Originally posted by: sashashyam
Folks,
It is proof positive of the fatal attraction that PR, and commenting on it, has on me (it is really like the Siren Songs in the Odyssey, except that I do not seem to have the good sense that Ulysses had, in having himself tied firmly to the mast!) that I am taking advantage of my charges having discovering the hitherto unknown joys of carrom (there being no video games here, much to their initial disgust) to reconnect, at least briefly, with all of you. Having managed, by dint of a ruthless exercise of authority, to grab the TV for the half hour of PR, I am at least clued in on all the excitement dished out over these last few days.
I could see all the ebb and flow of high emotion in the forum, from hope to despair, and from fairly widespread (if knee-jerk) anger at Arjun-Purvi's apparent lack of concern for Manav (despite the attempts in their defence by the APP, with valuable back up from Janhvi, looking out for her ladli and her future damaad) to even stronger anger directed now at Ovi, plus rejoicing over the latest Arjun-Purvi oh so chweet love scene. I thus decided that you needed to be rescued from this emotional overload by a healthy dose of my standard issue cynicism, and so here I am.
The kidnap fiasco: This was very clumsily handled by any standards, and I mean by the CVs.
Manav: He is brave, very responsible, and generous to a fault, but I am 100% with (our) Varsha in feeling that Manav was extremely stupid in going to meet a clutch of hardened criminals without any (secret) backup at all. If I had been Vishnu, I would have grabbed the cash, then kidnapped Manav in turn, probably releasing Purvi so that she could carry the message to the folks at home, and held out for another Rs.3 crores. Manav had proved to be so facile a bakra that the temptation to show off to Balan would have been irresistible. DK's black briefcase would have come in handy then, as Archana would have wept another bucket of tears, and DK could not have failed to come to the rescue of his sambandhis to be.
Arjun was equally goofy. No, not in tailing Manav, for that showed good sense, though I doubt if he acted from anything but the gut instinct to be there for Purvi when the actual dealing came. Nor in trying to get her out of the car (after having wasted precious seconds in kissing her hands and telling her not to cry). Arjun does that only when Vishnu, having heard the other (police) car approach, and naturally assuming that they had come at Manav's behest, snarls that that the deal is off and commands his acolyte 'Ladki ko laao', indicating a very likely intention to shoot Purvi in front of Manav to show him where he got off. Where Arjun came a cropper was when, instead of trying to hide behind the gang's van with Purvi, he started running with her across the open field, with no cover at all. It is clear that no commando outfit would recruit our boy, he seems to have zero crisis thinking ability! In fact, as soon as he is well enough again, the APP is getting out a collect to send him to a motivating course to teach him Crisis (and Time) Management.
He recovers some lost ground later, when he does that suitably bloodstained crawling act and rescues Purvi, in coordination with Manav. This time he has no choice but to get shot again, since Manav's boodhi haddiyan are not up to fending off Vishnu's resurgent attack, and he fails to retain his hold on the gun. Well, at least Arjun got to be dubbed a hero for taking the two bullets, so it was not a bad deal for him, all in all.
The police: One cannot really blame Sr. Inspector Sameer Rane (the mere Inspector salutes him, and he looks too young to be a Dy. SP) for anything much. At least he does not arrive siren blaring, as they are often shown doing. Neither he nor his men cave in and drop their guns at the first threat from Vishnu, as they are so often made to do, even in the Bruce Willis film The Jackal, not to speak of desi phillums. He and his cohorts inch in relentlessly, and they nab all the gang except for Krishna. And I have no objection at all to his not looking like an Adonis. He looks what he is supposed to be, and that is enough for me. Teju should suit him just fine; she has the same spirit and the same lack of looks; and we really need to look for a chap for her if PR is ever to end. As for Ovi, I would not wish her on Sameer Rane!
The Hospital: Since our boy is a lead (we of the APP do not quibble about whether he is the first, second, third or whatever), he was obviously not about to kick the bucket (which, incidentally, would have triggered off a bucket shortage, what with Archana, Ovi, Purvi, Sulochana and probably even Savita and the stoic Teju getting into the act all at once). So I was not at all worried, and I got set for the Grand Hospital Scene, with the whole gang of the Ds and the Ks and the K (DK) clogging the corridor in true TV soap fashion.
In the event, what stirred me up was not Ovi telling Purvi off, or trying to block her from getting into Arjun's room (that was par for the course for her), nor the touching scene of DK talking to his unconscious son and to Aashana, nor even the very neatly done little interlude between Arjun and Purvi. Very nice, that last, especially as it was extremely emotional while being determinedly low key (How could I think of myself when you were in danger? And then he closes his eyes for even better impact), and both the actors played off each other superbly.
