Sublime, innocent love and instinctual shifts

Where do I begin...there is so much to say about this episode that I am still trying to gather my thoughts into a flow.


That first scene...Nandini earnestly rattling off her knowledge about some constellation and Manik just watching her...her innocence juxtaposed with the passion in his eyes as he watches her...her exasperation that he isn't listening to her...and his simple, "You look different" changes the mood...suddenly our little Nandu is self-conscious about the single minded intensity with which he is watching her and starts looking down at herself wondering what it could be...she decides it must be the glaring bright lipstick she is wearing😆







And adorably she tries to explain why she has the lipstick on..."Woh I thought I turned 18 naa...so"...has there ever been a cuter naive little confession?😆...the way she trails off in the end a little unsure even as Manik watches her all charmed and fascinated by her innocence...by the end she was actually trying to cover her lipstick with her hand all self-conscious😆






The way Manik moves to stop her from feeling awkward...both tenderness and intense desire in his eyes as he caresses those bright lipstick covered lips and tells her, "It looks beautiful"...such a beautifully written and executed bit...again personifying the heart of his relationship...their instinctive need to comfort each other but the desire always underscoring everything...she felt a little self-conscious so he instantly soothed away her awkwardness and let her know that she is beautiful to him...







I loved how this scene then segued into her pressing on about her appearance...then talking about her hair...telling him she wanted to open that up too but then she figured he can do it since he doesn't like her tying up her hair...there was a nervously sweet innocence about her here that couldn't help but evoke a smile from Manik in response






The actual braid opening bit was beautifully enacted and directed...fantastic camera angles, the little nuances of the way Manik touched her shoulder before holding her braid and finally opening it and freeing her physically and metaphorically from the self-containment she had imposed on herself in the aftermath of her trauma...so simply this moment came about yet the gravity of it was not lost.





From this point onwards in the epi, Parth and Niti deserve special applause for portraying MaNan's need for each other in such a beautiful and aesthetic manner👏 ...despite the terrible editing, if I may add...special mention for the reverence with which Nandini kissed Manik's palm as if to thank him for freeing her from the jail she had imposed on herself...beautifully done bit




And the way Niti portrayed the shift in Nandini through her eyes as she responded to Manik





The other defining moment of the episode has to be the bit when Nandini puts away the scarf Manik offers her to cover herself after the strap on her top tears...the handling of this moment is what makes MaNan what they are and this is where once again I really want to applaud the writers, creatives and team for giving us a relationship, a story so natural and real in terms of portraying shifts👏👏👏.


I loved how they didn't make an EVENT out of the shift in Nandini. Not a planned moment like our melodramatic desi soaps love to go for ki aaj main apne aap ko SAMARPIT karungi types😆...the fact that it just happened in the flow of it all...she was teasing him, he accidentally pulled her strap out and then she just made a split second decision to go with the flow...so natural...cuz these things aren't supposed to be PLANNED like EVENTS anyways...this girl just felt a rightness in that moment, felt a need inside her to give and receive in equal measure and the moment flowed like that...


That was the standout in the scene...Nandu responding to him just as ardently as he's always demonstrated his need for her...this was a new dimension to them despite the fact that we've had the kisses before...but in neither of the kisses did Nandini respond to the level she did today for this much continuous period of time. It is Nandini I marvel at in this bit then...and at Manik's love for her.







There was such a rightness about that moment...and how far Nandini has come from the time she got conscious of a knot opening and it made her skittish...this time she showed how far she has moved in this relationship and achieved another level of trust in Manik as she gives herself to him with this absolute faith...and all of this was communicated simply through the putting away of a scarf and her silently looking back at him and reaching out to touch his face...Manik was in disbelief for a moment, understandably😆...but I love how this didn't need speeches or taam jhaam...it was a moment that just HAPPENED...as it should be in any relationship naturally.


Once again kudos to the team for portraying this shift in Nandini so aesthetically as a new chapter is continued in MaNan's relationship...


Those 7 minutes are what truly stay with you long after the epi is over...once again a big thank you to the team for delivering a pretty epic week of MaNan :)

Very well said. Amazing analysis

The transitions of emotions, damn fine fine work😳

Beautiful post and those gif s are sooo good.sure those 7 mins stayed with us.

wow! What a wonderful set of pictures and write-up. Definitely helps relive the moments and adds a fabulous new dimension...

