After this week's drama, I couldn't help sparing a few moments on how KZK has shaped up over the years. What you'll read ahead, are my conclusions, my views, my feelings. You need not agree to them, but nonetheless give it a thought & write in your comments.
I started seeing KZK after PRB's first marriage, so I won't comment on the earlier part. Ever since then, the scriptwriters regularly & periodically go bonkers & pull the story to pieces. It's not that the serial has not had any good moments…there are plenty of scenes, which are very touching & can move you to tears. But there are also innumerable instances where Ekta could have ended the serial after a good story but she dragged it.
During PRB's first marriage, the serial was great. It showed Prerna adjusting to her new life as Mrs. Prerna Bajaj. It showed the difficulties she faced there, living with an obsessive husband (whom she didn't love) & 2 hostile step – children. Her relationship with Anurag was portrayed beautifully. He was her stress – buster…her emotional support to cope with her married life. The story was well – conceived, as she gradually won over Tushar & Vish in her unobtrusive ways & changed them from spoilt brats to sensitive children. I esp. liked that episode where Samay, Sulabh & Tushar get arrested. Gita kaki tells her, "I know my sons very well. They will not do this." Prerna replies, "Even I know my son & he cannot have done it." All of Tushar's hatred for her vanishes & he sticks up for her when RB is blaming Prerna for hiding the incident from him & says, "Dad, it's all my fault. Don't blame Mom for it." There were numerous threads in the story at that time – her friendship & love for Anurag, her attraction for him…her relationship with the kids…her unhappy married life but increasingly improving family life…her relationship with RB, her friendship with him as he graduates from calling her Mrs. Bajaj to Prerna 'aap' to Prerna 'tum', the phases in their lives as they pass from being married but unknown to each other to friends but not man & wife. Her relation with him improved as Anurag helped her to accept RB as a husband & as she realised that he is not all that bad, as he seems to be. The scene on their 1st anniversary was really touching when she breaks down on hearing about his death & says, "Main pehli baar 'Mr. Bajaj' ka nahi balki 'unka' intezaar kar rahi thi." They could have showed Bajaj really dead; Prerna & Anurag married & ended the serial. But Ekta stretched it too much.
Then the story took a U – turn. Misunderstandings cropped up between Anurag & Prerna…may be created by Bajaj & Komo but certainly facilitated by Anu & Prerna. Then there was drama…melodrama…more drama…& still more melodrama as Anurag & Prerna shed all the trust & hurled accusations at each other. In this phase I'm inclined to blame Anu – Prerna more than Bajaj. There are always people who want to break your relationships…its up to you to ensure that they don't succeed. I'm not saying this purely because I'm a Bajaj fan…I based my opinion on certain incidents. It's very good that even after your 2nd marriage, you care about your step – children from the 1st marriage. But there has to be a limit. Nothing wrong in leaving your son's b'day party to attend to Kuki, who is ill. But would it have taken too long to inform Anurag before leaving, so that he doesn't think wrong? Then, when he came to look for you at RB's place, instead of yelling at him, you could have explained the situation calmly. Another incident was about the photos. Prerna trusted Bajaj for whatever reasons she had. But why mistrust Anurag? Just because Bajaj told Prerna not to mention the photos to Anurag, Prerna readily agreed. This itself shows lack of trust. Why didn't she tell Bajaj that I trust my husband & that he will never misunderstand me? That is where it all started. On the other hand, hadn't Anurag heard about trick photography? Prerna had married Bajaj to save Anurag's company. She had no physical relation with him even when she stayed in his house. So what would prompt her to have one now, when she is married to Anurag? Why didn't he ignore the photos or confront Prerna about it? Then there was this whole issue about the paternity of Prerna's child. Prerna is a person who believes in demanding explanations, but giving none. Every time Anurag mentioned the child being Bajaj's, Prerna just yelled, "Anurag", but didn't bother to sit down & clear his misunderstandings. She expected him to trust her blindly. When she left Basu house, she went to stay with Bajaj & added fuel to the fire. Couldn't she have stayed with her mother? Ekta once again had the opportunity of ending the serial with Anurag married to Aparna & Prerna married to Bajaj. It would have been a good ending at Panchmeshwar, where Prerna gave her dupatta to Aparna.
