Viraj Characterization

When Viraj was initially introduced into the show, I was kinda intrigued and kinda not. I wasn't sure what to expect so decided to sit back and quietly enjoy the show.

He was introduced as this suave, rich, accomplished man who respected women. While I wasn't sold with his description, I didn't hate it either. I was wary that he would become too much of a typical "prince charming" type of stereotypical character. And initially, it did seem like he was going that way. He saved Nisha. He gave Nisha a job despite her having no real qualifications. He cared for Gayatri and Priyanka knowing that the two didn't think highly of him. He protected Nisha's self respect by giving her his jacket to cover herself when her pants ripped. He helped Nisha by having her have sessions with Shekher -- which helped her come to terms with her past. He told Nisha that her past did not define her. And he told Nisha that he didn't feel the same way about her as she did about him.

All incidents that displayed how "perfect" he was. Which, if I'm being honest, wasn't the most exciting thing to see for me. With Viraj, Nisha changed. She was more mature and subdued. And while I guess it wasn't a bad thing, it wasn't the Nisha I liked. She always put him on a pedestal and he knew that. And therein, that's when the cracks began to show in the carefully crafted veneer Viraj had produced. Shekher had already hinted how Viraj wasn't the most gracious person (sold out his best friend -- focused on own integrity). Priyanka too commented on how Viraj had his bad qualities (too many girlfriends and too strict -- not looking at other's point of view).

Yes, he had been paralyzed and then recovered. But when he recovered physically, he expected his relationships to be the same as they had been previously -- he didn't attempt to figure out the effect his paralysis had on others -- notably Priyanka. That's a reason why Priyanka lashed out -- Viraj was one of the few who really cared about her and with his paralysis, she lost a huge support system. Of course Priyanka had her own problems and it was up to her to figure them out, Viraj could've at least attempted to figure out why she was acting out -- she was his only cousins and he did love her dearly after all. Instead, he berrated her and told her to shape up (LOL).

Yes, he did the right thing in outing Sheks, but did he ever attempt to talk to Sheks about it? Sheks appeared one day out of the blue and Viraj was like, "hey mate!" There was no discussion about their past and Viraj did not even apologize for outing his friend. All that mattered was that his conscious was clean and he prevented cheating from happening.

In essence, despite all his wonderful actions, Viraj was very self-centered, very proud of himself (guroor of being a Rajput) and had a superiority complex at times. It was always about what he wanted or what he did or what he felt. Which, let me clarify, does NOT negate all the good things he's done nor is it the worst thing in the world. But, as I said earlier, he was not perfect. Despite knowing that Nisha liked him and he didn't like her, he did a paper dance with her. But he did it anyway and made her hopes higher -- he felt good that someone liked him and it didn't matter too much that he was making her hopes higher.

Nonetheless, I thought all these things made Viraj a much more intriguing character. He wasn't perfect. He wasn't a good, "white" character. He was kinda grey and really interesting.

And then PC hit. Honestly speaking, I know I'll probably get chappals for this LOL, but I enjoyed PC and the way it turned out -- the way everyone reacted. Despite what people said, I thought Viraj was BANG -ON to the way he reacted with Nisha and co. For all he knew, Nisha had befriended him to betray him. She had distributed the emails among his employees and made him look like a fool. Viraj was right in being angry with her. Ideally, after knowing Nisha for so long, Viraj should've made an attempt to hear her side of the story. He should've attempted to look at her point of view, tried to figure out if what he was being told and what he saw were the truth. But, in true Viraj fashion, he couldn't look past the betrayal he felt. He couldn't even fathom asking Nisha her POV. What he thought was what had to be the truth. And so Nisha-Viraj's journey ended (temporarily). Again, let me reiterate, I'm not saying Viraj was wrong in the way he reacted. But he wasn't completely right either.

After PC, his character was further fleshed out (before being flushed down LOL). He was devastated that he had been betrayed so badly. But then, slowly, he realized that he actually liked her. It should be pointed out however, that Viraj didn't really like Nisha in her original Nisha avatar -- he liked the proper, girly person Nisha transformed into when she was with him. And he decided that he could forgive Nisha for PC because he liked her. ----> BUT, for me, this is one of the first times I was severely disappointed with his characterization. It was a good touch showing how Viraj liked girly, proper Nisha. But the way the realization came about was so W*F. Like literally, he was sitting and he started imagining her. W*F? I always wanted to see Viraj love realization come about more organically. I wanted him to stew a little bit more on how he loved Aarti and how Aarti didn't exist. And then I wanted to see him make the connection that Aarti = Nisha. And then I wanted him to come to the realization, Aarti did exist, but not as Aarti, as Nisha. Which meant that he loved Nisha. <--- that sequence would've been so much more fulfilling to see. Instead of seeing him drunk and then proclaiming his love for Nisha 2 episodes later 😆

Anyways, then he saw Nisha with Kabir and yadda yadda yadda. Again, truth be told, I'm probably one of the few who didn't *hate* the way Viraj acted in the holi party with Nisha. I thought it made sense -- he was only calling her dirty the way she had called Gayatri dirty. He didn't even know the PC truth yet either. So his actions were tinged with feelings of betrayal and jealousy. I actually really enjoyed it. Viraj was understandable in his actions and beginning to become more grey shaded.

