wtf - 22 aug '09

wtf stands for weekend thoughts feature. you'd figure that everyone knows that by now. but ... i don't really know why, i always feel like i have to start one of these by explaining that. *sigh* 😆

watching the show these past few weeks has been like riding one of those amusement park rides. where half way through the ride, you find out that the team running the ride have decided to leave for a lunch break. and a bunch of kids have taken over the ride. you're still on the same ride, but suddenly everything feels a lot more like it's gonna tip over and get wrecked and wreck you with it.

wtf #1: this is gonna be a strange thing to start with, but... has anyone started get freaked out by the sense that they are totally messing up the background score in this show?

y'know? one of the things that i've always been irritated with -- in any show, indian, non-indian, tv, big-screen -- is how they blatantly use the music to pitch up the audience emotions? and i really dislike it. i say ''tell your story, and let the audience feel that. and use the music/bg score delicately to support the story and their feelings.'' but no. most of the time, the bg score/music is in your face, screeching at you, leaving you no choice about what to feel or think.

this is okay for myths or fantasy -- totally works in star wars -- but sucks in real-world stories. just mho.

in this show too, the bg score has been a big in-your-face feature. and by now, there are pieces of the music that you associate with characters or situations.

the sound editing on this show has always been a little flaky. just as the editing on this show has always been flaky. but recently? it feels like chucky doll has taken over the sound editing. there's a teeny bit of madness in how the music has been patched in -- almost without thought for what they are putting in? almost with manic disregard for what is being played when?

whatever it is, for some reason, the bg score these days make me very, very, very confused. and i? who love some of these scores and what they mean, get very, very, very sad... *sniff*

wtf #2: btw, from now onwards, the character who came into the show called ''gayatri juneja'' will be called the glob. 'cause she has gone from a sweet sincere caring character with a smile in her eyes to being a smooth, round, featureless, uniformly evil .. form. she really doesn't have any parallel, any comparable. if there was something that she could be compared to, it would be great big mass of green-tinted cough-goober that comes out when you've been been shaken by chills and then at the end of your body's battle against the germs, and you manage your first good cough. *ya, can you tell i've been ill with pneumonia and have been coughing out goobers a lot lately? 😆*

i'd call her ''evil green-tinted cough-goober'' but the glob is so much smaller and quicker to write. 😆

from gayatri-mom to gementor to gaali-maa to the glob. great. just great. *sigh* no matter how much i fought to want her to have had a reason, some reason, any reason to have started on her anti-heer-prem trip, the story tellers have decided otherwise. every single good trait of gayatri-mom's has been clearly and explicitly torn up in front of our eyes, and flung in our faces.

thanks, story-tellers. what a lovely thing to be presented with. a good character having turned evil. how unique. how .. new! what a wonderful feature to a story.

i despise you creatives for this. 😡

wtf #3: there seems to be a sense of too many threads that have been started with this tls** that are just waiting to be unravelled, no? doesn't it feel like they've got a lot of stories that have been kept on hold while prem and his heer play out their little emotional drama, no? and it's ... tiresome not to have the story play out more smoothly than they've been showing us ever since this damned tls** happened.

• why are meher and maya such friends?
• where is kuldi's husband?
• how can it have been that easy for the jzoo to have shifted from can-atta?? i mean, some of the men had jobs, right? kiran, preet -- even maya? was it that easy to just pack up -- overnight! -- and land up in delhi? i mean, people take months to make a move -- jobs, kids' schools. these guys? one minute they are in can-atta. and the next, they are in india and acting if nothing else had changed! er... wow?
• why are all of them so careful around the glob? why do they treat her with any affection? any respect?
• why is preet the only one we see treating her as evil? *other than the fact, that preet has, is and will probably always be, the coolest, most real character on this show, even in the micro-second appearances that he has these days? go preet! your preetstess adores you. and will make up with months of neglect by offering prayers today. fierce resolve!*
• if everyone sees the glob as happily visiting heer's place and giving her gifts, why the heck don't we see the jzoo visit heer?? the last time that heer was ''kicked out of jzoo'' on the glob's behalf, kuldi and meher went to visit her. this time, nothing. nada. zilch. zip. why?
• why aren't they taking the kids to visit cousin phukda? er... why aren't those darned kids in school??
• why does prem come across as blow-hot-and-blow-cold in front of the glob? sometimes he is all fierce with resolve to get heer back in front of the glob, and sometimes, he is all meek and ''whatever-you-wish-maa''.
• biggest puzzle -- why does that duffer allow the glob to touch his hair, darnit?!? 🤣
• what happened in heer's past six years? how did she meet gi-it**? why is she that obliged to her? did heer shift to delhi after baby was born? or was phukda born in delhi? what is written on the ''father's name'' part of phukda's birth certificate?
• *sigh* why don't they give heer new lines? she is more than capable of saying them nicely. hearing heer say the same line about needing to stay away from prem sometimes feels like the story tellers are treating my brain like a rubber band that they've been pulling for the last two weeks, and it's reached way beyond it's elastic capacity to stretch anymore.
• why does phukda have nightmares so easily? why is it so easy for a six-year old to walk back home from school? while i know that six-year olds in india do it a lot, they tend to do it in groups.