But maybe Ekta wanted Anurag to know that Sneha is his daughter…so…cut to the future, 9 years ahead. This was a good period in the story, with Aparna & Bajaj giving unconditional support to these two depressive individuals. Then there was this entire cancer thing. There were many good scenes during this time; one of the best one being when Prerna comes to BTN & asks Bajaj to marry her. I also liked the one between Anurag & Prerna when they come together in Panchmeshwar to conceive Prem. At this stage, it was absolutely unnecessary to turn Aparna into a vamp. They could have showed Prerna married to Bajaj with Sneha & Prem & Anurag could have moved ahead in life with Aparna, with children of his own (adopted or biological). When Prerna came to know about Anurag being alive she was genuinely happy & rightly so. But when he told her to hide this from everyone, she should have told him that she trusted Bajaj enough not to give away this secret to anyone else. C'mon yaar, he was not going to telecast the news about Anurag being alive on BTN. She made the same mistake that she had made with Anurag 10 years ago. She knew Bajaj for a good 10 – 12 years. If you don't trust your fianc, why marry him? One more incident where Anurag & Prerna showed their 'kaan ka kachcha' behaviour was when Prem's kidnapper named RB & Gita kaki. Can any unknown criminal shake your trust in a man you have been living with for 10 years & in a woman whom you know since childhood? Is trust in relationships so weak? What happened after Bajaj came to know about Anurag being dead was inevitable. I loved those episodes where RB ignored Prerna as if she didn't exist. Two of my fav dialogues are from this time – when he tells her, "Main tumhare liye khush hoon ki Anurag zinda hai. Lekin mere liye, tum mar gayi Prerna." And other was when he says, "" Ab agar mere dil mein tumhare liye koi jasbaad hain toh woh hain nafrat, gussa aur sharmindagi. Nafrat us pal se jab tum meri zindagi mein aayi, gussa apne aap se ki main ek aurat ke pyaar mein kis hadd tak guzar gaya aur sharmindagi jo mujhe is rishte mein tumse mili hain, bas aur kuch nahi." Ekta could have still ended KZK here with Prerna married to Bajaj & Anurag happy because Prerna was happy. The Madhvi part was again uncalled for.
I'm sure Anurag fans will feel that I wrote Anurag should have trusted Prerna but I justified Bajaj suspecting her. I can clarify that. Anurag had no reason to mistrust Prerna. She had spoilt her own life by marrying someone she didn't love purely to save Anurag's business. On the other hand, Bajaj had no reason to trust her. In the 10 years that she stayed with him, she was only physically there…emotionally, she still was with Anurag. He had given her all the support she needed during these times, but she still lied to him.
I don't even feel like writing about the 2nd leap…it was so ridiculous. All the new 'creatures' are not even 0.00000000001% as good as Anu, Prerna & Bajaj. As the days went by, the (?)story went from bad to worse. We saw Shravan believing Komo, who he knew for hardly 20 days, more than Anurag, who had doted upon him for 20 years. Then we saw Kasak refusing abortion just because Prerna had not done it. If Prerna had jumped into a well, would Kasak have followed suit? This time again Prerna proved that she doesn't have the brains to know what a person is capable of doing & what he just cannot do. Bajaj suspecting Anurag is natural, but why Prerna? How could she feel that he tried to kill Bajaj? After being in the media for 30 years, it took her pretty long to realise that the tape was doctored. If she could convince her brother – in – law, why couldn't she convince her husband that Anurag is innocent? Forget about that. About this week's episodes, I understand that saving Anurag was her responsibility as she had called him into the hotel. But couldn't she have rung up Bajaj & told him to get inside the house? She could have told the entire thing to Sneha, or Mahesh, or Gupta & then go to Anurag. On reaching the hotel, there was absolutely no need to play James Bond & diffuse the bomb to save other people. Isn't your husband more important than others? I know Anurag fans felt this act was 'mahaan' but it was ridiculous. Forget about saving Bajaj, Anurag had no reason to feel particularly concerned about him. But what about Sneha? What about Kasak? If the shooter had missed Bajaj, even Sneha or Kasak could have been killed. This is what I mean by Prerna has to get her priorities right.
Then the current issue about Bajaj 'insulting' Sneha. I'm not vindicating Bajaj; I also agree he was absolutely wrong. But he was drunk, he was frustrated with Prerna. And his frustration came out on the wrong person, in a wrong manner. But his being wrong doesn't make Sneha right. Her leaving the house was a natural & very much expected reaction. What was unexpected was her going to Anurag. It proves that somewhere inside even she believes Anurag is her father, not Bajaj. There are always two sides to a coin. If Bajaj had spoken in a similar fashion to Kasak, it would not have been this bad. Why? Because Kasak is his biological daughter & Sneha is not. So, a comment that he made unknowingly took a larger meaning. In the same way, if Kasak had left the house & gone to stay with Anurag, it would not have been so bad. We would have looked upon it as going to an 'uncle'. But since Sneha is Anurag's biological daughter, her going to him also takes a larger meaning. Had Sneha compared this one remark with 20 years of love, this remark would have been insignificant. She should have known that he is not a person who'll support Kuki just because she is his biological daughter. Had that been the case, he would have believed Kuki when she told him about Sneha lying to bail out Anurag.
But every single person's acting in this past week has been fabulous. Whether it was Anurag blasting Bajaj for Sneha, or Bajaj – Sneha scene yesterday or the anniversary dance of Bajaj & Prerna. Emotions were on a high this week & everyone aced very well. The expressions in the eyes were very real…when Anurag found out about Bajaj & Sneha, when Bajaj came to meet Sneha & during the dance. You could actually feel their pain…Anurag's frustration at not being able to look after Sneha, Sneha's helplessness at being hurt by a person she loved most, Bajaj's remorse on his words to Sneha & Prerna longing to love & be loved by her husband.
Having said all this, who is the reason behind everyone's 'kasauti'? I feel Prerna. If Prerna had trusted the right person at the right time, things would have been less complicated.
One more question. Who is the biggest fool? Prerna, for constantly shuttling between Bajaj & Anurag? Anurag, for loving this Prerna for so long? Bajaj, for waiting for Prerna when she didn't deserve him? Or maybe Ekta for dishing out all this.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
NO. None of them. WE are the biggest fools…the viewers who tolerate this crap.
Debate Mansion
Book Talk
