Originally posted by: milkcakejamun
First of all, Esha, this post was absolutely beautiful! You've conveyed all the emotions that have plagued this show for at least the past month!
@bold, very, very, very much agree with this point. The slowed timeline, paired with fluctuating character traits (Raavi being mad at Shiva and not letting him come near, Raavi yelling at Dhara, and Raavi shyly staring at Shiva all within a span of 24 hours is crazy ). Even if the timeline was slowed, I wish each character was consistent with what they did/how they feel. If Raavi doesn't want to accept Shiva, then fine, make her angry. Make him and the rest of the family work for her acceptance. She was betrayed at the wedding, and none of them have the right to force her to feign any sort of happiness, least of all Dhara who knew the entire events surrounding Raavi's lack of knowledge of Rishita to her near suicide.
The conversation between Raavi and Dev is very much overdue. However, I am wondering if the PS staff/Akshay can give proper justice. The apology scene between Dev and Shiva was half-hearted at best for me. The words were spoken, but the feelings were not adequately displayed. It also didn't help that Shiva brushed his apology aside by saying, "You're my brother. Why the apology?" I wish he took some more time to say those words as Dev's one decision changed Shiva's life forever. Because we know this is a happy show, we know that ShiVi will find happiness and a happily ever after with each other, but what if, post-fight, Raavi actually decides it's better to divorce? Or what if 1 year from now, she decides she really doesn't want to live with Shiva as he fails to bring her the adequate amount of happiness? Or what if Shiva decides he doesn't like Raavi as a wife?
What I didn't like post-apology was how everything returned business as usual for the brothers. I know if I impacted my sister's life with a decision like Dev's, I would feel horrible (even after the apology), and I would do everything in my power to fix things, whether it be to give ShiVi the space they need, speak to Raavi and Shiva independently to figure out their feelings and see if I could help in any way.
One scene that I really loved in the Telugu version was a scene where Raavi's friend comes over to their house to visit. She doesn't know Raavi and Shiva married (just knows Raavi is married and thinks it's with Dev), so she blurts out some facts about Raavi's past, including how Raavi ended up getting a tattoo of Dev's initials on her wrist (the actress playing Raavi actually had a tattoo). Rishita, who heard this, became pissed and was about to lash out, but then Raavi notices that Shiva was there, behind her, hearing the entire conversation about the tattoo. He leaves from there abruptly, and Raavi becomes disheartened because at this point in the show, she actually really likes Shiva and respects his opinions.
Shiva goes to his normal thinking spot to reflect on his marriage. Up until this point, Raavi's feelings for Dev have been brushed aside with occasional reminders every now and then (also in the Telugu show, Raavi and Dev had an actual confrontation on the night of their respective weddings where Raavi lashed Dev out for being a two-timing cheater that didn't deserve her), but this was when they truly "buried" Raavi's past and Shiva's insecurities because he realizes that he doesn't care for who Raavi loved/what Raavi did in the past. Because the Raavi he loves and cherishes is the woman he married, and as such, he will always hold her close and dear to his heart.
That tattoo scene was the final nail and coffin in their relationship as after this, their love story truly began. Up until then, they were skirting around each other with their feelings, but after this scene, they became more confident in their approach to each other. It was a beautiful arc, and I thought the writers did absolute justice in pushing forward the story while letting the audience know that the past shouldn't matter if the person truly changed.
When rejecting Dev in Pandya Store, Raavi actually said something along the lines of "The second I found out about the other girl, I knew I wasn't going to get married to Dev!" It's clear Raavi wants to marry a man who loves her and only her, which Shiva can provide her with as he loved/was infatuated with no one else in his life. But, I wish she also reflects on the past and thinks about how it may affect/not affect her relationship with Shiva moving forward. Unlike Shiva, she spent almost an entire childhood dreaming of becoming Dev Pandya's wife. And Shiva knows all of this (we even see him getting impacted by all of this when he looks at her gifts). I hope they actually address this instead of just pushing all of this under the bus. Just as Raavi deserves the best, even Shiva deserves the best.
The benefit of watching a regional show that is miles ahead is that I was able to get a glimpse into the "future." I think this is a deviation from the original, but Shiva, in the Telugu version, eventually confesses that he had feelings for Raavi during her childhood (they actually showed the child actors for 2-3 episodes in this version). It wasn't full blown love, but it was a crush that he couldn't ignore. That crush caused him to displace all his anger for Maami onto her as he just wanted to see her become "evil" so he could brush aside his feelings. But she never was evil or vile. She was nice, and those feelings never disappeared. The only reason he didn't dare think of pursuing his feelings is because he knew just how infatuated she was with "smart, charming, handsome Dev" and he didn't think he was any of that. Plus, he was quite sure she would've rejected him, so he just tried to ignore those feelings as best he could.
Out of everything, ShiVi's childhood is a point of fascination for me. I want them to reflect on all the little things they've done in their childhood and see how it impacts their relationship. Easy love, love at first sight... they all bore me. I love stories where two characters have a tough time at relationships. Where there is a lot of complexity/layers they need to address before falling in love. Marriage by no means should be the precedent for their love story. Instead, they should've used the ShiVi marriage as a way to force them to communicate as they are forced to be in the same confines of the room. Their nightly scenes should transition from nok-jhoks to them discussing what happened during the day.
I would've loved to see Raavi lost in her thoughts about how terrifying Dhara is, and Shiva noticing the change in her expressions. Or, I would've loved to see/hear Raavi mindlessly pull Shiva to the bed and say, "Look Shiva, I know we hate each other, and I know you have a lot of choice words, so put that mouth of yours to good use and insult the person I am just about to gossip about."
I'll stop this long post here, but I totally agree... so much potential which is quickly fading away...
oh wow.....thanks for bringing up so many valid points. Loved that Telugu version of Raavi.
Here the Raavi that drank ashes of Dev's picture after maami burnt it. Has so easily accepted that dev was not meant for her........ seems to be too good to be true. that too just in a span of 6 days!!!!
When Raavi goes to the highway to commit suicide, she says "mar gayi to dev ke pyar ke liye, bach gayi to bhagwaan ka ishara"....something like that.
So wo bach gayi....hope in future they show a scene of her reflecting on this.
its just because of the stretched episodes we feel its been many days, but in the show its NOT !!
I agree the magnetic field of Shivi (that has pulled many new viewers) is loosing its power soon. Hope the makers do some damage control before they loose the new audience.
Anupamaa