and of course, *sigh*, with the track record of these story tellers, it's quite likely that we won't get to know how any of these stories will pan out, will we?

y'know what i wish will happen? that all this prem-heer drama with gi-it and marriage quickly comes to a close (like in the next two weeks). and it will end with prem realising that the glob is truly never going to change back into a mother, take phukda and heer by the hand, and lead them out and away from jzoo into a place no-one can find them, and live there happily ever after.

and then this show can focus on how the jzoo deal with their lives after that -- without any prem and heer and phukda around. oh, meher could get an occasional letter saying that everything is fine. but until such a time that the glob melts in some fire of shame and infinite regret and remorse and repentence, and from that fire, a new form arises which has features, and looks like gayatri-mom of old, i want - no, i demand - that prem and heer not appear in this story! i do. *fierce muh*

wtf #4: y'know? i thought idly what is was that the glob really hated about heer. and i figured that it was not actually her standing up in court and telling the court that her brother wouldn't really hurt vitchface that really got the glob's ... er ... goat.

the glob really, truly turned virulent anti-heer the day of pbauji's birthday that pbauji chose to celebrate it with nihaal and heer instead of his family at jzoo! no, i'm serious. this is truly what glob's problem is with heer.

that day, she became a scheming-evil-mind against heer. it was not heer's love for her brother over her daughter -- it was how heer had a hold on her husband's heart that really got the glob raging white-hot mad at heer!

which made me wonder: did pbauji ever have .. er .. delicate feelings for heer's mother? was he in love with teji before she became teji maan? and those feelings are partly what drives his deep love for heer? and the glob knows of this? and was always resentful of that love? and when she saw how he has always been steadfast in his support for heer ever since he found out that she was heer -- daughter of balraj and teji maan -- she started becoming jealous of heer? and it really blew up into insanity the day that pbauji chose heer to spend his birthday with?

hey! at least this would be more interesting than the poop they're showing on the show these days, donchya think?? 😆

wtf #5: y'know what the greatest puzzle has been for me this week?

why the heck didn't heer tell gi-it that prem juneja and she are married?

i mean, that would've been the perfect way to make sure that gi-it would instantly and forever dump prem,no?

then, why not? why? what earthly (or knowing heer, other-worldly 😆) reason could she have had not to tell?? for the life of me, i can't figure it out.

only weak thing i could figure was: that heer thinks that prem would easily persuade gi-it that he is not a bad fellow and there would be one more person -- in addition to the entire jzoo and her daughter -- to persuade heer to go to prem? 😕

no, sounds weak, no? truly why did heer not tell? 😕

unless they are planning drama on how gi-it will find out? *like the time that the jzoo found out that prem loves heer ''last time''?

wtf #6: so. since they've been pushing it in our faces that they are going back to the beginning to start this story ''afresh'' i wonder what we're gonna get to see next? (the dolts! how dare they start the prem-heer-are-one story afresh? idiots. story-tellers kay naam pey kalank. buddhus. bheja bina bhains. *heh, sounds teacher-trivy, no? but that's mine, i think. a good student takes what she learns and .. improvises and improves! i hope teacher triv approves... 😆*)

so, ms. i'm-perpetually-on-laughing-gas gi-it is gonna persuade the glob she wants prem. the glob will be ecstatic. she will bulldoze wedding preparations onto jzoo.

what i can't see is how this time, prem will agree to it. i mean, how can he if he doesn't know that it's not gonna happen for sure??

