Friends, yesterday's episode laid all the final foundations for the big Thursday climax of the Eid jashn and nikaah. On the one side we saw Jodha relatively calm and steely after a lot of quiet crying and despondency. She seemed reconciled to her fate to leave for Amer as soon as the nikaah was over, while Jalal continued to act as if he was being rude to Jodha even to the very end of her stay in Agra. He said to her hearing, when she went to take her leave of Hamida, that because she was the one that hated Atifa the most and he was anyway going to give her a talaaq, she alone was not invited to attend the nikaah and could sit in her own room. Jalal made it a point to tell Atga and Todarmal that everyone else had no excuses, they had to attend the wedding in force, but Jodha alone need not come.
Friends, since we all know what is to come at the nikaah - the wedding beheading and the gherao of the Mughal royals by the enemy soldiers - I suspect Jalal was trying in his own devious way to make sure Jodha was nowhere near the wedding venue within sight of danger. He was protecting her from being in the way when the ghastly turn of events he was anticipating would take place. But of course, he was doing this teda plan without the knowledge of anyone else it seemed - and so he had to keep up the pretence of harshness with Jodha and tell her openly that since she was a thorn in his flesh she needn't attend his latest wedding.
In the episode yesterday there were two other separate points that also hit me forcefully. One was the discussion that Ruq had with Jodha. It was uncharacteristic of Ruq but also in a way so typically Ruq that I found myself conflicted trying to decipher her character at this moment. She was crying bitterly as she admitted all her emotions up until this point. She said to Jodha "See how he has thrown you over for a new toy in his life. I have seen him do this countless times. He no longer finds you beautiful as he once did for he is now besotted with another. In exactly the same way he threw me over when you arrived. And I must confess to you that I was terribly jealous and hated you. You too will understand what jealousy is now that he's moved away from you. I hated it that you were carrying the waarises and that you would become MUZ ..."
Having said this much so far, Ruq then came to the real point of her dialogue and look at the twist her reasoning took at this point. She said "If he marries Atifa now, he will lose the throne and I will lose my status as the BEK. On the other hand, if he still has some love left for you, Jodha Begum, we all wives will be saved from this Atifa, for otherwise he seems hell-bent on throwing up his own status as King that will reduce all of us wives to nothing! I know that is exactly what will happen. See even when he declared he would give you the talaaq it was because he found you defending me!"
In other words, Ruq now sees that her fate and status is now linked with Jodha continuing to be Jalal's favoured wife, and the talaaq of Jodha will affect Ruq directly. The thought of talaaq, according to Ruq, is even entering Jalal's head only when Jodha is standing up for the rights of his other wives. That shows Ruq that if Jodha is "talaaqed" Ruq herself is as good as "talaaqed" too! So unless there is still some small hope left that Jalal is still in in love with Jodha, Ruq's days as BEK or even recognition as an ordinary wife, are numbered!
Well, well, well ... if ever there is a back-handed compliment this must be one! What devious thinking Ruq must have to be ready for Jalal to show love for Jodha as the only way to save her own audha!
As soon as she said all this Ruq began crying bitterly and Jodha already in her own pool of sorrow had to place a consoling hand on Ruq to stop her bitter crying. Maybe on the surface of it this conversation looked like two cast-off wives bonding with each other, while the King found himself a new wife. But to me the conversation was not straightforward, nor was Ruq on Jodha's side. Ruq was on the side of her slipping audha, and was now looking for Jodha to try and entice Jalal back as a lover in order to save Ruq her audha! Oh my God, what a woman!
Accha, one other point in the episode hit me quite hard. This was when Jalal suddenly came upon Atifa talking to her mates - the other Kabul refugees whom she had travelled to Agra with. It appears Jalal has not only housed Atifa and her husband at the Palace but also all the other refugees as well. When Jalal came upon them talking in low tones, he demanded to know what they were talking about. Atifa then quickly said "They are here to give me Eid greetings. Also they are all very happy for me since they know Amanullah Khan treated me very shabbily, and they are happy I am starting a new life with you. Since I have no other family or witnesses from my side for the marriage, can I please invite these people who are my well-wishers to the nikaah ceremony?" Jalal looked like he knew this request would be coming - and he readily agreed. But it's my hunch that Jalal knows these are all Atifa's soldiers in disguise as Kabul refugees and she was trying to station them inside the nikaah hall at strategic places!