It was rather, firstly, something that I expected as a dead cert, and which was inexplicably missing: The Great Blood Donation Scene. If Manmohan Desai could have three full grown men donating blood for what looked like a minor injury to their mother in Amar Akbar Anthony, Arjun, with all the bleeding that 2 bullet wounds would have entailed, could have used the whole crown outside his room. Alternatively, his blood group could have been a VERY rare one, AB+ve Rh-ve, and lo and behold, Purvi would have the same group! So she could have been stretched out on a bed next to his, gazing soulfully at her (still) unconscious beloved. Neat, no? I cannot for the life of me understand why this golden opportunity for high melodrama was passed up by the CVs. Now, even if they happen to read this on the forum and wake up, it would be too late, because of the second startling happening.
This was the Instant Discharge. Here we have a young man who has been shot twice, lost a lot of blood, and has been operated upon. How is it that he is to be discharged after just one night in the hospital? It is unheard of, and what was worse, it deprived us, at one fell swoop, of the openings for very many charming Arjun-Purvi scenes in the hospital room.
All this because the CVs wanted Arjun to say that he would not go home yet as he still had to fufil the shart, so that Archana could say on Monday that he has more than fulfilled it, and now had nothing more to do to prove himself. They are going to tone down the Arjun-Purvi track now and move to the tensions and the confrontations between Manav, Archana, Varsha, Vishnu/Soham and Balan. Over the next few weeks, I suspect that we will see much more of these people, with only bits and pieces of Arjun-Purvi cooing at each other.
Vishnu: I am beginning to take to Vishnu in a big way. No, Janhvi, I am not going to compete with you in developing a soft corner for him. I like him more and more because he is so true to type that he could give Robert de Niro in Cape Fear a run for his money.
They have chosen Ankit well. I liked the brash arrogance with which he circles Manav in that van, just to rile him. I liked the way he snarls at him - Nazarein neechey! Hamko aankhon mein itna gussa dekhne ki aadat nahin hai!! (Lower your eyes! I am not used to seeing so much anger in (a victim's) eyes!). I liked the volatile temper, which switches in an instant from joking to menace, and hints at a lurking instability that is more frightening than overt harshness. It is vintage Bad Guy, and is in sync with his shooting at the fleeing pair, not just once but again, and the second time when he has no way to escape. I do not see why anyone should be surprised at the way he is. One cannot have a very dangerous dhanda like kidnapping and avoid having to kill someone every now and then. It is not a vegetarian career, you know!
Pranati, we were slightly mistaken, you and I: you in identifying the roots of what Vishnu is, and I in endorsing it. It is not Savita aaji ' who has, moreover, since done a 180 degrees about turn from the earlier stereotype of her. It is his mayee Varsha. After all, she is his maasi by blood, and her favourite pastime was also kidnapping, if of a different kind (my tongue is almost in my cheek now!). She has further reinforced the inheritance from her with the upbringing she gets him under Balan's aegis, thus taking care of both the nature and nurture aspects at one go.
I suppose they will do a Valmiki on Vishnu one of these days, but for now, I am quite content to have such a splendid Bad Guy. Having been caught red-handed on a kidnapping charge, there should normally be no chance of bail for him. So I suspect he will escape, probably with Balan's connivance, when they are transporting him from the police lock up to a regular jail. Such transits are meant for one of two express purposes: 1) for a staged hold up, followed by an escape, as in the afore-mentioned AAA and so many other films or 2) for staging a major accident to the van, in which the accused escapes, as in Harrison Ford's The Fugitive or, even better, is (supposedly) killed, as, most recently, in Ekta's BALH. Let us see if either of these happens. Phir to Manav ki khair nahin! (Manav should then look out!).
Now, if I don't look sharp and push off to rustle up lunch, meri khair nahin! Bye, folks, and have a nice weekend, to which I hope (for at least some of you) to have contributed in some small measure.
Shyamala B.Cowsik
PS: When Archana and Purvi were borrowing the Second Sari from the temple priest's wife, I felt anew the ridiculousness of making Archana play Purvi's mother, for she looked then more like her elder sister. Yesterday, in the closing shot of her at the hospital, I felt it was even more ridiculous, for Archana, with her hair loose and framing a piquant face, could almost have been taken for Purvi's younger sister. She should look sharp, and move from PR to a serial in which she can play her age and not have to tone down her looks.
Pati Patni Aur Panga
Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile
Tum Se Tum Tak
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Vasudha
