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Today, the CVs brought Raja Thakur and Kakisa, the two arch-villains of Rangrasiya, under the same spotlight.
It was always going to be risky business. But then dealing with the devil was never going to be easy! Kakisa had to have known the risks involved when she set out to meet the devil himself before even the sherbet glasses had been cleared away. She'd known that Raja Thakur was crazy, living in a time warp, and definitely dubious. But all that had paled under the lure of blowing that Smoke Maiden out of the house, and along with her that Snakelet too. So Kakisa had hot-footed it to Birpur along with Sumer, under the cover of a visit to the doctor, and knocked on Raja Thakur's door.
To Raja Thakur, still reeling from the shock of hearing that his darling Thakurain's son was none other than his sworn enemy, Rudra Pratap Ranawat, the news that somebody was seeking an audience with him this late in the night could not have been more unwelcome. His dismissal was perfunctory.
But Kakisa had not come this far to be swatted like a fly. It didn't take much to step into his parlour. Only a drumroll, before she faced the man himself. She sized him up as he measured her worth. It was a meeting of equals. She just had to make him realise it.
She'd come to him, so she talked about his gain. There was disdain in every line of his body lounging in the chair. "...Make sure it's something big, or I'll have you thrown out!" She shuttered her eyes on the outrage of being spoken to like a woman of no consequence. And held out the photograph. He sat up. She waited for his move before she edged forward another lure. "The girl is in my house." But he wasn't quick to bite. "Why should I believe you?" So she dangled Parvati's name. He had more questions. "What is she doing at your house?"
"She must be sleeping." Not even for this devil would she curb her tongue. "But in three days time she's getting married to my nephew. Not that she's keen to get married...trembles at Rudra's name." He had an ear for detail, she thought, so she repeated Rudra's full name. "Works for the BSD?" The devil seemed to know the boy. Good. It just made her job easier. She thought the marriage was a farce. Didn't know why he was pushing the girl into it. That earned her a smile, as charming as it was chilling.
But she didn't have the time to dwell on the nuances. It was enough that he was pleased. She set out the terms: "I'll make your life pleasant if you make my life pleasant. You want the girl, I'll give her to you."
Now he was dancing to her tune: "What do you want in return?" "My nephew...dead!" She made no bones about the fact. He had a few more questions. Her answers convinced him. And that suddenly they were close to shaking on it. When would he get the girl, he wanted to know. Not until he got rid of Rudra, she told him without sugar-coating the demand.
"Do you know whom you're speaking to?" It was only at his question that she realised that she'd over-reached herself. There was no question of backing down. "Yes, to him who needs my help." The devil's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Don't be under any misapprehension. I don't need your help to find Paro baisa." Kakisa wasn't afraid of scuppering the deal, he had too much to lose. So she didn't mince her words. Of course he needed her help. He'd been hunting for that girl for ages, unsuccessfully. Because of Rudra. He had to put paid to Rudra before he could get Parvati. And he had two days to do it in before the marriage. Because after that, getting the girl away from Rudra would not just be difficult, it would be impossible.
And Kakisa left, satisfied with a good night's work. Everything was going according to plan. The devil had fallen in line. Soon the Smoke Maiden would vanish in a puff of smoke, taking the Snakelet with her. And she had a plan to take care of Dilsher too. She allowed herself a smile.
Had Kakisa known what was going on in the devil's mind, she would not have been so sanguine. The devil wasn't called Machiavelli for no reason. And Kakisa, bent on pushing her deal through, had no idea that by going in blindfolded to his motivation for finding Paro she'd given him the upper hand. She had no clue what Rudra Pratap Ranawat meant to him, how much he had lost because of Rudra, and for how much Rudra had to answer to him. No, Kakisa was blinkered to all but her own profit, and the fact that she'd given the Thakur a reason to profit too. That way, she thought, she'd mitigated any risk in the deal. But she hadn't taken the time to find out about the other party. If she had, she'd have known that she'd done just the reverse.
Today's episode, devoid of PaRud's presence, forced us to pay attention to the deal of the day. And it was a big deal. It was the Thakur's night all the way. Twice in one night he would hear Rudra's name - first from the Thakurain and then from her sister. Then PaRud's whereabouts dropped into his lap, complete with a timeline, opportunity and the promise of unbroken love, no matter what his crime. A gilt-edged invitation that could not be declined.
And Kakisa, on a high from her easy successes, had no idea that she was dancing so close to disaster. That the Thakur held some of the cards. That the haveli for which she would stoop to murder, was already being dealt away by her son who had just two days in which to find money. That she had calculated without Rudra. And that, above all, the weather answers not to mere mortals, however delusional of their own reach, but to a higher power.
Compelling acting by Tarun and Ananya. Tarun particularly cues sinister and Machiavelli with ease. Some good lines, aptly delivered. And a story that is gathering steam.
Waiting for tomorrow and PaRud's return.