I agree it was beautiful n magical ...surely everything was In synch...only pani can portray manAn so beautifully

Nandu responding to him just as ardently as he's always demonstrated his need for her...this was a new dimension to them despite the fact that we've had the kisses before...but in neither of the kisses did Nandini respond to the level she did today for this much continuous period of time.

Originally posted by: charminggenie

Some stories leave us dazed, amazed and we find ourselves stuck in them for moments, hours and perhaps days, I feel last 2 episodes in particular have given the entire essence of MaNan and their love.

But this episode touched a new crescendo , they both added a new phase to their story, to their love. What stands out is the equality in their emotions for each other.

The telescope, her father's promise , Manik's gift became witness to the exchange of two lovers. She was so engrossed rattling out something about the constellations he has often spent nights gazing , but his eyes were not seeking the stars she was busy fascinating about . Manik's sole focus was on Nandini, his brightest, most precious star, she was shining and today she was sparking with her love for him. There was that glint of desire, want and passion juxtaposed by her innocence, unassuming self. Even when she asked if he was even registering what all she was saying, his one simple reply had her disarmed , "you look different". Loved how Nandu became all self-conscious , checking herself and then finally concluding the distinction be because of the lipstick she tried , perhaps for him and because it was her 18th. Sigh, the way she trails off blushing ,embarrassed, he couldn't help but fall more in love with her. He is always so fascinated by her innocence, it just undoes him all the time. But I loved how he reaches out to her , not only reassuring her and bringing her out of the little predicament she found herself to be but he marked his own desire by rubbing the lips that have held his fascination the entire time. Something about the protect/desire part of this scene was brilliant. Such a simple scene with so many undercurrents of varied emotions.

The eye thing here, oh God the softness of her innocent self , the roughness of his passion- Sigh, how do they do this again and again?😲

Love how this scene flows into her asking him to open her hair, this is how she surprises him na, catches him off-guard all the time. Her awareness of his dislike for her tied up hair because perhaps he never voiced it but he could sense the reason behind it. That and his own fascination with them. I love how she not only made it the moment to remove all the physical shackles of her trauma but also made it all about him. This gesture she gave him,couldn't help but make him smile. The eyes here, the smile , the slight hesitation,his constant gaze both filled with passion and fascination. Lovely direction . Adored how his hand brushes her shoulder , setting the shift in the tone of the scene, to the way he unties her hair. Very Very aesthetically done.

From then on ,my words fail me. PaNi deserve all the applause and more. Nandini's shift of emotions to his passion, her own reaction to his touch. The eyes- emoting the mutual-ness of their desire for each other. That entire bit was magical. Perhaps they both for once were responding to their carnal desire for each other at the same time.

But deffo the cornerstone moment would be Nandini throwing away the stole , letting him know of her own desire , her willingness to explore this new facet of their relationship. The execution of this scene from Manik's confusion/disbelief/realization to passion and Nandu's equal response to it made it so so beautiful and special. There was no abla nari act or coy shy number, Nandini who once stopped the knot because she was not ready , finally had reached the stage where she found comfort in their intimacy. Such an understated, brilliantly executed scene. Writing like this makes this show so unique , special and applaud-worthy and this makes Nandini unique and different too. She is a woman who is in love and awareness of intimacy part of the relationship.

The fact that this was not a "created" moment but happened made it unique, nobody saw it coming , not us and neither them. That added to the charm and the realness of it. This makes MaNan so unique.

PaNi together just took this to another level, i am stumped, inspite of shabby editing , they just seemed to flow seamlessly, in sync and managed to create a moment that stays. It haunts the audience , leaves them wanting more and yet so satisfied.

The transitions of emotions, damn fine fine work😳

Those 7 mins of MaNan were job and kind of marks this new phase of their relationship.

Kudos to the writers, team and the Actors . This week has been brilliant . 👏👏

Still dazed, viewer.

P.S. TM- Words, CAPS and moving pictures, think you did well. 😆

1) Why you calling me TM?😕


2) Yeah I figured itna pressure aa raha hai so might as well load everything into the post to get it all in one place😆


3) WORD to the bits in bold...beautifully said!

AY!! You finally made a post!! 🤗

I am going to come back and write tonight. It's Friday finally!

@AY- TM, coz I wanted to sound posh . 😆