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Over the past week or so, I have found myself surprised at myself, that while I understand Jodha's hurt and pain, I cannot relate to her or defend what she is doing as strongly as I would before- for example, I do not think Jodha is at fault for the Dhakka.
And as I was trying to figure out why that was the case in this track, it is because what Jodha did and said has gone against the very Jodha that I have grown to love through the show. This is not about who is wrong more or who should apologize. I am hurt at how CVs have hurt her character!
This the Jodha I love
- I loved for her courage to stand up for what she believed in: I can never forget this scene- she was pinned by a stronger man, who was angry at her and she did not lose her calm ... She stood her ground on why she did not follow his instructions of coming to sing in the hall ... She spoke for her respect in a dignified way and demanded respect in the same way. This is the Jodha Begum I stood up and clapped for!
- I loved it when she sweetly and with tact convinced Jalal to first help in her sister Shivani's wedding and then in the case of Tasneem ... She looked into his eyes, with warmth and tears and melted his hard exterior ...
- I loved the empathy that she showed when Jalal had punished Bakshi Bano ... She felt his pain, more than her own pain, and placed her hand on his shoulder to support him
- I loved her for her passion to fight for what is right whether it was her dear friend Moti or an unknown girl Tasneem
- I loved the way she barged in when Jalal wanted to be in privacy during the Ruqs divorce debacle ... She insisted she wanted a word, dismissed the guards, and walked in to help him
- I loved her for her persistence in the Ben track ... She would not take no for an answer and waited the whole night to tell Jalal the truth about Ben
- I loved her for the charming and loving way she was the Kajri village belle ... Taking care of her husband's wants and wishes and shyly running away from her husband as the talks were getting a little too romantic
The Jodha of today
Knowing this Jodha, I am unable to understand, let alone defend what Jodha. The CVs have created a Jodha contradicts herself and is confused. These were the questions I am left with. If you can help me understand this Jodha please do ... as I want my Jodha back!
(1) Given trust is so important to Jodha, why did she not trust Jalal with her meetings about Sujamal?
And no, it was not just the vachan.
- For someone who vouches for the importance of trust, she chose to not trust her husband BEFORE her vachan.
- She hid the first accidental meeting in the mandir with Sujamal from Jalal; her first instinct told her telling him the right answer but Moti stopped her; Why did she listen to Moti?
- She hid the second invitation from Sujamal from Jalal when he literally had it in his hands
She made a choice before the vachan to hide the truth and not trust Jalal. She could have tried telling him about the meeting ... Without revealing Sujamal's hide-out, she could have admitted she met him and he had not done any backstabbing; Even if Jalal, did not believe her all that would have been lost is she could not have gone to meet him again for fear of being followed.
But, no she chose it to be important to hear what Sujamal had to say ... Why was she not shown to trust Jalal?
And for these two meetings, she did not know meeting Sujamal had anything to do with saving Jalal's life. She wanted to have the satisfaction that Sujamal was not bad intentioned as the Mughal empire thought and her brother was the good soul she hoped he was.
Has Jalal done nothing to win her trust? He has saved her life, honored his promise to not touch her, was willing to give up his throne to make sure she did not change her religion.
In the Ben track, he did not distrust Jodha ... He questioned and tested Ben in front of the entire court and even had Ben's room checked separately.
He continued to trust her in the Shivani fiasco, murthi khaand, and in her abilities as a harem warden.
Why does she not have the trust in Jalal that she expects from Jalal?
(2) Why did Jodha not say anything to clear the MU during Jalal's outburst on last Friday?
- She claims he misread her silence; but she was not only silent - she also said she was vivash and answered yes to all his questions
- Why could she not say anything in her defense - Something like: " I was well intentioned, he came to save your life, it is due to a promise ... " She could have said close to every word in her letter without breaking her promise.
- Was she numb with shock on the accusations? When she she was silent and she said she was vivash, he had not made on accusation yet; he said: why did you not trust me, how could a man stay in my harem, and for God sakes tell the truth
- So, then I thought- perhaps, she was caught off-guard by his questions and anger: No, she knew he was going to come. He had come to her room angrily to catch Sujamal the first time and had said he would be back to talk to her. She knew he was angry ... She knew he was going to come back to ask questions. What did she do while she was waiting?
-Or, perhaps she was shock for the whole situation because he had made no infidelity allegations till then: But, when she was talking to Sujamal she seemed fully aware of what was happening and advising him to run/leave and was in the composure to give him another promise.
- Was it because he was angry and she was scared? Then that is totally not the Jodha I know - who stood up to his anger in the tent when he had her pinned down, the one who still protested as Jalal shoved her drunk the first night in Agra, the Jalal who angrily accused her of infidelity during the fake pregnancy track ... Since when has his anger been a reason for her to be quiet?
- Why did she say "yes" to the mohabhat question when in the letter she states that she did not have "prem" for anyone else when they got married. Obviously, that was the mohabhat/prem that Jalal was referring to as well. Why did she not say "no" then?
IF Jodha had said something like "trust me, I am bound by a promise but it was only to save your life" and then Jalal had continued to say what he did ... Then By God, I would have been the first to pounce on Jalal. But, nothing like that happened ... The CVs didn't give that opportunity for me to defend Jodha.
But regardless, even Jodha said in her voiceover that I am silent because of the vachan ... But the CVs did not let Jodha be consistent even in that which brings me to my next question ...
(3) Is Jodha willing to break her vachan or not?
During Jalal's outburst, Jodha refuses to break her vachan ... And says she is vivash and is willing to see her husband completely breakdown and her relationship completely collapse.
And a few minutes later, to save Sujamal's life, she is willing to break her vachan and tell him the truth?
So, what is Jodha's viewpoint on vachans?
(3) When she expects Jalal to read her eyes and silence, why has she never been able to read his eyes?
- She criticizes Jalal's inability to read her eyes ... But how many times has she been able to read the love and hurt in his eyes?
- For the last two weeks, he has been roaming around with hurt and pain and even went as far as saying that "aap khekar to dekhti" ... Why didn't she read what he was trying to say?
And, this is exactly why I wanted Jalal to ask her directly as well- nobody can understand silence!
So, how can Jodha expect him to understand her silence, when she has done the exact same thing?
And this was her silence ... Before his accusations.
(4) Why did she leave Agra?
Given in the past she has stayed her ground and faced challenges and fought for herself ... She has shown in the past that she can retain her self-respect while defending herself and staying in Agra. So, now why did she leave?
Because she was hurt and suffered the biggest accusation of them all- infidelity.
I would have cheered if Jodha had said in the letter- I am leaving because there is no trust, I am hurt, and you have made the most horrible accusation at me. But no, she had to say, I was doing it to obey your orders.
If I have self-respect, then I would leave for that ... Not to listen to the person who I feel has disrespected me.
In conclusion
Hence, I am unable to relate to this Jodha, not one bit. The CVs have failed to make her stand for what she is. I am not hurt because Jalal is guilty / blamed, I am hurt because the CVs have decimated the Jodha I had grown to love. I want that Jodha back!
Till the Jodha I love comes back, I will be giving a break to my Take 5 posts. I did the Take 5 posts because I loved both Jodha and Jalal ... Without being able to relate to Jodha, I can't truly celebrate the show anymore without being critical of Jodha, which defeats the purpose.
However, would love your thoughts on this post! If you can help me understand the current Jodha, then I would greatly appreciate it.
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