One more point that I want to make about this impending nikaah and Jalal's teda plan. I have been trying hard to see who could be Jalal's accomplices who are in on the plan with him. But even up until yesterday's episode it was hard to guess.
He was in conversation with Atga and Todarmal and they looked like they did not know anything. And Mansingh when he came dolefully to Jodha's room also seemed like he knew nothing of Jalal's plan. In fact Jodha had to make him promise to stay on with Jalal even if the other Rajvanshis at the court were deserting Jalal at the critical moment.
Jodha herself still looked as if she didn't know of Jalal's plans, and especially the way Jalal said "It's all going out of hand with Jodha!" suggests to me that maybe he has not told Jodha anything (even if we all suspected yesterday that Jodha may be in the plan herself).
There are two other sentences ringing in my head that perhaps Jalal was really playing his cards close to his chest and not telling anyone anything yet. In the previous episode, he told Atga (in the guise of keeping the protesting praja away from the Palace) to surround the whole Palace with cannons. Did that mean Jalal was stationing his military assets all around, awaiting the assault at the Palace during the nikaah, but doing so without Atga knowing what he's up to? Then again yesterday, after Jodha said she was in Hamida's room to take leave of Hamida, Jalal said "Tell my mother I want to talk to her after you talk to her." Did that mean that he was planning to take Hamida into confidence some time just before the nikaah?
What all this secrecy by Jalal tells me is that he is anticipating a very huge saazish to blow up now and he doesn't think it okay to let anyone in on the plan from his side lest they betray to Atifa that Jalal knows what she is up to. He is probably taking no chances at all!
Remember folks, that Jalal knows the Maham room surang well since he has himself used it in the Ruq miscarriage track when spying on Maham's humshakal. So it does not require Mansingh to unearth the jail surang to lead Jalal to find the Maham room surang. He already knows there is a surang there!
It is my personal feeling that Jalal would not have confidently fixed the nikaah date on Eid, if he did not have all the subooth he needed to hand in ready-to-use condition against Atifa and Mahamanga. So my feeling is that by now Chand Begum must already be in Jalal's possession, ready to spill out all the dirtiness of Maham at the culminating moment of denouement! How Chand Begum got to Jalal is the only question left in me ... did she seek out Jalal or did Jalal find her? I have no doubt, however, that she is with Jalal already! What does everyone think?
What all happened in the episode yesterday:
The episode begins with Jodha saying she will go back to Amer after the Jalal-Atifa nikaah and Jalal saying to her that he will give her a talaaq after the nikaah. Hamida comes there and hears this - and scolds Jalal. Jodha sadly has nothing more to say and decides to go back to her room, and Hamida says she will accompany her to her room. But Jodha says "No, Ammijaan, I have to get used to being alone".
In her room Jodha thinks of how and why her love and marriage with Jalal is in such a shambles. Ruq suudenly then comes to her and says "He no longer sees you as beautiful after Atifa came inot the scene ... he did the same with me as he sidelined me also after you came in his life. Now you too will know what jealousy is. I must confess that I hated you, I also couldn't stand you becoming MUZ and bearing the waarises. I then saw even you being ignored. So I thought he would soon also tire similarly of Atifa ... but instead he is really changed now".
Ruq continues "Now i won't even retain my audha as the Begum-e-Khas if he gives up his throne.. You are saying you are going away to Amer. But don't you realise that only if he still has some love for you we all other wives will be saved from this Atifa?. See how he thought of talaaq when you supported me" Ruq cries bitterly as Jodha tries to console her.
That night the moon is sighted and the next day is to be Eid. All the praja hug each other and say "Eid Mubarak". But the praja also say the king's behaviour during the holy month of Ramzan doing such open zinakari is disgusting. Maulvis in groups greet each other for Eid and say this may be Jalal's last Eid as king.
