Blast from the Past Thread #25 ** Abducted Dreams ** p 129, ep 257 - Page 32

"Agar aap humare bare mein itni ghatiya soch rakh sakte hai toh humein nai lagta aap humari safai ke layak hai".. No cut, no break, we start off exactly where we had left off. The creators decide to spiral us headlong right into the blazing confrontation of the two lovers.

He flinches. She rages on, "If you want to live under this delusion that Shyamji and I have an illicit affair then you are welcome to the thought. But from my side all you will get is silence". He moves forward, lips part to say something. She hisses.. "ye safai aapne humse pehle kyu nai maangi?" .. But hasn't she also hidden the truth from him? Indi di in her analysis of the night that Arnav drove in his SUV plagued by the sight he had witnessed on the terrace spoke about Geeta. I find myself recollecting it here. Both have made mistakes. Both have to reap what their actions have sown. Neither is without blame.

For now she is still wild. And he is getting angrier, "How dare you?" ... But she insists she should have perhaps dared to question him that night, "Shouted, yelled and let you know the truth". But it wouldn't have had to reach such a dark place if the Gupta family had told Arnav the truth in the first place. Yes, he is far away from the truth, but only because they never led him towards it. Deliberately shielded the truth from him. If you are an accomplice to a crime you are equally guilty. And to this axiom I humbly add a corollary. You are still guilty however pure your intentions were.

Barun's face held immobile. A lover waits for words from his beloved's mouth. Dreading and anticipating at the same instant what is going to be said."If you would have asked me once I would have told you how Shyamji tricked not only me but my whole family into believing he is not a married man." But he shouldn't have had to ask you really, you should have gone to him with the truth yourself! A split second of astonishment apparent on the man's face.. She recounts the pay guest. Her father falling sick. And that is the time she conceded into an almost forced engagement. His eyes are held wide open.. Aghast.. "Nafrat hai humein us aadmi se.. Ghinn aati hai sochke unhone di ke sath kya kiya." Each second a new emotion flits across Arnav's face. This time it is intent, listening, processing..

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. She hates Shyam.. Would rather die than be bound to him.. Convincing edge of contempt laced with anger in her voice. A calming down in both is visible.. Immacuately controlled low voice as he questions her, "Had I asked you that night would you have told me?", "Why wouldn't I?", she counters. "Definitely I would have but you were in such a hurry to get married..", came her prompt confident reply. Her words lay lingering out in the open as he deliberately advances towards her. I always wondered why he didn't believe her and now am about to get my answer. He stands on the entrance to the terrace, ready to continue the baat jo karni thi.. And he hears. "Chor dijiye Anjali ji ko.. ". In front of him stands the girl he has started to love and dreamed of a future with perhaps. But she is entangled in an embrace of another. The man married to his elder sister. Once bitten twice shy.. Not bitten but gnawed till only blood and bones had remained and the hopeful young lover had taken his final breath.

Now ASR is a smart man. He had heard about the mysterious fiance who lived as a paying guest. Doesn't he remember Khushi breaking down, in a singularly tender scene, when fresh from the knowledge of the creep she had almost gotten tied to for life, her feet had wandered to the one place she felt safe. She had bumped into him near their poolside and had clutched onto his shoulder for support. He had been mad with worry and ready to kill the man who was responsible for Khushi in such a state. Surely he hasn't forgotten all that.So why doesn't he believe her? Weak storytelling .. Compulsion to prolong the drama.. am thinking.. But then I remember the fights I have had with the one I love.. If each time I sensibly listened to who was right and reasoned out who was wrong wouldn't I be in the pages of a cliche romance novel? But am out in the real world.. Breathing.. Loving.. Living..

And so it feels real this next moment.. When his nostrils flare in gussa. Holds that aggressive stance. He still calls her Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada. Still his name attached to her. He can never really be apart from her again. But he will not believe her. More than her he trusts himself. We say such things in blind rage. Don't really mean it. Not possible really if you do love someone not to trust them whole heartedly. But equally impossible to be reasonable, impassioned and understanding all the time around the person you love..

