Originally posted by: sashashyam
PR today was a curious mix of disparate elements that somehow made turned out quite well. If we had been talking scents, I would have chosen pot pourri. There were, ad seriatim, the much anticipated DK-Purvi meeting, Arjun chasing the mystery man across train tracks, the usual inane bickering between Savita and Archana, an Archana-Arjun scene, the gentle conversation between Sulochana and Purvi that was featured in yesterday's precap, and finally the precap, with Ovi preparing to make a barefoot pilgrimage to the Siddhivinayak temple on the maha sankarshti day, to gain her heart's desire ( no prizes for guessing what that would be). Whew!
DK-Purvi: This encounter was as charming as one would have wanted it to be, but alas, all too brief. DK comes from Arjun's place straight to the Karanjkars', enquires after Sulochana, thanks Purvi for helping Arjun, and departs. It was vintage DK, and his indulgent smile - when Purvi says 'Arjun' by mistake, bites her tongue, corrects it to 'Arjun Sir', and blushes vividly when DK nods his assent - is mirrored in Sulochana's. The two of them be smile at each other in perfect understanding as DK places his hand on Purvi's head and blesses her in true paternal style. Sulochana would obviously be delighted to see his tacit acceptance of Purvi as his bahu-to-be; one road block the less, she must be thinking.
Arjun and the mystery man: For once, a previous thread is rather neatly linked up here. A flashback shows how Arjun chances upon this mysterious stranger ' all muffled in a long black raincoat with a hat pulled down low over his face, like the villain in a 1960s thriller ' stranded with his stalled car in the rain, quite near Arjun's garage. He has a strong Bihari accent, plus a dark brown mark, like a scar or a birthmark, on the left rear side of his neck. When Arjun first offers to repair the car, and then sees that it has to be taken to the garage, the chap gives Arjun the keys, and says he has to go on an urgent errand and will return for the car. Now, apart from his generally shady air, he does not ask for the name and address of the garage, which should have been enough to warn Arjun that something was fishy. The chap was obviously trying to abandon the car, with the kidnappee in the boot, and make his getaway, but our boy is too nave and does not smell a rat.
The day after this incident, Arjun spots the same man in railway ticket counter queue, where he is buying a ticket to Patna and talking loudly on his mobile to one Yadav. He recognises him, especially by the mark on his neck, and vice versa. The mystery man bolts and Arjun chases him, in true filmy style, down railway platforms and up & down flyovers, in and out of local trains, and even across the tracks as a train thundered between the two and I held my breath. Arjun is fast becoming street savvy, and far tougher than before; one cannot imagine Arjun Kirloskar giving such vigorous and at times dangerous chase to a crook.
Arjun then goes to the police station and gives all the information he has about this guy to an appreciative inspector, who arranges a dragnet operation at various railway stations. I doubt whether this would have worked even with a sketch of the suspect, which is not available, but Arjun's recognizing this chap without the shadow of a doubt is valuable to the police, as it shows that the kidnappers are still in Mumbai and have links with Bihar.
Equally important, to my mind, was the fact that the kidnapper too recognized Arjun, and he knows that he works in a nearby garage. He would feel that as the sole eye witness who could identify him, Arjun would be a danger to him. This is definitely a matter of concern for the future.
I have little patience with and even less interest in the kind of inane bickerings that Savita specializes in, and so I am leaving that out. Let us move on to the Archana-Arjun face off.
Archana-Arjun: Arjun comes to enquire after Sulochana's health, and both she and Purvi beam happily at their favourite young man. He says all the correct things about Bappa looking after his bhakts (ie Sulochana) and so on, which are bound to endear him even further to his already besotted grand-MIL-to-be. Turning down an invitation to sit down as he is due at the garage, he turns to go.
And bingo! Standing right inside the door, arms crossed, and looking like the 'before' picture in an ad for antiacids, is Archana. The poor boy blenches, and one cannot but sympathise with his plight, stuck between his nemesis (or so she must seem to him by now) and the door. He is probably looking out for the painted fingernail to be pointed at him once again, and bracing himself for the tirade to come.