'cause this time, the girl is in love with prem, apparently. unlike the last time, when the wedding didn't happen only 'cause ashlesha was there to say she didn't want to be married to someone who didn't love her! this time, gi-it is more than happy to take prem on no matter what she knows about him! so this time, who will break this tie, i wonder. are they keeping it to the end for gi-it to show heer what a great friend she is, and she will be the one to magnanimously give up prem to heer with a big bhashan about how rare it is to find guys like prem? *sigh* but that will be soooooo been-there, done-that, and as dull as hell. *sigh*

last time, heer kept quiet all along until the very last moment when she found out about muckmeet-prashant's little game. if they want to replay this story, what great new revelation will happen to make heer know prem was not insincere about his love? will they suddenly show ashlesha coming up to the marriage bureau as happily married client, all simpering and coy, and confess what she did to heer, wanting redemption for the havoc that she caused in their lives? hmm. could happen (except for the idea that ashlesha would really care about wanting redemption from heer... 🤔).

but after she finds out... what? the last time, she was grabbed and imprisoned by dirtchachi. this time? what would imprison her till the time that prem is about to get married? or given the rate at which the glob is pushing through the marriage ceremonies, will it be too late for her to do anything by the time she finds out anyway?

but heh! i'm really liking what my brain is drawing: prem sitting at the fire. like heer did the last time. ooh! 'cause he is mimicking what heer did! set up a wedding and then dare heer to come and save him! just like heer dared prem to come and save her!! ooooh!

imagine! prem watching the clock. and no heer comes. the priest makes them do something-something. prem watches the clock. and no heer comes. the priest makes them stand up and start the round-the-fire walks. prem looking at the clock. and no heer comes. and just as his heart is beginning to lose hope and his footsteps begin to falter, and his hand goes to tap gi-it on the shoulder to stop her and tell her that he can't go through with this marriage (unlike the last time when ash had to do it!), heer will come! and will say ''stop! this wedding can't happen!''

and hey! i wouldn't mind some heer feet stepping on some prem-gi-it tied-cloth thingie either!!! she has sweet feet too... 😍 oooooh... thud!

'cause it will be easy, no? after all -- prem-heer aren't divorced yet! unless the glob has had prem sign divorce papers as well! which she hasn't!

hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

man! that would be soooooooo coool to watch! my heart is going garden-garden just imagining it!! wooo-hooo!

wtf #7: which only leaves this whole phukda-custody drama on the side.

personally, methinks it is just one more drama that has been put together to increase tensions between prem and heer.

although, i would love to see prem actually getting through to heer that he would never do it. helping her to find out who it is. and then... tantada! both getting shocked that their god was the one behind it!

it could work -- 'cause they would (being the insane otherworldly beings that they are!) understand why she did what she did. and forgive her. of course!

but *sigh* i'm guessing, we are probably not going to be so fortunate that such a real thing could happen, no? *double sigh*

wtf #8: which reminds me of something her holiness, radz, wrote in reply to the last bt,lt. she said that she didn't see what i saw in ''the confrontation between prem and heer" of 08/19/09. which made me wonder if i was more delusional than hopelessly hopeful about there being some other reason for heer's extreme reaction to prem. 'cause i know there's a fine line between the two, and i wanted to figure which side i was on. 😆

and i thought about it, and i still think there is reason to believe that heer has another reason to be so extreme about prem. the way i see it:

• if heer is that anti-prem, she would not have named phukda chahat. not with the kind of intensity of the dislike she professes for prem.
• if heer is that anti-prem, she wouldn't spend a moment thinking that prem would be proud of how she has brought up phukda. remembering him and their moments together is one thing. but shyly standing and wishing for his approval -- that's a whole different thing altogether. just as it is to stop phukda from calling his khadoos and sadly telling her that prem juneja is a really nice guy for not having let her go when she asked him not to tell her mother.
• there was something else in the way heer asked harman not to tell prem and the family about chahat.
• and last but not least, the little soliloqouy that heer said in her mind about leaving everything familiar behind to stay away from prem was very strange. if she was merely angry, that running away from prem is not something that is obvious. especially after she found out that he has left the country! why would she go away from everything that she has known then??

so. ya. they have certainly been working hard! at trying to get us to believe heer hates prem. but all the above makes me feel there is something else. and there is no way in hell they can get me to believe -- ever! -- that heer hates prem. or is even that angry with him.

all i see is a girl who is hell-bent on driving the love of her life away.

and i'd like to be told sooner rather than later why she is doing this.

wtf #9: i think i've come to the end of my wtf-ing. 🤣 except for...

one.

small.

thing.

why, oh why are they dubbing for hc with other voices?? has he the flu and his voice is weak? or is he working on another show that he doesn't have time?? obviously, knowing the hysterical reaction such news would engender, they would keep such a thing super quiet and secret. and even if he was working on another show, would it be that difficult for this team to get him in the studio for a while to get a track recorded? unless he is shooting for a non-balaji-telefilms show?