"Jo dekha , jo suna uspe vishwas karta hun".. Aah lovely play with words we get here.. The exact antonym he delivered on stage before an audience.. Will recollect while walking in a busy noisy airport.. But here alone with that girl whom he loves and just cannot live without he has to say this. And convince himself that this is his truth.. Sach.. "You both in each others arms." Fantastic acting as he looks away saying this. Completely disoriented. No he can't face her when he thinks of this profanity really. Can you be sensible , logical at this minute? I don't think you possibly can. And I would expect no less from a person actually in love. For me the true betrayal never really was what he saw but the fact that she didn't immediately feel the need to tell him the truth when she came to know of Shyam. If he is an essential part of you, and you have faith in his strength, of what he can bear, you just can't hide something like this from him.

Comic break so that you can catch a breath -

Ooh no!! Aman calling Aakash sir? Twice.. What the! Why not calling ASR ?

1. He misses his actual boss and wanted to make do with another raizada brother .. Mann behelane ke liye..
2. He has given up hope that ASR will ever return to office in those three piece suits of his and since someone has to actually get work done in AR designs .. You get the gist ..
3. ASR lost his bluetooth and is unreachable!!

Maybe once she told the truth she thought everything would fall into place in their world. Not yet. Now it's his turn to question. "Why didn't you tell me?".. She has no answer to that.. Eyes remained lowered.. Dismay written on her face.. "You always talk so much and have all the answers then why are you silent today?" .. With full haq he holds her stunning face in his hands. Is this the grasp of a person who hates? Every single movement speaks only of love to me.. One long everlasting look as both endure the purgatory they have chosen. Kushi did it for her love for Arnavji. And his love for di. And di's love for that vile man. And he did what he did for his love for di. And her love for that jeejaji whom he had trusted. And now as Arnav forces himself to disbelieve every word Khushi says it is for the love he has for her. Quite a viscous circle of love really except that only one of the people involved was truly viscous.

"Chapp gaya hai dimag mein wo pal.." Permanent.. Irony is she doesn't even know which moment is it .. He saw what he saw and concluded what he wanted to. He has had enough. Voice risen. Ruthless again. Some more hurtful remarks on her gold digging ways. Rabba ve has had enough.. It is time to mourn.. Shed a few tears.. Get crushed in this inexplicable thing called love..

World seems back to normal. Mamiji and her taunts on the Gupta parivar. Smiling di. A little leg pulling by nani. And two people who after mouthwatering golgappas, nights full of love, a daylight ghunghat uthana ceremony complete with flowers are now back to their tragic reality of misunderstandings. Creepy snakewa is back and declaring he missed Khushiji much to her extreme discomfort. Steely eyed saale saab murders him with a lethal look. Ruthless slight pout (if there can be such a thing) , suave walk, pause, turn, intense boring deadly look.. And eyeballs slightly upturned.. Threatening.. Perhaps someone here know a word to describe it... ASR hello hi.. sweet homely babua bye bye..

Khushi's voice quite thick with emotion. Quivering and subdued. As she talks to Payal. Nice understated acting by Sanaya. Broken hearted the woman can't live this way. She needs him to believe her.. "Hum aise jee nai sakte". Her Arnavji. How can she bare it? But this is Khushi. She won't sit and cry helplessly and wait for a knight to come rescue her. Improvising to get a solution. Amma, bauji, jiji ... Should she get him to talk to them? But Arnavji is angry right now and she can't risk the exposure of his secret.

He accused her of cheating with Shayam. And so apparently Shyam it is she decided to go to for help. Do you see how contradictory this argument sounds? Not someone genuinely nice, kind hearted like Aakash or NK but a man who repeatedly proves he does not have a conscience. And so comes what I think is really extremely weak writing for Khushi's character. Why make her gullible enough to trust Shyam? Had he shown any signs of redemption? Has he even apologized? In fact last few times they interacted, as far as I remember, had resulted in me wanting to throw up. Remember his oggling when she was applying oil on Anjali's hair? Remember the leering when he came into her room with the excuse of juice to get the locker key? So she is desperate to clear the misunderstanding and they want me to believe that she could not ask her family but chose to ask Shayam for help? And she is confessing in front of him, negotiating with him and assuming that he will help her. Confess his crimes for her sake? Does she not know how depraved he really is? And can't she read? And how can she bare to have him as an accomplice whatever be the reason? The Khushi I know and Arnav loves is neither this stupid nor this weak. Enough...