Meanwhile Jalal sees Atifa talking to the other Kabul refugees she came with. She says they came to give Eid greetings and are happy she has left the cruel Amanullah and is ready for a new life with Jalal. She asks Jalal permission for them to attend wedding as she has no other relatives. Jalal agrees.
Hamida and other ladies distribute clothes for poor but think sadly of Jodha and Ruq's pain that prevents them from participating.
Jodha in her room is calm. She tells Moti that she will leave for Amer after giving good wishes to Jalal after his nikaah. She agrees it will not be good for the Amer family prestige if she returns home, but at least the babies will grow up safe and well. Moti says she should try to talk to Jalal once more, but Jodha says it's of no use now.
Mansingh just then comes to see Jodha. He looks very gloomy and downbeat. Mansingh says other Rajvanshis at Agra are planning to leave Jalal and now he too is very disgusted to continue. But Jodha makes him promise to be always with Jalal. "He is brahmit now but when he comes to his senses he will have lots of enemies and will need you" she says.
Meanwhile Maham is alarmed to find Chand Begum totally gaayab in the surang. She shouts in alarm at Adham to search for Chand. Adham says "Calm down, she is mad and won't tell anyone anything." But Maham is afraid she may go to Jalal - or worse, maybe Nigar has found her.
Jodha meanwhile is waiting in Hamida's room to say her goodbyes to Hamida, when she hears Jalal talking in next room. Jalal tells Atga and Todarmal that everyone has to come to the nikaah without fail. Then he adds "Because Jodha Begum hates Atifa the most, she can sit in her own room and not attend the nikaah." As he says this he notices Jodha in the adjoining room. He goes up to her and says "Anyway I am giving you a talaaq, so you needn't come for the nikaah." Jodha replies says "I am here to tell Hamida of my Amer return plan". Jalal says "Tell my mother I will talk to her after you talk."
Hamida enters the room after Jalal goes, and Jodha and Hamida hug and cry. Hamida says "Please stay back in Agra,if not as his wife, at least as my daughter" ... but Jodha says "Every day in Agra without Jalal's love will be like torture."
Then is then a small useless scene of Adham telling Javeeda to be ready for takht after Jalal is dethroned. While Javeeda is crying for Jodha's sad fate and wants to know if Adham will also throw her over if he finds a new wife, Adham tries to entice Javeeda to stop crying by reminding her that she could well become the Begum-e-Khas!
The last scene is a beautiful one. Jodha is sadly standing at her window. Jalal sees her there and he too looks very sad that he is forced to treat her so badly. He shakes his head and says "This has all now gone too far! It is getting out if hand!"
In the precap we see the nikaah promo scene. At the nikaah, Atifa cuts the throat of the groom with a knife. He is dressed like Jalal and keels over and dies. Jodha comes running thinking it is Jalal - but enemy soldiers surround her with swords. There appears to be total mayhem at the nikaah venue.
Okay folks, so now that we are on the brink of Terrible Thursday, what are all your predictions on exactly what will happen? Please air all your theories for the big bhandaphod day, and let's see whose theory comes to fruition. We already know that teda Jalal is at work, so there's no tension. But we may as well have some fun with a "prediction contest".
One additional thought I want to leave you with? Do you all suppose this Saturday we may still have a mega episode? In that case will the nikaah bhandaphod happen on Thursday and the Chand Begum revelation and Maham unmasking be extended out till Saturday?
Incidentally I think there are going to be a lot of flashback scenes to go through once the nikaah hungama is over and Jalal declares all that the culprits did. A few days ago I had heard that some actors has tweeted that they had just finished some more shooting at the shikar venue in the jungle (no doubt to be used as flashbacks) ... and also we saw some offscreen spoiler pictures of the "khwaja sera supplier" who possibly may be figuring in some of the flashback scenes with respect to Anmanullah Khan being dressed as the khwaja sera?
I hope there are a lot of flashbacks dating from as far back as two months, because, folks, there is a lot of explanation Jalal needs to do. He started his strange behaviour from as far back as nearly two months ago if I am not mistaken?
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