I am considerably puzzled by the repeated references in this forum to Arjun having given Purvi a deadline of one day to make up her mind. There have been various inferences drawn from this assumption, linking it to Ovi's anticipated descent on Mumbai, with or without her Savita aaji. However, an examination of what was actually said by Arjun in last night's prequel does not seem to bear out this one day deadline thesis.
I have a HDD DVD recorder, and I always record the episodes, and edit the ads out before I watch them. So I have been able to check out the prequel very carefully, and what Arjun says is the following:
"Tumhara ek faisla, Purvi, jis se ya hamara ek naya rishta jud sakta hai, ya phir hamare beech ka wo rishta, jiska koyi wajood nahin tha, uska ant ho sakta hai. Aur shayad tum aaj mujhe aakhri baar dekh rahi ho. Faisla kar lo."
There is no indication here of a 1 day deadline. In fact, Arjun seems to be demanding an immediate decision from Purvi. Her face is ashen with apprehension, and when he says "Aur shayad tum aaj mujhe aakhri baar dekh rahi ho", which is obviously linked to the second option, of ending their old relationship, she swallows in nervous anxiety.
If this analysis is correct, and Arjun's exact words would seem to bear this out, there is no question of any link, in terms of timing, to Ovi's possible arrival in Mumbai.
If I was the writer, I would tie this up neatly on the spot, by having Purvi ask Arjun " Aap kehte hain na, ki main aapki zindagi hoon?" and when Arjun says 'Yes", she only has to add "To, Sir, main aapki zindagi aapse kaise cheen sakti hoon?", and, as the poet puts it "All at once is said." Of course this is too good and too uncomplicated to be true!
This apart, the ArVi sections of last night's episode were exceptionally good. Arjun is a very successful businessman, and as such, he has to be a very competent negotiator. I too have had a lot of professional experience of negotiations in my diplomatic career, and while all that he says is unquestionably straight from the heart and extremely emotional, the graph of the conversation displays his excellent negotiating skills.
He begins by pitching his expectations at the top level, asking her "Tum bhi mujhse pyar karti ho na?", as if it is a given. This is the best way to begin. When she denies it with her usual shrill vehemence (I wonder how, for what she presumably intends to be a confidential exchange, she is not afraid of raising the mohalla with such a decibel level !), he tries to insist that what she is saying is not true. When this does not work, he backs off a little, and says that even if she has no feelings for him, he has deep feelings for her. This, and the reiteration of the strength of his feelings begin to put Purvi on the defensive. When he says that the kiss was only an expression of his love for her, her face shows anguished empathy – the eyes are strained and her tilted face has an almost pleading expression. In this whole passage, as her rebuttals grew weaker and weaker, she reminded me of someone clinging to a rope to avoid being swept away by a current.
He firmly counters her (goofy) statements about middle class girls having no right to fall in love, and goes on to assert the power of love to change people fundamentally. He clinches this peroration by reminding her that earlier his life consisted only of his work and his business, but now – and here he pulls her a little closer - "Tum mere zindagi ho, Purvi!". That one sentence is a clincher, and one can be sure she would have heard it over and over again in her head during the rest of the night.
He pushes her further on the defensive by insisting that she loves him, but is only afraid to acknowledge it, even to herself. She attempts a half-hearted rebuttal, asking "What relationship?", and complaining about his having come with a mindset completely different from what she had expected. This too is summarily disposed of by Arjun, and by the end, Purvi is left speechless, with nothing to say. She might not say, even to herself, that what Arjun says of her feelings for him is true, but in the dark hours of the night, she must have come a long way towards accepting it.
It is significant that when she sees Arjun emerge from the car in the early morning, looking tired and dishevelled, her reaction, apart from one anxious look all around, is not to run away. Instead she goes out into the street, nightdress and all, to talk to him. We do not know what all he said to her, but as she listens to his last words, her face speaks volumes.
Arjun's insistence on her making up her mind once and for all and without delay is also a sound tactic. If given much time, someone like Purvi will only dither, think up all possible excuses for not entering into unknown territory, immerse herself in household duties, and in the end, get nowhere that he wants her to go. Putting her at the foot of the wall, so to speak, and making it clear to her that it is now or never, and that he is NOT going to hang around like a poodle, calling her and texting her every few minutes so that she can have the pleasure of cutting him off, should have had a salutary effect on Purvi. If anything can get her to move in the matter, this should be it. It is another version of the old adage, "Strike while the iron is hot".
Of course she might move either way, but then Arjun is prepared for that. "Main chahta hoon ki tumhe tumhari khushiyan mile, chahe wo mere saath ho ya phir mere bagair". Could anything be more generous than this?
Arjun is as usual wonderful both in his intensity and in his untiring, persuasive eloquence, and this from someone who, in his own estimate, is very inhibited. However, one has by now come to expect this from him. What struck me was Purvi's acting, or rather Asha's as Purvi. It is vastly superior to anything we have seen of her so far. She managed to convey both her helpless confusion and her growing realization of her emotional dependence on Arjun. This promises well for the future.
Shyamala B.Cowsik
Health and Fitness
Naagin 7
