Posted:
For he is the fairest creation of all. On to the wretched show:
The first set starts with an AK who's running in the rain in a vain attempt to escape devils in his head; but as always with AK's devils, he always has to confront them head on; unlike previous times, he is stuck in a quandry: he does want to respect FFSimone's cry for secrecy to secure her future with Prithvi, but he knows in his heart that he ought to risk everything to come completely open to KS about the night before in order to secure whatever future he might have with her.
(This was a rather attractively shot sequence - the rain added to the sense of futility of AK trying to escape his problem - the pouring water is not having any cleansing effect at all - he remains confused.)
Back at his home, he sits still wracked with indecision when he looks up to see a grave Josh. It was irritating that AK could dredge up anger at seeing his buddy there: What are you doing here? Josh is implacable: You have to hear me out. AK tries to be dismissive, but Josh shows him unquestionable proof of innocence: it's BBM Thug from Jallore! Who spills the beans of how all the wrongdoing dumped on Josh's head was actually BBMThug's doing. He doesn't know who is the instigator behind the whole scheme, but it isn't Josh. (Huh! As if we didn't know that!)
AK has the grace to look very ashamed once BBM Thug has left: Josh, I'm sorry. My oldest, bestest friend and I doubted you. (Yes, grovel, you young idiot!) Josh is not as vindictive as I am: Ah, it's okay buddy. As long as we're cool now. They grin at each other - the sweetest grins back in form - clasp hands in their buddy gesture and a hug.
(Never have I been _this_ happy to see a hug in KYPH! The hug-happiness-factor from this one beat the AK-KS-hug after-KS-finds-out-about-AK's-deeds by a tonne of bricks - at least! :-) Personally.)
Josh is rapidly back to being detective though: we have to find out who's behind this, and I'm getting the evidence from my Jallore pal. AK doesn't want to let him do this alone, but Josh dismisses him: he is on it and doesn't need AK's help just then. :-( Oh, if only they'd stuck together or "made a plan". :-(
The next set starts with the other buddy-pair, KS and FG Prithvi, in Prithvi's apartment. Prithvi seems to be really working hard at getting KS&AK back to talking with each other: he's set them up for a fancy dinner date alone. KS tries to tell Prithvi that AK has not been taking her calls all day, but Prithvi will not stand for it. KS is touched, and makes a touching speech of how he is her best friend, the only one she can completely trust. And we get the first inkling of something having gone wrong in Prithvi's head, when he says quietly behind her back that that is all that he is, her best friend. She quizzes him, but he merely carries on to calling AK.
AK-pretty-in-a-formal-white-shirt takes the call but is not in the mood for dinner. Prithvi is insistent and by the end of the call, the dinner date between AK&KS is fixed. AK is now in a real dilemma: he is going to _have_ to meet KS tonight! What is he to do? Just then, Daadi appears behind him: what troubles her child? Daadi, if there is a truth that can wrench someone that you deeply love away from you, would you speak that truth? Daadi's voice is calm and certain: truth can be unspoken, but it will always be found out. In which case, it's best to speak it first. AK takes resolve from this: he will tell KS the truth at dinner that night.
(One couldn't help but notice a couple of things:
* they're bringing back several beloved things from the nice old AK-KS past -- AK stubble; long-sleeved white shirt; no chunky silver watch though.
* there is a marked contrast between the buddy team of AK&Josh vs. KS&Prithvi. There is something deeply ingrained and honest about AK&Josh which is so completely absent in KS&Prithvi. That very contrast ought to have given us another hint of what is to come out of Prithvi later on in the show.)
In the last set, we see the unusual sight of Josh sitting still (yet again!) in his office. Pixie Tansy wants to know why he is there that late; Josh urges her to go ahead, that he is waiting for a fax. After she leaves, the fax machine jerks on and as he sees the fax, his face goes still and shocked.
In another corner of the country, in a room lit with candles and Moroccan fittings, KS turns to see AK behind her, looking contrite and loving. They smile uncertainly at each other, but reach out for a hug. AK has something to tell her which might make her run away. KS is resolute: I will never leave you, no matter what happens. AK seems to be gripped by fear: let me just hold you, stretch the moment for a while. He is not happy because he is not sure that she can hold to her promise to never leave him once he has told her about the previous night. If she has to leave then, he wants to make this the most memorable night of their life.
