Random Musings - Nov 15 - 20, 2010 (Week 5) - Uptd - Page 10

Originally posted by: lovtv

@Priya - yes his manipulative behaviour was distressing and upon reflection I think that just makes him human instead of a perfect soap hero. I am leaning towards Gaurav not being gay and think that he is in love with someone who is not appropriate for him. I think the person is either older, married or in a situation that makes them unavailable to him.

I don't think he is trying to deceive Vidhya on purpose. He is in this situation because he loves his mother and wants to make her happy. I see their friendship as a start to something that will eventually blossom into love. And the reality is lots of arranged marriages start out this way.

Originally posted by: Eloquent

Hey, nice take as always.

Well, I agree with you about ridhi's acting-not up to the mark. The crying scene was simply forgettable.

I did like her panicked-shocked act when aditya proposes to her. A girl like priya with her past should feel both pleasure, shock and panic and the urge to simply flee from the room and I felt that ridhi portrayed that scene perfectly.

Coming to Gaurav, if he really is gay then the writers are doing a wonderful job with his character build up before the revelation. He is his mother's son and very mch connected to her. Also he is very good to his wife for all that he cannot give her the one thing that she needs-his love.
Also he is sensitive, the scene with Devyani where she slaps him is proof of that! And how he just gently pushes his wife in the direction of friendship to keep her occupied for the moment and never behaves harshly with her, despite having a larger than life sort of example in his overbearing father and seeing him "control" devyani throughout his childhood till now.

All in all, I am looking forward to seeing the special episode and hope that its not overdone.

Originally posted by: an12345678

I do not recall if Indian movies or shows have handled a gay character with respect, class and in a mature way. Gay jokes are cracked and reality buried as if such people do not exist in our society -- mere figment of imagination. I want Gaurav to be a gay character and the creative team showing the emotional turmoil based on that. It's a fact that families force their son/daughter to marry, thinking that it'll bring them back on the right path.

Priya is indeed the weak link when it comes to acting. One day, Pooja and I were discussing the same at the Den. The girl is not a newcomer but her acting skills have remained the same: expressionless and dialogue delivery bland.

I am not still not watching the show but Jaya's posts give me a good idea on what is happening. Thank you Jaya. 🤗

November 19, 2010 - Friday

Friday's episode started with Aditya calling Priya at some point in the night. He starts by saying he had heard elders say that one should have an affair with who they love but marry the person who loves them. Now...I don't know what kind of "bade buzurgh" give advice to Aditya's character, but none that I know has ever given me such advice...and I come from a very liberal family. While watching this, I wished he had said he read that as a Facebook status message or some such thing...would have been a contemporary touch...especially since quotes like this make up a large percentage of social networking status messages. Aditya then continues to say that he wants to marry a person who he can share his life & dreams, whose tears he feels responsible to wipe...and that person was her. Now...I have to say that I did not expect this sequence at all. I expected today's episode to start at the temple...but this was a nice touch. It is so consistent with Aditya's personality to show him with a one-track mind that is just thinking about Priya. His character is so-in-your-face and honest about what he feels that the "love story loving girl" in me...well...loves it! I also have to say that this was the first time the placement of "Yeh Ishq Hai" worked for me. I think it had to do with this being the first scene of the episode, so the song was not transitioned to from some other random background music.

The morning finds Aditya and a sleeping Jaggi outside the temple that Chinu had suggested. I really love that the screenplay had Jaggi trying to sleep and Aditya looking like he had not slept much. While the previous scene did not explicitly say so, it was quite imaginable that lover boy Aditya was up late in to the night unable to sleep due to excitement about the next morning and Jaggi, the good friend that he is, giving him company. Good stories & screenplays reveal the right details and leave the rest to the viewer's imagination and this is a very good example of that.

In the Pradhan house, Priya is making breakfast and looking hesitantly at the clock. Noticing her trepidation, Chinu interrupts and advices her to forget her past and instead make the present that is in front of her beautiful so that her future is also so. Here...I loved the touch of having Chinu acknowledging he had read this somewhere.

Back at the temple, Aditya asks a passing priest what all the decorations being put up were for. Upon being told that it was for the occasion of "Tulsi Vivaah" he confirms its auspiciousness for getting married too. Priya, for her part, comes to the temple and tries to start talking about her past. But an excited Aditya, in no mood to listen, asks her to come back in the evening to meet his family and leaves. As a side note, for those who are unfamiliar with this festival, Tulsi Vivah is the ceremonial marriage of the Tulsi plant (holy basil) to Lord Vishnu in his form as a Shaligram.

Brahmanand, in the meanwhile, is at work dealing with the son of acquaintance who drove his vehicle over four people while drunk. So...is Brahmanand a corrupt officer too? To me he seemed to be putting on an act...but, remains to be seen I guess. Once he returns home, he catches up with Aditya on everything that happened in Ghaziabad. His easy relationship with Aditya is another duality in this series. Brahmanand has two completely opposing dynamics with each of his sons. He acquiesces to Aditya's insistence that everybody come to Ghaziabad to meet Priya and shares what is going on with Devyani and the rest of the family. The screenplay for this sequence was top-notch and did not unnecessarily drag reactions...like Devyani's character's surprise at not knowing what was happening in Aditya's life or the expressions on Gaurav's face as he realized who Brahmanand was talking to...spot on.

At Uttara's home, Rishabh is unsuccessfully trying to get a loan. His loving behavior towards Uttara was reflective of the calm phase these characters are in. He even talks to Aditya who calls to ask Uttara to come to Ghaziabad and says she will be there. I loved the small touches in this sequence. Rishabh's anger is just below the surface and comes out in between the interactions with Uttara. Similarly, the screenplay had Uttara be just a little hesitant with Rishabh.

The episode closed with Priya talking to her father about Aditya's refusal to listen. Based on his advice that the truth needed to be shared before any decisions could be made, Priya decides to write her truth down for Aditya to read.

Overall...I loved the episode.

Loved:

• Screenplay...it was the star of today
• Acting: Raqesh, Kamya, the actor who plays Rishabh...everybody...simply wonderful
• All the small details...Imli teasing Vidya, Aditya's name showing up as Adi on Uttara's phone, the look on Gaurav's face when he realizes that the person who his father is talking to in such an easy manner was Aditya...all perfect!

Disliked:

• Precaps...they seem to consistently give the story away...I wish somebody would fix that!

As always, feel free to tear this apart...

Cheers,

Jaya