Prithvi is a man of many qualities. He is protective, fiercely loyal, at times the son Daata Thakur never had, always his right hand man, a saviour for the aam janta and overall, a good guy.
But take all these elements out of the equation, take away Daata Thakur and his family, take away the people of baara gaon, and what you have is an empty shell of a man.
A man whose closest friend is an 8-10 year old boy and confidant the town priest.
He has no family to call his own, is indebted to Daata Thakur, in awe of him and thus places him high up on a pedestal and is happy to thrive in his shadows. He shares an antagonistic relationship with Lakhan, which stems from their mutual struggle for Daata's approval.
He is a mirage of other people's lives. Water if you must, taking on the shape of whoever he comes in contact with. But alone, on his own, he's merely a void. None of his emotions be it rage, happiness, anxiety, pride, sadness are truly his own, except when in context of his parents.
He's the perfect sewak, saviour, soldier. But he is an empty man.
And then came Meera. The city-bred outsider that's suddenly forced Prithvi to think like a man, a real person. She has inadvertently awakened him. Forced him to re-evaluate himself. Hurt him, enraged him, and challenged him on a personal front. And in doing so, she has breathed life into him.
Suddenly, he isn't just an extension of Daata, and that's something he clearly doesn't enjoy. She has forced him to use his own judgement, be accountable for his own actions and even make some that go against his obedient, rustic but rational nature.
Right from his treatment of women (he has never manhandled anyone the way he does her!), to his raging impulsive actions (he almost burnt and drowned her!) - she's made him question everything he believed himself to be. She's made him think like a man in his own right, a change he doesn't even consciously acknowledge.
The struggle and inner turmoil he faced right from the time he got the letter all the way through to when he rescues Meera from the pit, right down to throwing her off the cliff was all Prithvi, the man.
He can no longer hide behind the facade of duty and loyalty. Now he has to face his own consciousness and battle his own personal demons.
She placed her trust, her life in his hand and he pushed it down a cliff. And that is something he can't ignore nor rationalise, no matter how hard he tries.
With that one fall, she made him human.
Fan Fictions
Anupamaa
