Dutta's lucid drunkenness merges images of KN & GN

Dutta, the latest and possibly the most adorable Devdas on celluloid after SRK 's has brought to the fore an interesting paradox with regards to men and their dependence on alcohol to find their inner self. I know that some of the fans of the anti-booze lobby on this forum (Apologies if I rustle feathers)) may not find it funny but the CV's seem to revel in the use of alcohol and a projection of Bacchus' disciples in such a way that it has become one of the props in moving the story forward.

Watching Dutta, magnificently propped on his Landrover with yet another bottle in his hand and exhorting to himself the mystery of Nakusha's truth was spellbinding. 👏Our Gadha always manage to come back from the brink after a solitary binge and it seems that this is going to be the case this week. Indeed, for the first time, he has in a state of lucid drunkenness😛, started to ask himself about Nakusha: "Arey Nakusha, kya hain tumhara sach", "kyun nahin dekh pa raha hoon tera sach". Should alcohol lead to more, not less mental clarity, we hope that Dutta finds the light and sets on his quest for the truth and make him appreciate and understand Nakusha. Watching him talking to himself, I could not stop myself relating to Humphrey Bogart uttering this famous line: "I let my drinking do the talking." In LTL, our very own Dutta is letting the bottle do the thinking for him.😆

It gets down to the point that the bottle has reached his inner self, pain, his subconscious, almost the real Dutta. As he dives deeper into the bottle, and deeper within himself, it would seem that he has started to experience a feeling akin to a strange sense of wholeness. This was clearly visible in the flashback where he sees Nakusha just after his engagement party during the Sups fiasco until the last scene in the hospital when AS is urging him to give a chance to Naku to explain and justify her actions/decision. Many will argue that the scene where he goes in the OT to provide support to Nakusha was the highlight of Friday's episode. And yes it may very well be. But the most beautiful part for me was his solitary reflections in that warehouse where, knowingly/unknowingly he has started to merge the two images of Nakusha and that is done so systematically in his mind that it becomes almost a delightful mental, physical and psychological blending of a personality (that of his wife) within the confines of his thoughts.

I have unleashed my angst for the CVs' so many times for their inconsistencies in LTL and will probably find more reasons to do so later but Hats off to them on Friday 👏👏👏and how beautifully did they achieve it:

It starts with Nakusha in conversation with Dutta where the Kaali Naku tries to eulogise on the beauty of love just after he botched his planned rendez-vous with Sups.

This is followed by Dutta's proposal in front of the family in PN where he declares the selfless Nakusha as the only source of real contentment and peace in his life, hence his decision to give her the place she deserves in his life and in Patil Niwas.

Then comes the second wedding with Dutta applying the sindoor and tying the mangalsutra around Kaali Nakusha's neck.

We have a symbolical pause and see Dutta on the bonnet of his jeep again before a second set of reminiscences.

Nakusha in her fair avatar appears on their wedding night and tells him that she is Nakusha and this is her real self. The way Dutta disregards this vision (almost desperately) to go back to his vision of the Kaali Nakusha is just sheer brilliance.

He does come back to reality within seconds when he remembers Nakusha threatening to destroy her face in order to win back the love of her husband and in that instant we can see an expression akin to fear/restlessness in the way Dutta takes another swig from his bottle.

The next frame is still the shots on the wedding night when he starts to rip off all the decorations and tells Nakusha that she is now dead as far as he is concerned to be superimposed by his memories of seeing the Kaali Nakusha with the now famous flicker of a lighter. Sheer visual poetry?.nothing less, nothing more.

His confused reflections take him back to the moments where Nakusha is desperately trying to convince him that she is innocent and that he can still trust her and her love for him. This is followed by the scene when Nakusha gets shot by Kala's sniper, Baaji's explanation regarding Naku's concerns for Dutta's safety and then Kala trying to defile Nakusha's injury as an attempt to delude him again to win his confidence.

It would seem that, Dutta at this point, has kind of made up his mind about Nakusha and the invisible bond that tie them together which is being reinforced by AS's statement to Dutta that Nakusha will go to any lengths to save him and that she should be given a chance to prove her innocence.

CV's?Take a bow. 👏This reconstruction which could easily be termed an epic mental journey for Dutta has rarely been attempted on celluloid so beautifully. In those 3-4 minutes, Dutta, I would argue, completes the process of superimposing the two images of Nakusha in his mind and his physical surroundings. This should be the inner journey that would enable him, hopefully, to merge the two Nakushas and make him realise the power that the latter has over his mind, body and soul. He will from now on (again depending on how long CVs take) start blending this "whole new" Nakusha with his submerged and broken self post FR and though the pair may never entirely merge, they will learn to like/love each other in his mind. I will go further and moot that Dutta has despite himself built bonds and allied himself with the one person (the fair Nakusha) who will determine more than anyone else on earth (read Patil Wadi for LTL) whether he will mess it up or seize his dreams.

This post will be incomplete if I do not curtsy to the magnificent Mishal Raheja for the sheer brillance with which he portrays a myriad of expressions. Sheer Virtuoso!!! . Take a bow. 👏👏👏You are the best we have seen on TV in a long time. It takes a lot to evoke, admiration, awe and adulation at the same time and you are the chosen one. Keep the flag flying for a long long time. We love Dutta. We love Mishal.😊😊😊

@KavitaDR I am flawed. I have thought and thought about what else I can say to your most heartfelt interpretation of Friday's episode and the most important part of that episode about Dutta's solitary reflections and honestly after reading your post and re-watching Friday's episode, I must say I agree with you that this was the most important and telling part of the episode that surely is the introduction to the upcoming episodes. Thanks so much for your perspicuous interpretation of Dutta's lucid drunkeness.

@kshreya2000