'cause -- for the life of me -- i can't find anything to excuse them not getting hc's voice on tape for his own shots. for crying out loud! is there any other way to irritate about this show???? *refusing to slap myself on the upside of my head even though i am truly irritated enough to do it!*

ehm. yes, now truly at the end of wtf-ing.

but you may want to stick around -- prayers up next. give me a ... while. 😆

**gi-it: geet, of course. 😆
**tls: time line shift of six years

y'know? it's been a rather sad time at the temple of prayers. for one, i've been having trouble getting work done at the new temple of prayers. ya, ya, heer's ''recession'' has finally hit down-and-dirty on my plans. it ... it is not gonna be as grand as i'd wished it could be, i'm afraid. *sighing wearily* the architect was apologetic about not finishing the side rest-rooms-for-smile-devotees that i'd asked for. but i could understand -- she could not cut down her costs beyond a point, after all she has a family to feed. 🤔 and then after that, it's been hellish getting the materials and stuff upto 3400m -- especially in the rains. so i've had to plan that for later during the winter. and...

well, to keep things short, all has not been well at the new temple of smiles. i was going to be blue and mope around 'bout it. and then i figured - hey! that would be sooo against the principles of the (gods)-of-smiles. hang it! let the temple wait. we need to keep grinning and smiling -- regardless of the recession! 😆

so. here i am back again. free and focussed on the prayers at the temple of smiles. standing with serene face and gentle smile, welcoming you to the prayer this evening.

welcome one, welcome all. i know that in these hard and troubled times, it's an effort to raise your spirits up and drag yourself to anything chirpy. but hey, that's what this are for, your (gods) and their smiles. to lift your hearts. give you hope. make you smile. if only for a little while. and while i can try my hardest to polish the floors of this little place. and try to sweeten the air the best i can with my humble offerings for the few jasmine garlands i could find, it is really you and your smiles that will make this place glow. the air sing. the mood shift to happiness and light.

shall we begin?

all hail, the (god)s of the smile,
who remain standing tall and true despite other people becoming vile.
in moments of dark,
theirs is the spark,
of hope that things will be well,
even while being under a witch's spell.

theirs is not one of those showy centre-fold spreads.
but quietly from the sides, theirs is a light that softly sheds,
quietly from the sides; a light whenever it shines,
makes our hearts light and brings peace to our minds;
a peace that stops every rant,
every spurt of anger that makes us pant,
every blaze of fire that darts from our eyes,
every misfortune that brings forth miserable sighs.

and just for that moment, the smiles that dart out
shines with a sincerity that's as clear as a shout.
that nothing can wipe clear, take away, snuff out
not heer fighting with prem, not gi-it, nor all the shows ''mothers'' most alarmingly stout!

so, on behalf of these smiles, i the preetstess most humbly beg
your forgiveness one and all, for having been such an egg,
for thinking that without the gods, their spirits no longer remain,
a thought so silly that the shame of it fills me with pain.

that i should've been smarter as the (gods) were soon to show,
in a lesson so subtle, and yet, finally it struck me with a blow!
in how my (gods) of smiles kept their end of the bargain they made
of how love will be upheld, no matter what evil plans were laid.

as when (god) preet was upset and mad at his pb,
angry that his ram had abandoned his heer bhabhi,
he wouldn't talk to his god, his hero, his friend,
he wouldn't even look at him, let alone his troubled heart, a ear to lend.

but at that time, when brother's love was forsworn and matters looked bleak,
(god) preet's other half, in stepped (goddess) meher, no matter how meek.
she filled in with sisterly love for lonely prem jiju,
playing two roles: as wife of his preet, playing sister of his heer too.
filling in the love of two people he loved most in the world, as best as she could
showing us that one way or the other, good things would prevail, as it always would!

and as i watched,
and i learned,
slow but sure.
i understood that i had been quite the cur
for not having kept my end of the bargain,
vowing to try and never make this mistake again

so here, i am back at the temple of smiles,
which had once rung with song, and prayer, and laughter all the while,
i know it might be slow, it might take a long time,
to get our spirits back up to our prime.

but hey, as long as we get an occasional lesson or two,
from our (gods) of smiles, and some smiles from them too!
i'm willing to hang out, if only on my own,
clean this place, light the lamps, open the doors, do the duty to which i was sworn.

