Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki: Episode Discussion Thread - 35
CHACHI vs CUTEY 11.12
CONFUSED SOULS 12.12
🏏South Africa tour of India 2025: India vs SA - 2nd T20I🏏
Is Yrkkh in trouble?
Hrithik ‘praises’ Dhurandhar but he also disagrees with its politics
Happy Birthday champion: Gaurav Khanna
Film Critics Guild issues statement
Akshaye Khanna is the highest grossing actor of 2025!!!
Critic Roshan is back with another review of Dharundhar!!
Saahil & Pooja Set To Return!!
Dhurandhar emerges a BLOCKBUSTER
Industry support for Dhurandhar (a compilation)
Paresh Rawal deletes his distasteful tweet on Anupama Chopra
How convenient
Next season’s contestants - speculations
Awesome update TK.. I really loved it.. and I guess its time Madhu lets go of her fears and insecurities and give him another chance. I know many people still think RK has wronged her and that he doesnt deserve her love.. I believe what made us love Madhu more than RK is the good writing .. while in reality even Madhu is at fault.. marriage is not a joke to break it like that.. and I am not saying its her responsibility to save the relationship but is that fair on her part to make up a theory in her mind and decide for both of them? in fact three of them? was she right in hiding her self from RK for a month? he was her husband and the father of her child didnt he deserve a one on one meeting before they decide their future? We say RK is selfish and always taking in the relationship but is that really true about him? did their love story ever go as per RK's planning? did he ever follow his preferences? NO
He wasnt sure of having a physical relation but he gave in when she asked.. he was afraid of commitments but he was the one who proposed to her and he wasnt going to get married that early but her parents sudden demise changed that decision too, and now he is all happy to have a new member in their life when he preferred to plan a baby after many years? and still he is selfish and insensitive? I believe that he stood by Madhu when she needed him the most. So now madhu cant turn her back on him.
Originally posted by: noiseygirl
wait kar kar ke thal gayi..plzdo update
Chapter 40
Madhu's breathe shortened and panic set in. Her unspoken fears rose through her throat and manifested themselves into a frightened, incoherent ramble.
"I...I...can't...I can't Rishabh, I can't"
Rishabh looked at Madhu's face and saw how afraid, how torn she looked. For once, he understood exactly what Madhu was feeling and the strife inside her. Before he walked in today, he had expected to come face to face with Madhu's internal war. In fact, he had decided he would force Madhu that internal strife beneath which Madhu hid her true feelings if she didn't say them herself, but in the events of the night and especially with Madhu's condition, he had mentally postponed the confrontation for just a few hours. Yet, now, looking at Madhu and the horror in her eyes, RK knew they would never have a chance of being together until they pushed through this and created a fresh, honest, open foundation for their life together.
"I am sorry...Rishabh...I can't...I can't do this..." Madhu continued to ramble hysterically.
Rishabh held her hands and calmly asked, looking her straight in her eyes "What can't you do, honey?"
"I...I..."
"Yes honey. Tell me. Tell me what are you so afraid of? Tell me what is scaring you?" RK asked, continuing to keep his voice as calm as possible, teasing the words out of Madhu.
"I...Rishabh...I know I should have told you about our baby...I am sorry...it wasn't fair...and you should be with your baby...but I can't be with you...I...I...can't go back to that life again...I..."
"You want to run, Madhu?" RK asked. Madhu stared at RK's face. He looked calm and composed, yet his eyes betrayed the effort he was putting to stay calm. Madhu saw that, and yet strangely, RK's calm had a calming effect on her. Her breathe started to normalize somewhat. She nodded in response to RK's question.
"Okay. What do you want to run from? And where do you want to go? Madhu, listen, you are not a quitter. Do you really want to quit on everything in your life just because you are afraid?" RK held Madhu's mangalsutra that she was wearing in her neck. "Do you really want to quit on us, quit on your love, your identity, your home, your marriage? Because I don't, and I am not going to let you quit so easily."
