liked it and agreed with it, and so I had nothing to add to it.

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Thank you so much, my dear Bindu. I am glad you enjoyed this one. I am also glad that on all the main points, we think alike.

Jalal has now decided to treat Jodha like a child suffering from a hyper activity syndrome, and so he simply lets her rants go in thru one ear and out the other. But after a while, neither this, nor the nok jhok they indulge in during their stay in Amer holds my interest.

What I have put in bold below is the truth. I was watching the episodes from here to 90 from my recordings, and it was, frankly, boring. This is no grand amour, or epic love story, my dear. Anything of the sort that one sees exists only in one's imagination. This show is targeted at kids drooling over Akdha. With such defective characters, what sort of love story can one have?

Shyamala Aunty

My dear Amina,

What a relief to find someone to whom I do not have to justify my dislike of this Jodha! Most of the time, I dislike her more than she dislikes Jalal!

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: amina1

😆Wow,it was a delght,this jodha reminds me of amrita singh of betaab,even she toned down after a kiss but not this begum,she never understood her husband like in that hindu boys case where he let his parents go nor when he gave his jewelry shes too quick to judge him,now miya biwi ka rishta i wonder how in those times a woman had 21 mi sadi ki soch and all this womens rights,now to tiger track did only mughal did shikar, one unbelievable princess,as my neighboure put so many begums yet he sleeps alone,to her salima begum is wife material baki one begudi huyi and dusri akkal wagarninon sense

No, Bindu, not at you. I think you are far more moderate than the average Akdha fan!

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: -AkDha.Lover-

@Bold, That was for me, right Aunty?...😉

Anyway, since I know that nothing can be done about it now, I can just imagine them as lovers. 😆

Originally posted by: sashashyam

No, Bindu, not at you. I think you are far more moderate than the average Akdha fan!

Shyamala Aunty

My dear Devki,

Thank you!

Yes, I love words for their own sake, and not only in English. In return, they are sometimes kind to me.

I am sure you would not have agreed with large chunks of this post, and I know which ones. I am grateful that you did not trot them out, for I no longer have either the energy or the inclination to debate these points endlessly. It is all I can manage to get my bi-weekly posts out; they seem to grow longer and longer on their own!

Yes, peace may be boring, but I do not enjoy pointless arguments that go in circles. It is better to agree to disagree, for I have never believed that you can convert another person to your way of thinking thru the power of reasoning alone. Most strongly held opinions are based neither on facts nor on logic, but rather on instinctive, unreasoning likes and dislikes.

As for your last line, no, I do not think there was anything more to that scene that met the the eye, and the background music in this show often works itself up into a tizzy for nothing at all. Actually there is nothing much in this supposedly epic love story, my dear, and most of what one thinks is there exists only in one's imagination. I have been watching all the episodes after these 3 up to No. 90, and the Jalal-Jodha scenes were, to be frank, predictable, with Jalal pulling her leg and she puffing her face up as if she had been stung by bees before flouncing out. And thus boring.

There is nothing at all of real romance between the two of them in the whole of this show, and I have not missed a single episode other than the mirchi war week, and then the chudail and the British traders track at the end, because even I could not stand them!

There is no frisson at the other's touch, no meeting of eyes across a room that speak without words, no desperate yearning to be with the other, no pain of the kind that turns one inside out. At least not on Jodha's side, for Jalal clearly goes thru hell when she is dying, and again during the track I had covered in my Shakespearian heights post.

When she back in Amer after the Sujamal track, she is never shown thinking of Jalal or missing him, unlike the Jodhaa in the film, who is visibly restless and unhappy. This Jodha seems perfectly comfortable and settled at Amer for keeps, even after her mother hints broadly to her that she should go back. And when Jalal, after scouring the whole country for her, and abasing himself before her at Mathura, comes to Amer badly wounded, she does not show even a sliver of caring for him. It was very off putting.

In fact the only segment that was real was the one in the forest as Jodha is trying to save Jalal from dying. That was gritty and honest and desperate, and it got to me, as you would have seen from this post. I went to a lot of trouble to try and get it right, far more than I do normally. I hope it worked.

But that was not part of any love story. Part of the problem in Jodha Akbar is that one has no idea what Jodha feels at any given point of time, the Green Jodha being a one shot exercise. And when she opens her mouth, the effect is, more often than not, disastrous. Just wait for the part where, after Hawaii gets violent and attacks Jalal, she goes to him and effectively tells him that it would be best if he was killed elsewhere than in Amer, so as not to affect her sister's wedding. At such times I dislike this Jodha so much that I have to curb myself when analysing her behaviour.

Then, all of a sudden, they jump into what one can only call old shoe love, the sedate affection between two people who have been happily married for a long, long time. Some of those late scenes were charming, but again, that is not an epic love story!

So, when I write about these two, very often I am cooking up things that exist only in my imagination, for if I did not do that, I could not get anything out at all. There is no grand amour here, no lovers who are each the missing half of the other, there is nothing of the kind of love that comes not cock a hoop with feathers, but slowly, dragging itself on bleeding feet.

This Jalal is eventually in love with Jodha, and this Jodha is in love with herself and her Amer and her sas. No wonder he ends up as a compliant poodle, worshipping at her shrine and periodically flagellating himself emotionally. He once offers to do it actually, after she comes back to Agra from Amer.

Well, that is enough of that. It was interesting, what you have noted about the carriage presented by an Englishman to Jahangir. Was it Sir Thomas Roe? And to think they had chariots even in the Mahabharata period! Truly, civilisation moves in circles!

Shyamala Aunty

Originally posted by: devkidmd

Loved this post Aunty! You have a beautiful way with words.

Of course I do not agree with everything but that would be so boring if all of us were in perfect agreement wouldn't it? Peace is boring. A little kheecha taani is more fun.😉

I think that's why we wars anyway.😆

I agree. Why did they not have carriages? That is so strange. I read somewhere that the English guy who came to Jahangir's court presented him with a beautiful English carriage and the Emperor was very impressed and excited to receive such a gift.😕

And I love this Jalal. He is in total control of his emotions. Does not take the bait that Jodha keeps throwing at him. Totally alpha.

One of the most meaningful scenes for me was when Jodha gets up to get a drink of water and Jalal comes charging with a drawn sword thinking it is some intruder.

When he says " humne aahat suni thi" and she replies "hum hee the" and the beautiful BGM.

I don't know I feel there was more to that scene than meets the eye.

More later

Devki