'cause now i see the only thing in life that really matters,
is how we deal with things that leaves us in tatters,
chin up, fist up, spirits up, hey ho!
bring on the mess, we're gonna keep smiling galore!

all hail,
all hail,
all hail,
our principle of smiles!


now if you don't mind, i'm gonna get back to my self-imposed duty of making sure that the white marble of this temple gets back to shining the way it used to before i started on my effort to build a new temple. but don't mind me. this place is as much yours as mine. take as much time as you need. and if you feel happy with the time you spent here, please give something to the poor hanging 'round the temple doors? they've been hardest hit by the recession and our not being here. it'd be great if you could help out... 😃

a new experimental weekend weekly feature. i wanna call it ''things that got stuck in my memory''. you know? things that you keep thinking about no matter what they are showing just now?

like this thing that stuck in my memory: giving me some of my favourite recent prem and heer smiles?

Yes you are right ever since the shift to afternoon the serials, direction, editing, screen play writing and at times even scripting has been handed over to kids!!! Totally pathetic and unprofessional!

And in all probability we will never get answers to these questions, they would just stretch it and hope that people would forget ... yea they think we all have bad memories just like them.

Yea i too find it extremly hard to believe that Heer or premeer are one can ever hate Prem no matter what the rwason or that she can call him a black mailer and say harsh things about him ... i too think there has to be another reason behind Heer pushing Prem away ... there has to be ... but i am not very hopeful they would show it ... because ne CH and new directors don't seem to have any idea what KDMHMD was all about! And don't even start me on the way they are abusing Premeer's bg music!!! uggghhhhhh

Oh and about HC's VO dunno can't say what the problem is but may be the sound recordists mess up ... if you see mostly his voice is dubbed for out door scenes ... or monologues ... so i think the problem is when the sit down for editing the find the voice is messed up and then HC is not available for another VO because since the afternoon shift in particular there has been alot of voice dubbing and not just of hc in one epi almost everyone's voice was dubbed ... another possibility is that the show is really handled by kids (which it actually is ... since the afternoon shift Ekta has taken out all experienced directors and creatives) and they forget to take VO of some lines and later when they remember actors are not available or they are too tired and not willing to come ............... as far as i know HC loves playing Prem and is quite particular about his character ... i find it difficult to believe that he would purposely or due to other commitments won't show up for dubbing his voice

Dunno the truth but yea show is in the hands of kids these days no doubt about it ... and i just don't get it why does an afternoon shift means that half the show has to be recorded on roads and pathways now? How absurd and idiotic is that? 😡 Overall production quality is really really low to say the least

And i strongly disagree Preet is no longer a real character either ... if he was he wouldn't act the way he did for 6 years ... yea just my opinion and i am not changing it no matter what "stubborn muah"

oh and did you see this? http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/harshad-chopra-goes-by-the-script_100236087.html dunno if its true or not or if it was just a one of incident or HC's is really finding it difficult to work with new directors

ephtee i dont have a prob with outdoor shoots but the way they have been shooting outdoors ... i mean why they have to show it all happening infront of a chat wala? Why all the meeting incidently happen on the same road ... makes no sense ... and they look unreal

I am sticking to my POV on Preet

I don't think these people watch the old episodes when they take up the show .... thats totally unprofessional ... and another thing each person has his/her own POV even after watching all the epis they might interpret them in a different way than the previous CH ... i mean Prem asking Heer to leave when gyatri mom asked him to choose btw her and heer ... is seen differently by different people on the forum same goes for creative heads i guess ... its not necessary that every new person would understand the depth of the story dunno if i am making any sense but as a viewers it makes me feel cheated

Yea the quality going down has to do with afternoon shift ... it was never this bad before ... everyone seems to have given up ... assistant director is the director now .... assistant creative head in now the head ... they just don't want to give good directors and CH to the show ... instead of proving themselves they have just given up it seems ... even the dubbing... before the shift only once HC's voice was dubbed that to towards the end of GS track but after that it's an almost every day matter