(Err, what does he mean -- most memorable? Are we headed to AK&KS - err - getting busy?)
Agitated Josh, in the meantime, is waiting anxiously for AK to appear to show him the fax and share the identity of the villain. A figure steps out of the shadows; Josh, relieved and glad, steps forward: There you are! I got the fax; Dude, you won't believe who was behind the Jallore mischief. But as he stretches the fax out in front of him, he falters and the fax falls slowly to the ground: just as he had mistaken AK for Prithvi earlier, he has mistaken Prithvi for AK this time! He becomes still again as Prithvi comes out from the shadows. (It is a portent of bad things to come that Josh, our constantly active Honey, is so still.)
Instead, it is Prithvi who is babbling, whining incessantly: Forgive me, Josh, please, I was desperate, please forgive me. His head in his hands: please, I know I've done wrong. His hands stretched towards Josh, who is shaking his head - Prithvi, please don't do this -, Prithvi Fringed Gnome leans into Josh for a hug. Josh, a honey to the last, can't find the heart to push him away and that becomes his downfall. The camera is rotating around and closing in on these two; Josh looks like he is getting ready to push Prithvi away when the world goes still for him, he jerks and his eyes go wide (and we are thrust into the horrid preview from the last episode). Josh can't believe it, but in Prithvi's face at Josh's shoulder, we can see that Prithvi can indeed do anything because his mind has crossed into depths of insanity.
"I'm sorry Josh" but now that voice is not whining, but hard and strong: I'm sorry, but I am helpless in my love for KS. You found out everything and if I let you live then I will lose her. Josh, whose head towers above everybody's in KYPH, is now drooping down Prithvi's chest and Insane Prithvi pushes him away slightly, still babbling: You have to die so that she will be mine forever. Josh's breath is laboured as he drops to his knees, the shaggy head drooping down to the floor at Insane Prithvi's feet. (UGH!) And still Prithvi babbles: You do understand, don't you? His bloody hands reach out to lift Josh's face to his as if he needs Josh to understand, not seeming to see the pain that breathing is causting Josh; Josh who has had a knife thrust and twisted deep into his chest, under his heart. :-(
And as the pain etches deeper into Josh's face, his hand reaches upto Prithvi and he gasps "Angad" before he keels over onto his back. The insanity in Prithvi's eyes go even deeper if that is possible: Yes, yes, AK. He's your best friend, isn't it? Yes, AK will indeed come to you. He will come immediately, Josh. I will call him for you. Insane Prithvi punches some keys: Here, you go Josh, thrusting the phone into Josh's hands. AK will come for you. Josh is twisting on the ground, each turn becoming more feeble. Prithvi is smiling, the insanity shining loud in every part of his face now: He'll come for you Josh. And stepping over Josh, the Once Saint, Now Insane Prithvi runs away. The camera pans on Josh's face, which is becoming quiet once again... End of show. :-(
(I couldn't help noticing that Insane Prithvi does NOT pick up the fax as he goes. I guess that is a blooper.)
Preview for Next Week :-( The camera pans from a ground angle up on AK's face as he looks at the SMS on his phone: this is indeed the right address - where is Josh? The camera moves away as AK spins around, calling "Josh!" As he turns around the corner, AK goes still in shock: on the ground in front of him lies the still body of his best buddy. :-( There is no mistaking the urgency and the desperation with which AK runs to Josh; the panic and the shock with which he grabs Josh's head and places it on his lap; the breathless misery of his voice saying Josh! or the helpless stupidity of his grabbing the handle of the evil knife that has been so cruelly twisted into his buddy's heart. Josh! AK's hands cradle the shaggy head, but there is no movement, except for the lights and the sounds of three cop jeeps that are pulling up in front of the two of them...
(Oh my stars. :-( Well, we do get our redemption of Josh. Josh does not die a traitor in AK's eyes. Josh does not die thinking that his best buddy hated him. But Josh does die. And it was a cruel and irrevocable death. Anyone who has a knife thrust and twisted into his heart like that suffers massive haemorrhaging and clotting and dies without doubt, especially when left out without attention for so long. Josh dies. :-( But I can't hold a grudge for it against AK any longer. Yes, it was Josh who tidied his own affairs and not due to any special effort on AK's part. I'm just relieved that AK&Josh still stand a chance in competition against the Sholay pair.