Madhu stared at RK speechless. RK continued "Madhu, I know you are scared. But I don't want you to lose to your fears. I want to fight them with you, so you're not alone any more. I know I broke your faith, but look at me right now, and decide if you can trust me just a little bit. Maybe not the same way, maybe not as your husband, but can you trust me a little bit for some time, as a friend? We were always friends first, can you forget everything and close your eyes and decide if there's something in you that will allow you to trust me just for a little while? If not for the sake of our marriage, if not for the sake of our love, if not for the sake of our friendship, then maybe for the sake of our child, will you take a moment and think whether it is possible for you to trust the honesty of the present moment for long enough to say your fears out loud. Not to go back to the past, but to move forward?"
RK stood up and turned to leave the room. Madhu, who had been stunned into a speechless thought by RK, suddenly panicked "Where are you going?"
"My baby is hungry. And my baby's mother needs her medicines to get stronger. So why don't you take a moment for yourself while I fix some food?" RK said and walked out of the room. He walked straight to the kitchen and let the water run out loud as his tears threatened to flood him. All the emotions he had kept in check inside the room were now erupting, but he still knew he had done the right thing. He didn't know what Madhu was thinking right now, what her response would be and even if she agreed, whether he would be strong and capable enough to defeat Madhu's fears. He had promised her he wouldn't let her fail and had asked her to trust him, but what if he wasn't good enough for Madhu? RK washed his face and put a couple of packets of noodles to boil. He might well fall short, but worrying about that was pointless, he decided. This was a do or die battle, and he'd simply have to give his best or die trying. His love was giving him courage though, and RK forced a smile as he walked back to the bedroom knowing that courage was what they both needed to triumph over fears and have a shot at tomorrow.
********************************************
RK's words had left Madhu's beliefs in turmoil. His questions were valid - what was Madhu running from and when would it end? Was there a place she could run to where she would be able to stop? By turning her back to her past, was she really free of it? Could she ever be really free of it? Because the fear that was driving her was nothing but a product of her past. All she wanted, she sighed to herself, was to be at peace. Was that too much to ask, Madhu questioned her destiny.
Madhu touched her mangalsutra, the symbol of her marriage that she still wore even though she had told herself that the marriage was over when she had sent those divorce papers. Was it really that simple? Did she really stop believing in her marriage? In trying to run away from things that she did not want to confront, had she not betrayed her own wedding vows? She believed in marriage and the commitment of the promise. And yes, even if she had never put it in those words, she had felt cheated of that promise the day she had found her husband in someone else's arms. But had she kept her end of the promise? Had she fought to protect her marriage like she was supposed to? She had simply given up. True, the reason for giving up was Rishabh's happiness. That argument might win in the courts of love, but in the arena of marriage, Madhu had fallen short of being true to her rights and duties as a wife. And she was about to do the same as a mother by unilaterally deciding to deprive her child the love of his father.
Did that mean she should forget everything and go back to her life? Did that mean she should trust Rishabh the same way again? No. She couldn't do that. She would be lying to herself if she forced herself to believe that everything could go back to the way it was just like that. But still, she could still trust Rishabh a little bit, like he asked. Her heart still did, Madhu admitted to herself. Whatever he had said today, it was the truth, at least for now, Madhu knew without a doubt. The question was whether it mattered, and it probably did not matter enough for everything else to be deemed irrelevant, but, it did matter enough for Madhu to give Rishabh what he was asking for.
