(This post is dedicated to Nuha).
Tannu and Abhi were the first couple to be shown to us in Kumkum Bhagya.
It's interesting how CVs have consistently showed us the nature of their relationship.
To begin with, Tannu is rockstar Abhi's supermodel girlfriend. In the very first scene, after a rocking concert, Tannu wants to go for a long drive with Abhi to celebrate. But Abhi refuses her directly saying he has another date and in the next scene is he is with his Daadi celebrating her birthday. Abhi doesn't take Tannu home to include her too in the celebration. Nor did Tannu seem to mind it.
Tannu is not the kind of girl Abhi's Daadi of old values would appreciate. But then, Abhi does many things that Daadi does not appreciate, for example, his genre of music. But yet, he didn't want to take Tannu home.
Later in some scenes, both Tannu and Abhi reveal to us that they do not want to marry but happy with their happy go lucky relationship. We also learn that Abhi ditched his previous girlfriend to date Tannu and that he groomed her into a model (there is a discrepancy over how long Abhi and Tannu have dated but since they both mention it to be around a year, I stick with that).
When Daadi is hell bent on seeing Abhi as a groom, he decides to marry Tannu, the one girl who is in his mind at that time. However, Tannu blatantly refuses his proposal quoting her career contract as the reason. Not that a woman should sacrifice her career to marry a man, but Tannu forgets the fact that Abhi groomed her career and she doesn't want to compromise for him. Nor does she understand the fix he is in because of Daadi.
Abhi is angry than hurt that Tannu rejected him.
Tannu soon realizes Abhi would slip out of her hand and decides to go back to him with fake promises. She soon becomes a part of her best friend Aaliyah's plan to get Abhi married to Pragya for her own benefit that she doesn't need to marry Abhi immediately.
Once Abhi marries Pragya, a lot changes between Tannu and Abhi. Abhi gets entangled with the duties of marriage, elders' expectations etc. and whether he wants or not, ends up spending a lot of time with Pragya.
Abhi now has Pragya who is different from Tannu in more ways than one. When Tannu gets him into trouble in a drunk drive case, Pragya takes the blame on herself and also sells her jewels to save him. Whereas Tannu does not even want to be identified with Abhi afraid of her image being spoiled for being in an drunk drive case. Interesting that Abhi never tries to use Tannu to save himself, but Tannu doesn't even want to help Abhi with anything when he is in trouble.
Once Tannu realizes Pragya is 'right' and Abhi at the end of the day would stand by 'right', she starts to grow insecure of losing out on Abhi. The thing is Tannu knows she won't be able to hold Abhi in her life by emotions, hence she takes this approach to try taking Pragya out of his life. It all gets worse when she loses her modeling contracts because she is not Abhi's girlfriend anymore and that turns her desperate and evil as she goes to not only cheap but callous extents to bring Pragya down.
On the other hand, Tannu who never wanted marriage suddenly becomes desperate to marry Abhi. This perhaps comes from a place of insecurity both career-wise and relationship-wise- because a "behenji" looking/non-glamorous Pragya has taken the place of Abhi's woman and because her career is going nowhere without being identified with Abhi. Even Abhi often asks her why would she be interested in marriage when their goal was never that. But Tannu not just insists on marriage but even forces him in that direction by bringing her parents into picture.
Eventually, Abhi starts to analyze Tannu with a background of Pragya. He sees how Pragya offers him emotional comfort and understanding that Tannu never did. He often finds instances where Tannu and Pragya behave differently and naturally finds peace of mind with Pragya who is genuinely kind and giving.
Although Abhi never wishes to be married to Tannu, does not strongly refuse to marry her either, mostly because he is somewhere guilty too that he had brought Pragya in that place which would have been Tannu's if at all he ever married anyone at that time. It could also be his denial of his growing emotions for Pragya, which he is unable to believe. So, Abhi finds some satisfaction in telling Pragya that he does not love her because he loves Tannu. For Abhi it's more like he doesn't want to fall in love with Pragya than he wants to be with Tannu.
So, at present, it's a complicated situation for Abhi with Pragya but his relationship with Tannu just grows to be more superficial than ever. He does not miss Tannu, does not think of her, is not on his foot to marry her, yet hasn't been able to tell her he is not into her anymore. This is perhaps to avoid his emotions for Pragya as well as some sense of commitment of marriage to Tannu which she has taken seriously eversince his marriage to Pragya.
But from Tannu's stand, it's more and more clear now that it was never about Abhi the person for her. If she could cut his guitar strings on the day of the biggest concert of his life, cause his beloved Daadi trauma and let him be kidnapped with a criminal, there is no doubt that let alone love, she does not even care about him. It's all about the money and fame his rockstar status would bring for her. And that's why she would stoop to the level of faking pregnancy perhaps, as she knows she can never bind him with emotions.
And hence, Abhi doesn't relate with candid emotions to Tannu, and that explains how he doesn't care for her beyond a limit. It's a relationship that is waiting to break and one wrong note will shatter it.
Tannu is evil but Abhi doesn't know that. Yet, Abhi doesn't connect to her the way he connects to Pragya or some other relationships in his life (Daadi, Aaliyah, Purab, Arora ladies etc.). Because there is an emotional disconnect between him and Tannu, which we have seen all along and it has grown stronger now.
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