ATandon did that Iago turn quite, quite well. The camera work was fantastic and my eyes were constantly on CHansraj who pulled off his death scene superbly.
BTW, that shaggy head, the beard all brought the Jesus Christ-Judas Iscariot kiss-of-death to mind. Some of the worst betrayals captured in human literature are Iago vs. Noble Othello, Judas vs. Gentle Jesus Christ, LooneyTunes analogy of Brutus vs. Emperor Cesear. The execution of Insane Prithvi vs. Honey Josh is so well done that it wouldn't quite shame me to think of putting it in a pantheon with the rest.
Go with the stars, Honey Josh, for very few characters have even stolen away the focus of a story from so strong a pair of central characters as well as you have done. You rock because you changed everything.
As to our story though, Josh's death could be taken as ... err, pointless, in the face of so many unanswered question:
* How did Prithvi know where Josh was waiting for AK? Did he follow Josh?
* How did Prithvi know that Josh was close to finding him out? Was he getting feedback from his Jallore connections?
* Why the heck did Prithvi bother letting KS go if he wanted her so badly? So that he could set it up to get KS' undying devotion for him? He already had that! Is he hoping to get her _love_? He will never get that -- he must know that by now! Why, oh why, did he kill Josh - our honey Josh! :-( - and setup AK to do this?
Perhaps, what drives him even more is the need to get at AK. I remember the episode when AK went after KS and branded her his own with the sindoor on her forehead, started with a confrontation with Prithvi. I remember Prithvi accusing AK of being objectionable just because he didn't like KS. And I remember what AK said - he said he was being objectionable because _Prithvi_wanted_KS_. I think that the seed of Prithvi's discontent might actually stem from an age-old ego confrontation with AK. In which case, taking away everything that AK loves -- Josh, KS&Daadi -- might make better sense than just taking KS alone. The KYPH story looks like it's seriously headed in the direction of "The Count of Monte Cristo" indeed.
It's been another long night, another long post. Good night, sweet Prince Josh. Will miss you.)
The first set starts with an AK who's running in the rain in a vain attempt to escape devils in his head; but as always with AK's devils, he always has to confront them head on; unlike previous times, he is stuck in a quandry: he does want to respect FFSimone's cry for secrecy to secure her future with Prithvi, but he knows in his heart that he ought to risk everything to come completely open to KS about the night before in order to secure whatever future he might have with her.
(This was a rather attractively shot sequence - the rain added to the sense of futility of AK trying to escape his problem - the pouring water is not having any cleansing effect at all - he remains confused.)
Back at his home, he sits still wracked with indecision when he looks up to see a grave Josh. It was irritating that AK could dredge up anger at seeing his buddy there: What are you doing here? Josh is implacable: You have to hear me out. AK tries to be dismissive, but Josh shows him unquestionable proof of innocence: it's BBM Thug from Jallore! Who spills the beans of how all the wrongdoing dumped on Josh's head was actually BBMThug's doing. He doesn't know who is the instigator behind the whole scheme, but it isn't Josh. (Huh! As if we didn't know that!)
AK has the grace to look very ashamed once BBM Thug has left: Josh, I'm sorry. My oldest, bestest friend and I doubted you. (Yes, grovel, you young idiot!) Josh is not as vindictive as I am: Ah, it's okay buddy. As long as we're cool now. They grin at each other - the sweetest grins back in form - clasp hands in their buddy gesture and a hug.
(Never have I been _this_ happy to see a hug in KYPH! The hug-happiness-factor from this one beat the AK-KS-hug after-KS-finds-out-about-AK's-deeds by a tonne of bricks - at least! :-) Personally.)
Josh is rapidly back to being detective though: we have to find out who's behind this, and I'm getting the evidence from my Jallore pal. AK doesn't want to let him do this alone, but Josh dismisses him: he is on it and doesn't need AK's help just then. :-( Oh, if only they'd stuck together or "made a plan". :-(
The next set starts with the other buddy-pair, KS and FG Prithvi, in Prithvi's apartment. Prithvi seems to be really working hard at getting KS&AK back to talking with each other: he's set them up for a fancy dinner date alone. KS tries to tell Prithvi that AK has not been taking her calls all day, but Prithvi will not stand for it. KS is touched, and makes a touching speech of how he is her best friend, the only one she can completely trust. And we get the first inkling of something having gone wrong in Prithvi's head, when he says quietly behind her back that that is all that he is, her best friend. She quizzes him, but he merely carries on to calling AK.