Madhu looked up at the picture of Rishabh hanging on the wall opposite her. She had put it there so she - and her child - could still wake up to Rishabh's face every day. Somehow, she needed that. Now, she asked herself why that was the case? Why was it that despite everything she had done, she hadn't been able to obliterate the love for Rishabh in her heart? Rishabh...what did Rishabh mean to her? Even if she forgot for a while that he was the father of her child and her husband, Madhu realized that to her, Rishabh was, still, everything. He was her love and her life. He had given her a lot of pain, but he had also given her a lot of happiness that she otherwise might have never got. He had been her support when she had truly given up on life. When her parents had passed away, she really had nobody. Rishabh did not abandon her then even though she had tried to push him away. He had stood by her, married her and brought her back to life from the depths of guilt and pain. He had given her a home and a mother. For the first few months, he had single-handedly shouldered the entire weight of their marriage. He had saved her. He had loved her. He had made her want to live again. And what had she given in return? She says now that RK broke her trust, but had she really given him unconditional trust in their marriage? She had definitely wanted to and meant to and tried to, but if she was really honest with herself, had she given him everything she had got? Maybe at the beginning on their relationship she had given him that trust, but in their marriage, had she not been the one who had held back? Because if that wasn't true, then why had she not shared all her thoughts and fears with her husband? She hadn't lied, but she couldn't deny her own half-truths. Why had she not felt confident enough to tell Rishabh that she felt uneasy about him asking Maya for advice or meeting her without telling her? She was sure it was nothing, yet she didn't bring it up. Or any of those little moments when she let her fears drown her voice. Was it because she thought she would lose Rishabh? Hadn't she lost Rishabh anyway? Was it because she thought Rishabh wouldn't listen or understand? Or was it her own insecurity that was scaring her? Why didn't she think Rishabh would understand? Ever since they got back together again after the breakup, hadn't Rishabh listened and understood every word she had said. Hadn't he genuinely tried to make her happy? Hadn't he tried to give her everything she wanted - her family, his love, a home of her own? And wasn't she happy? She was!
At that moment, Rishabh entered the room with two bowls of noodles in his hand. He had a faint smile on his face - it wasn't real, but he was trying - and for a second Madhu thought she was back at her home again, back in time, and her loving husband was pampering her with her favorite noodles in bed on a lazy weekend evening when they had decided to stay in. Madhu continued to wrestle with her thoughts over the next few minutes as they both ate in silence. She wasn't sure any more what to think. She had told herself one story when she had come to New York and made a lot of decisions in the past month based on that, but now that narrative was beginning to look weak. She looked up at RK who was picking on the noodles in his bowl, not facing Madhu and was grateful that he was allowing her the space and time to pace this conversation.
"I don't know what to believe any more." Madhu spoke after several minutes of silence. RK looked up, but did not respond immediately. All Madhu found in his eyes was a kind of confidence and intent that said he really meant it when he said that he wasn't leaving and she wasn't alone any more in her fight.
"I am scared Rishu." Madhu said and closed her eyes, missing the sparkle of hope that came in RK's eyes on hearing Madhu call him Rishu almost the same way she used to.
"I am scared too, biwi. But only when I am alone. When I am with you, I am not scared. Our love has weakened you and let fears seep in, but our love is also our strength. Give it one chance, please."
"How?" Madhu groaned, opening her eyes.
"By taking it one step at a time. By not giving up"
Madhu's heart was heavy with the weight of all that was unsaid and un-understood, but Rishabh's words brought a sudden lightness to it. She knew now the baggage had to be sorted - there was no real escape - but right now she didn't know how or even where to begin. "Live in the moment?" she asked, using the same phrase that she had used once before, but now it had an entirely different meaning to her. She looked at the man sitting next to her. She loved him. She didn't know if she trusted him but she knew that there was no one else she would rely on to save her life than this man. She cared for him and felt his pain inside her. She could read his eyes and knew that he was giving everything he had right now in the hope of giving her what she needed, even if it wasn't she wanted. She knew that he had done as much harm to their marriage intentionally or unintentionally as she had by not strengthening the foundation enough in the first place. Maybe, she could suspend the past. Maybe, she could give life a shot.
"Live in the moment, honey. Live in the moment." RK said and handed madhu her pills. She took her dosage and Rk gave her a gentle peck on her forehead.
"I need time" she said and tried to lie down again as she felt the exhaustion creep up.
"I have an entire lifetime, biwi." RK said and gently covered her with a comforter. "Sleep. You need rest."
As RK switched off the light and stood up, Madhu murmured, "You can sleep in the living room."
Destiny smiled in response. The first step is always the hardest.