And then the whole wedding fiasco happened. Which again, I ADORED. (sidenote, those who know me well probably already know just how much I love the whole KN second wedding drama -- it's my fav tv wedding drama ever, but to others: I apologize, this part might be really biased because I love the wedding drama so I'll only see the good things in it 😆). Viraj came in to stop the wedding because he knew the truth and told Kabir to back off and told Nisha that he and her would marry in the same mandap. I totally saw Viraj saying these things and totally felt like Viraj was in character. As I said in another post (quoting myself LOL): "And the mandaap thing also shows that. Viraj and Nisha's relationship always had an unequal aspect to it. Viraj was clearly put on a pedestal and Nisha would do everything Viraj wanted to make him happy. She joined LA because of him, tried out for shooting because of him, tried to save LA because of him, tried to be more girly for him, etc. So naturally, Viraj assumed that this meant that she was willing to do anything for him. That's why he was like "I made a decision for us to get married." It was always Viraj making thinking about himself and thinking that Nisha would listen to him " Again, showcasing his self-centeredness and his superiority.

So till there, I was content and actually happy with the way his characterization was going. But then his stalking began and I was kinda meh. Wasn't too happy but nor was I too disappointed. And then he joined with Sumit in going against Kabir. Which again, I was meh about it. It wasn't necessarily against his characterization, but also wasn't really for it either. When Viraj helped Kabir from the goons -- I was elated! Viraj's characterization was right on track. He didn't like the guy, but he also couldn't leave him to die. And then the way when he and Kabir fought in KN house with Nisha gripping onto Kabir and Viraj not noticing -- I also liked it. Viraj was only noticing how he felt and failing to access the situation around him (exact same thing happened in wedding card shop). Viraj was completely grey shaded and it was amazing. But then the whole Nisha-in-hospital thing hit and I was completely done with his characterization. ----> In a single moment, the CVs took, what could've been a MONUMENTAL CHARACTER ARC and turned into a regression. When Viraj saw Nisha falling and Kabir at the top attempting to reach out to her. It *kinda* made sense for him to doubt Kabir's intentions -- he didn't know the guy, didn't like the guy, and was under the impression that he was cheating Nisha. BUT, it was also a perfect opportunity for CVs to link back to PC and show Viraj's growth. Instead of blindly believing what he was seeing and listening to his own thoughts, like in PC, Viraj could've attempted to listen to Kabir side of story. Viraj's main mistake in PC (this is debatable I know -- some people think he didn't make any mistakes while others think he made many) imo was how he quickly jumped on the accusatory. He didn't stop and think. And this split second decision basically cost him his relationship with Nisha (that's why she went on trip -- because he refused to listen to any of her calls and pleas-- and ended up meeting and doing SV with Kabir). And so in another precarious situation, it would've been such a huge character arc if Viraj stopped, and actually attempted to listen to Kabir instead of going on the offensive. In this arc, not only could've he retained his grey side, but he could've also begun *redeeming* himself. <----- Instead, he went on the offensive and all his growth went phuss and he turned completely villainous, accusing Kabir without knowing the whole story and twisting facts to suit his own needs (to villainize Kabir). Aka regressing.

And then just as Viraj switched over to the dark side, he just as quickly switched over to the light side. Realizing his mistake as Kabir was revealed to be his brother, giving KN property of their house, and choosing to not forgive VJ. The end. Nothing new. While I think the refusing VJ was a good touch, it didn't add too much to his character. If anything, it kinda just made him go flat again. All the characterization that was done on him to flesh him out went down the drain and instead he was propped up to become perfect "prince charming" once again.

So I guess what I'm trying to get at here, is how I think Viraj's characterization was such a missed opportunity. He went from being introduced as "prince charming," to an actual person with grey shades and real motivations and thoughts to regressing to "prince charming" again. For me, while Viraj did do good deeds, he wasn't perfect. He was flawed and needed to perhaps work on himself. But he was understandable. His thought processes were viewable. He morphed into this intriguing character who could've been an interesting male lead of his own show. And then just as he had evolved, he regressed and changed back to the flat, stereotypical character we were first introduced to.

****Whew! I'm sorry for how long this turned out to be! I'm very sorry! That said, if anyone managed to read this entire thing -- ilu ❤️