AK-pretty-in-a-formal-white-shirt takes the call but is not in the mood for dinner. Prithvi is insistent and by the end of the call, the dinner date between AK&KS is fixed. AK is now in a real dilemma: he is going to _have_ to meet KS tonight! What is he to do? Just then, Daadi appears behind him: what troubles her child? Daadi, if there is a truth that can wrench someone that you deeply love away from you, would you speak that truth? Daadi's voice is calm and certain: truth can be unspoken, but it will always be found out. In which case, it's best to speak it first. AK takes resolve from this: he will tell KS the truth at dinner that night.
(One couldn't help but notice a couple of things:
* they're bringing back several beloved things from the nice old AK-KS past -- AK stubble; long-sleeved white shirt; no chunky silver watch though.
* there is a marked contrast between the buddy team of AK&Josh vs. KS&Prithvi. There is something deeply ingrained and honest about AK&Josh which is so completely absent in KS&Prithvi. That very contrast ought to have given us another hint of what is to come out of Prithvi later on in the show.)
In the last set, we see the unusual sight of Josh sitting still (yet again!) in his office. Pixie Tansy wants to know why he is there that late; Josh urges her to go ahead, that he is waiting for a fax. After she leaves, the fax machine jerks on and as he sees the fax, his face goes still and shocked.
In another corner of the country, in a room lit with candles and Moroccan fittings, KS turns to see AK behind her, looking contrite and loving. They smile uncertainly at each other, but reach out for a hug. AK has something to tell her which might make her run away. KS is resolute: I will never leave you, no matter what happens. AK seems to be gripped by fear: let me just hold you, stretch the moment for a while. He is not happy because he is not sure that she can hold to her promise to never leave him once he has told her about the previous night. If she has to leave then, he wants to make this the most memorable night of their life.
(Err, what does he mean -- most memorable? Are we headed to AK&KS - err - getting busy?)
Agitated Josh, in the meantime, is waiting anxiously for AK to appear to show him the fax and share the identity of the villain. A figure steps out of the shadows; Josh, relieved and glad, steps forward: There you are! I got the fax; Dude, you won't believe who was behind the Jallore mischief. But as he stretches the fax out in front of him, he falters and the fax falls slowly to the ground: just as he had mistaken AK for Prithvi earlier, he has mistaken Prithvi for AK this time! He becomes still again as Prithvi comes out from the shadows. (It is a portent of bad things to come that Josh, our constantly active Honey, is so still.)
Instead, it is Prithvi who is babbling, whining incessantly: Forgive me, Josh, please, I was desperate, please forgive me. His head in his hands: please, I know I've done wrong. His hands stretched towards Josh, who is shaking his head - Prithvi, please don't do this -, Prithvi Fringed Gnome leans into Josh for a hug. Josh, a honey to the last, can't find the heart to push him away and that becomes his downfall. The camera is rotating around and closing in on these two; Josh looks like he is getting ready to push Prithvi away when the world goes still for him, he jerks and his eyes go wide (and we are thrust into the horrid preview from the last episode). Josh can't believe it, but in Prithvi's face at Josh's shoulder, we can see that Prithvi can indeed do anything because his mind has crossed into depths of insanity.