In the event, the decibel level is almost normal for a change. Archana, after having expressed her gratitude for all that Arjun had done to save her mother's life, then launches into her real message for him. She does not, she asserts at least three times, want to leave the ehsaan (literally 'gratitude', but here used for 'obligation') he had done her unrequited, and she wants to pay her debt to him by reimbursing him the expenses he had incurred at the hospital.
Arjun's always mobile and sensitive face registers dismay and a sharp twinge of hurt, as he sees the sentiments being so demeaned and his good deed reduced to a cash transaction. Sulochana's face shows open disapproval, but she says nothing, while Purvi's eyes brim over in sudden grief.
Arjun tries to refuse, saying that he had only done his duty, but he is relentlessly overborne by Archana, who refers to the money he spent as being his mehnat ki kamaayee (the fruits of his labour.As I had noted yesterday, Archana and the CVs seem to be of one mind as to what qualifies as mehnat ki kamaayee).
At this point, curiously enough, the unconcealed disapproval on Sulochana's face changes into a half smile. Arjun finally mentions the incredibly low amount of Rs.430/-, and while I was expecting him to correct himself and add a zero, Archana has handed over the notes and he is gone.
Sulochana upbraids Archana for hurting Arjun's feelings in this manner, an accusation that she refutes. But it is what she says then that is really significant, since it reveals her current mindset. "Kaun apne aur kaun paraye, logon ko yeh batana zaroori ho jata hai" (It becomes necessary to show 'people' who are ours and who are outsiders). Then comes the coup de grace that crushes poor Purvi . There is, Archana pronounces in a voice of doom, a major faraq (difference or gap) between " his family and ours", and she wants this faraq to be maintained. The oracle, having spoken, departs.
Sulochana-Purvi: Purvi turns to her SOP and plonks herself down on her bed in tears. It is now that the reason for Sulochana's sudden access of cheerfulness is revealed. Because of Archana's referring to the money Arjun had spent in the hospital as his mehnat ki kamayee, and insisting on reimbursing it, she reasons, Archana is actually helping Arjun by restoring his savings to their original level, and thus making it that much easier for him to meet her challenge. (The lines here are the same as in the precap yesterday).
This much is a matter of fact. But her extrapolation from this, and her asserting that whatever Archana might say to the contrary, subconsciously she wants Arjun to win, is quite dubious, and looks like nothing so much as wishful thinking on Sulochana's part. Wishful thinking seems to be a family trait, for Purvi perks up immediately, undoubtedly seeing a shaadi ka mandap (wedding pavilion) on the horizon already. She proceeds to hug her aaji, exulting over how well her aaji understands her aai, while I was lamenting this sudden fit of self-delusion.
This, and the rush of relief at being forgiven by Archana that was reflected in her face as she hugged her aai yesterday, show that with Purvi, the umbilical cord (figurative of course, as she is an adopted child) that ties her to her aai is still very firmly in place, and I suspect that there is nothing Purvi, or Arjun, can do to sever it. She can no more exist without basking in her mother's approval than a sunflower can do without sunlight. It is going to be a long haul ahead for our boy.
My take: Whatever Sulochana might fondly imagine and whatever she might tell Purvi, to my mind, the fact remains, as of now, that Archana does NOT want Arjun and Purvi to get married. Regardless of what she might present, to herself and to the others, as her reason for this determined nyet (No!) - that Arjun is undependable and thus not 'fit' for Purvi (an assertion that is being eroded, even in her own eyes, day by day) - the real reason, which Archana might not be acknowledging even to herself, is Ovi.
Precap: And that reason, it was made clear in today's precap, is not going anywhere any time soon. Ovi, having been thoughtlessly assured by Savita that a barefoot pilgrimage to the Siddhivinayak temple on the occasion of the mahasankarshti (which was falling that very day) would fulfil all that her heart desired, announces that she is going to make this pilgrimage. A dumbfounded Savita, alarmed by the results of her faux pas, and Teju regard Ovi with unconcealed dismay. As for us, we can sit up straight in anticipation tomorrow, for high drama lies ahead.
Shyamala B.Cowsik
PS: I note that some of us admire Arjun with stubble on his face, but I am not one of them. Today, he looked very nice and fresh-faced with a clean shave, for all the world like a well fed pussycat. That is the way I prefer him, and not looking like a mawaali!
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