"I'm sorry Josh" but now that voice is not whining, but hard and strong: I'm sorry, but I am helpless in my love for KS. You found out everything and if I let you live then I will lose her. Josh, whose head towers above everybody's in KYPH, is now drooping down Prithvi's chest and Insane Prithvi pushes him away slightly, still babbling: You have to die so that she will be mine forever. Josh's breath is laboured as he drops to his knees, the shaggy head drooping down to the floor at Insane Prithvi's feet. (UGH!) And still Prithvi babbles: You do understand, don't you? His bloody hands reach out to lift Josh's face to his as if he needs Josh to understand, not seeming to see the pain that breathing is causting Josh; Josh who has had a knife thrust and twisted deep into his chest, under his heart. :-(
And as the pain etches deeper into Josh's face, his hand reaches upto Prithvi and he gasps "Angad" before he keels over onto his back. The insanity in Prithvi's eyes go even deeper if that is possible: Yes, yes, AK. He's your best friend, isn't it? Yes, AK will indeed come to you. He will come immediately, Josh. I will call him for you. Insane Prithvi punches some keys: Here, you go Josh, thrusting the phone into Josh's hands. AK will come for you. Josh is twisting on the ground, each turn becoming more feeble. Prithvi is smiling, the insanity shining loud in every part of his face now: He'll come for you Josh. And stepping over Josh, the Once Saint, Now Insane Prithvi runs away. The camera pans on Josh's face, which is becoming quiet once again... End of show. :-(
(I couldn't help noticing that Insane Prithvi does NOT pick up the fax as he goes. I guess that is a blooper.)
Preview for Next Week :-( The camera pans from a ground angle up on AK's face as he looks at the SMS on his phone: this is indeed the right address - where is Josh? The camera moves away as AK spins around, calling "Josh!" As he turns around the corner, AK goes still in shock: on the ground in front of him lies the still body of his best buddy. :-( There is no mistaking the urgency and the desperation with which AK runs to Josh; the panic and the shock with which he grabs Josh's head and places it on his lap; the breathless misery of his voice saying Josh! or the helpless stupidity of his grabbing the handle of the evil knife that has been so cruelly twisted into his buddy's heart. Josh! AK's hands cradle the shaggy head, but there is no movement, except for the lights and the sounds of three cop jeeps that are pulling up in front of the two of them...
(Oh my stars. :-( Well, we do get our redemption of Josh. Josh does not die a traitor in AK's eyes. Josh does not die thinking that his best buddy hated him. But Josh does die. And it was a cruel and irrevocable death. Anyone who has a knife thrust and twisted into his heart like that suffers massive haemorrhaging and clotting and dies without doubt, especially when left out without attention for so long. Josh dies. :-( But I can't hold a grudge for it against AK any longer. Yes, it was Josh who tidied his own affairs and not due to any special effort on AK's part. I'm just relieved that AK&Josh still stand a chance in competition against the Sholay pair.
ATandon did that Iago turn quite, quite well. The camera work was fantastic and my eyes were constantly on CHansraj who pulled off his death scene superbly.
BTW, that shaggy head, the beard all brought the Jesus Christ-Judas Iscariot kiss-of-death to mind. Some of the worst betrayals captured in human literature are Iago vs. Noble Othello, Judas vs. Gentle Jesus Christ, LooneyTunes analogy of Brutus vs. Emperor Cesear. The execution of Insane Prithvi vs. Honey Josh is so well done that it wouldn't quite shame me to think of putting it in a pantheon with the rest.
Go with the stars, Honey Josh, for very few characters have even stolen away the focus of a story from so strong a pair of central characters as well as you have done. You rock because you changed everything.
As to our story though, Josh's death could be taken as ... err, pointless, in the face of so many unanswered question:
* How did Prithvi know where Josh was waiting for AK? Did he follow Josh?
* How did Prithvi know that Josh was close to finding him out? Was he getting feedback from his Jallore connections?
* Why the heck did Prithvi bother letting KS go if he wanted her so badly? So that he could set it up to get KS' undying devotion for him? He already had that! Is he hoping to get her _love_? He will never get that -- he must know that by now! Why, oh why, did he kill Josh - our honey Josh! :-( - and setup AK to do this?
Perhaps, what drives him even more is the need to get at AK. I remember the episode when AK went after KS and branded her his own with the sindoor on her forehead, started with a confrontation with Prithvi. I remember Prithvi accusing AK of being objectionable just because he didn't like KS. And I remember what AK said - he said he was being objectionable because _Prithvi_wanted_KS_. I think that the seed of Prithvi's discontent might actually stem from an age-old ego confrontation with AK. In which case, taking away everything that AK loves -- Josh, KS&Daadi -- might make better sense than just taking KS alone. The KYPH story looks like it's seriously headed in the direction of "The Count of Monte Cristo" indeed.
It's been another long night, another long post. Good night, sweet Prince Josh. Will miss you.)
CID
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin
