indi's index, from the blast from the past pages - Page 12

from crooner 1.7... when khushi leaves home and he wants her to claim her "haq"...


crooner updated already. 

lovely. back soon.

first update.

haan mein kalakar hun, haan mein kalakar hun, 

kya karoge meri kahani sunkar.

rajesh khanna left behind a recorded message for his funeral. (how anand would have loved that.) rajesh k spoke of how he got into films. while taking part in the united producers filmfare talent contest, he had to deliver a dialogue before a panel consisting of several major directors and producers. he was nervous, and instead of doing what he was supposed to, ended up asking them about the specs of the character saying those words. realising the young man had theatre experience, "chopra saab," i presume yash chopra, asked him to "sunao" a dialogue of his choice. words up there, that's what rajesh khanna chose. got him a break wiith g p sippy 40 years ago.

just read this on ndtv, don't know if you guys have seen it already.

the kalakar and his kahani. isn't his kala his real kahani? i mean however much we may go on about mango in his real life, would it all have mattered if he had never said: arnav singh raizada ka nishana kabhi chookta nahin,

yesterday anjali's and shweta's nishana was perfect. 

they helped us understand this art, this kala of our favourite artists, be they mango, jhalli, hello hi bye bye or agonising anjali, or the creatives a bit more. incisively as well as beautifully.

thank you, girls. congratulations.

👏

second update

he shuts the world out with his anger, his shell against pain. 

she hides behind peels of laughter and sparkling comedy when the pain gets too much to bear.

true to her character, khushi's home leaving is beautifully hidden behind a nice light episode. when i saw it first, i was of course in love with the "haq" giving husband, but a little surprised by the very happy for no reason feel of the whole thing. a few more viewings, that monologue before dm, that remembering him as she sits on her bed, the look at him as he says, "take care" and leaves; this episode had to be happy because khushi is so so sad. 

when i think of this small town, middle class, twenty something year old girl with no real experience of men and what she has gone through in these past few months, i feel her tremulous shaken insides, her confusion, her overwhelming sadness, yes her pain. so much complexity, such a plethora of events. 

such awful accusations. 

plus the burden and "ghin" of unwanted attention from a disgusting married man on the one hand. and on the other, the completely confounding and consuming hate-love then love-love of a man himself in extreme pain, a man she has grown to care for deeply, and will fall to any "had" for. 

her discovery of love, her first love, her forever love.

yet all she has with him is a contract marriage, forced on her then, invoked if she should dare to not accept his apology and stay on now. what does a contract marriage mean anyway? what is its validity in a relationship of love.

at "kisi had tak," denying herself her "haq," we find a gorgeous khushi in pink today. i love that quote from little prince, priya. oh, the haughty beautiful rose there. but look at ours, she doesn't want a host of things to protect her loveliness from the drafts of life.

she wants to protect her prince from everything. 

she will bring him back from death, she will hold his hand while he suffers, she will even leave him and go away if that will save him from unhappiness. she of course, still has no idea how her prince "has traversed the path from di being his entire world to khushi - without whom he can't exist in this world," as priya wrote in crooner 1.6. he is trying in absolute earnest to bring home this truth to her, but her learning has only just begun. it will take time. i do hope her prince knows that, for his rose is already blighted by life, only he can bring back the velvet to her petals, keep her safe forever, make her happy.

she has worked it all out in her innocent, i see the world as i see it way. she has sensed di's discomfort, which her honest upright loving husband completely missed. he actually believed after that conversation with di all would be well again slowly but surely. but she has done her fascinating math equation in her head. no jalebi twirl and turn in it's straight line: i can't see di unhappy and di can't be happy if i am around => if di's not happy, how can arnavji be happy => and if he's not happy, how can i... a timely interruption by the other great comedy actor we get to enjoy, buaji.

based on this reasoning, without adding a single twist of her trustee jalebi, she has left home. if only she'd jiggled those words she might have come upon, if i am not around, arnavji can't be happy, di or no di, and that's what ails di (my take, the last bit, may be wrong). tell you, when the suv returns some will know asr is back 100 percent. when the jalebi makes a come back, i'll know khushi is here at last.

delightful leaps into phonecalls and golgappas at any sign of impending danger of discovery. even in the midst of that, khushi knows jiji can be fooled but arnavji will know her voice. 

sanaya irani's comic timing and her sense of the funnies is perhaps even a this much better than barun sobti's. can't help but laugh at her jhalli antics. yet one forlorn look and you just want to run and give her a hug (note, no hugs the boy today).

if the creatives worked out a beautiful monday with arnav and his revelation of saansey ruk jaygi love; last night, they played fair with khushi and her love that will go beyond all limits for his good.

couple of thoughts.

buaji went about through the episode sensing strange things vis a vis sanka devi, just like us and anjali the other day.😆

annapoorna reference made me dash and do a quick check. 23rd march episode when shuklaji called her that, she wore the same dress at start of show. she referred to herself as businessman ki patni and later when businessman asked her what cards she was talking about, she replied: shaadi ke cards. teehee, are these hints of remarriage or mere coincidences, or my mind gone loopy?

so there's money problem at gh and arnav s knows that the kiraya of rs 24,000 is due. might use it to bring her back you think? hope not. or why not. fir se shuru.

no rabba ve today.😕 maybe those shatir creatives want to de-addict us then throw us straight into the deep end of rabbaveism again. 

and what's with this new lingo of "ne" meine tumne, what happened to my asr's "ko" "he," naniko, mujhe. love does this to you too?

the sea and akash. again a funny kind of tension between him and payal, and he leaves town. what's brewing? and what happened to that man payal encountered in the restaurant the day akash forgot their date? this couple and their writer conphusia me all the time.

isstationery barrning

look out for men who say to you:

apni cheezein yahan wahan chhodne ki aadat hai tumhari... 

jaise apni payal mere pool mein chhodi thi. 

tumhari payal mere paas thi iss baat ka koi galat matlab mat nikal lena. 

yeh mat soch lena ki ek amir aadmi tumhari payal ko seene se lagakar baitha hai... 

mujhe iss sab se koi faraq nahi padta, 

doesn't mean a thing... 

... mere liye iss baat ki... yah tumhari... 

koi ahmiyat nahin hai!"

for soon enough, standing at the exact same place, coming up dangerously close to you, they will say:

it's okay! biwi ho tum meri (pause, little smile enjoying your discomfort) 

haq hai tumhara... 

mujh..pe. 

did you notice that merest inj of a winj of a teeny tiny bit of a lift of one eyebrow? may i die now?

it is an episode on khushi's sadness, it had to make us happy.

(my take, could be wayyy of the mark, but it felt real to me.)

resEdited by indi52 - 9 years ago

from crooner 90. i am. i think. i will... the clifftop episode.



this has never happened to me before. i sat there transfixed, through the quickly ticking minutes, almost not daring to breathe. as the ride ended on the silhouette stilled against the setting sun, i was about to let go and say wow, when the precap (what happened to good old trailer) came on.

he was talking urgently to the unconscious khushi, "khushi, talk to me dammit... this is not FUNNY!" as his voice wobbled dangerously as though he were on a precipice about to plunge, i felt something give way inside me. i put my head in my hands and felt a sob rising within. i had to actually sit still for a few minutes to recover.

i felt something had reached deep within me, a place we keep carefully hidden from the world, and touched raw emotion. can't tell you what that did to me. most of all it told me, i am still alive. zinda hoon mein.


will try to put my thoughts as clearly as possible, hope i make some sense.


three episodes and the three crooners that delved deep into them flowed perfectly towards the ocean and came together somewhere for me. anjali, you were in perfect sync with the universe (ok sounds ott, but you guys all know what i mean), when you picked on the word "junoon," from sree. it was indeed all about passion last night.

and it stirred deep.

love and lust showed us their extreme opposite faces. shyam raved and ranted at his so called betrayal. khushi flung at him her despise and told him how far she was ready to fall for the man she loved. the devil smiled. so there isn't that much of a difference between us? zameen aasman ka farq! roared back the patni, the lover. lekin yeh aap nahin samajh sakte! has an aap ever sounded more insulting, more demeaning? just what the hideous lust of his deserves.

he bursts out of the godown, mid fight. he hears her voice. he turns as though physically pulled, all actions pause. khushi! the most poignant rabba ve fades up saluting and celebrating what shyam will never understand nor feel in his entire life (and that is perhaps his biggest punishment). love.

the chase was breath taking. this was serious, ipk was struck by junoon, that passion you point us toward today, anjali. it would change the dimensions of its medium. in script, screenplay, dialogue, music, editing, direction, and of course, acting.
there were bloopers, shoes changed mid run, (even in the episode before "what if i lost you" the shoes had done a flip from fake hermes to trainers), goon count was a bit haywire (kitne aadmi the? hume to laga 5 phir 7 phir 6 phir 4,  perhaps there are clues hidden in the numbers hehe), sudden speeding up of shyam's car and leaving the rest far far behind. yeah, little gadbads here and there.

but in the larger scheme of things, they were really nothing. i have to give major respect to the makers of my daily soap. again i remember: but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for.
the makers here are going for heaven amid all the earthly struggles of their creative product. they are also hijacking my breath along the way. but please please throw my breath in that black jeep next to that man with the stylishly flying hair and the fabulously determined/worried killer expression.

hold your thoughts. she is lying there right across the path, hands and feet bound, gagged. just look at those eyes speaking, no screaming! it was her silent scream that made him swerve i'm certain. sanaya irani takes her performance yet another rung higher. how much talent is there in that slight girl with flowing limbs!!

if we sat down to count the number of expressions on barun's face from the time he burst out of his prison to the end of the episode, i fear we'd be here a little longer than forever. during his noreen khan interview he's praised tom hanks with doing stuff that seems undoable, maybe that's his benchmark, don't know. but whoa! never seen anything like this before. the day the boy stepped out of that helicopter, jaw clenched, steel in eyes, you could sense this was going to be a different flight. how different, i am now only beginning to gauge.

fluid, dance like battle with jagged breaks into nasty, street fight. masterfully directed. he must save her, no matter what. can you imagine the same guy let her go so casually from his office to the lower floor that day somewhere last august i think? zoha points this out in a beautiful post in the forum. today finally i forgave arnav singh raizada that extreme callousness of his. a loop closed by shatir creatives?

echoing the moves, a haunting medley of music: love and death combine in the rabba ve based background score, he is back sings the sure segue to asr's signature thrills, dhisshum dhishum, "chor de usse, i said let her go," and he watches her at gunpoint, lallan leering next her. the vultures move in, excruciating pain will be delivered as there's no fear of retaliation. kick, box, slap, he's flung from end to end, she watches helpless, a pleading and pain-filled female voice joins in the entreaty to rabba,

with a furious (gosh what expression) look at the harianvi hazard, khushi frees her arm and runs toward him, only to be jerked back and lose her balance, falling backward, further backward, toward the precipice.

arnav ji!
a terrified look.
a flutter of blue dupatta.
he turns.
quiet everywhere, a mournful melody haltingly makes its way through a cascade of beautiful scenes from their life.
she falls into his arms that very first time.
she is falling.
he snatches her out of harm's way and hugs her in the rain.
she accidentally bangs against him, earring caught in his jacket.
he winds the bandage round and round on her ring finger before the temple, it is the sacred hour.
dust in her eyes, gently so gently he rubs it away.
payal by the poolside.
her foot goes over the edge... arnav ji!
he puts the mangalsutra around her neck.
the homa fire blazes.
he is putting the sindoor on her parting.
fire.
rabba vey fades in, looking up above the mortal world with a single call of two words from the heart.
he has put the sindoor.
she falls.
the dupatta again.
khushi!

mesmerised, i watched. so much in that sequence. from hate to love, from romance to passion. from this world to the next. from arnavji to khushi, and back. the ocean and his shore, both flowing and ebbing toward and away.  i feel somewhere along the way he and she have started to become both ocean and shore. and the pearl rests within both. weird thoughts, but had to say it.

the dupatta and the untold stories in its folds, from that very first hour always there. how it knew what they would know slowly ever so slowly, how it lingered over his face in a dargah, got caught in his buttons, fluttered on to his face, got torn and left behind on his car, it was everywhere. even now. now it fell as she disappeared from his sight. rabba ve.

before she leapt that morning of the suicide, the last thought in her mind, him putting mangalsutra and sindoor on her. his wife, she was his wife. no matter how supposedly fake their marriage.
and now again, that is the exact last picture to flash in his mind. my wife, you are my patni, mine.

hamesha is an instant when you love.

ok i am getting carried away, i said as much. and no apologies, this episode deserved nothing less.

from crooner 89: seize-fire... talking to honeypriya on episode 287.


hi priya,
don't know if you will get to read this post. was good to read your posts, especially the one about happenings at home vis a vis forum.
i read with concern your thoughts regarding the state of your crooner, the level of discussion, etc. never having been in a forum of any sort before i may have been writing or saying stuff that doesn't really enrich the experience. apologies if that is the case. please do let me know if you'd prefer a different approach, or tone or anything.

regarding episode. haven't got a clear picture in my head even yet. slow me. have shared top of the mind thoughts. absolutely agreed while reading your analysis with a couple of things:

*shyam's reaction on discovering khushi has duped him - his acting though competent was not as memorable as he might have made it. personally, i have never been a fan of his histrionic abilities, though he is as i said, most competent.

*the khushi shyam scene felt for some reason awkward, a tad gauche, especially as compared to what it was being intercut with: the fight sequences within the warehouse, which appeared sleek, confident, and sophisticated to me. also wasn't that jumping the gun a bit? and too much load in the conversation? there was the 15 days thing, the him getting turned on by a girl with a twisted mind thing, the whole rage at betrayal cocktailed with little hints of his plan. crowded. couldn't figure out why.

*lallan. finally a goon that could worry the heck out of you. and having lived in that part of the world for many years, i know such men exist, and you don't want to meet them ever. they would burn you to cinders without a single qualm and then take a ride to the nearest dhaba for some paratha and lassi. the look on his face was priceless when the matches fizzled out.

*for just an instant today the slightly goofy khushi was back. asr realises who must be behind this switch to water and we see her. for a fleeting moment her smile is from her gupta house days, almost as pleased as the girl who changed his ring tone and poured juice in his shoes. i melt when i see that girl.

have a great break, see you soon.

edit:
and yes, i completely agree with you there is no need to give arnav singh raizada monologues to convey thoughts. his eyes and mind do more than these suddenly implanted thought bubbles. he has thought aloud a couple of times before, but a certain restraint and economy will be good.
Edited by indi52 - 9 years ago

crooner 89: seize-fire... my thoughts on the elements.


finally the thoughts are beginning to flow. sorry sri, this is not going to be a short one. a note: i went back all over the thread looking for the post that mentioned how water or a body of it was constantly around this love story, couldn't find it. it was really an interesting point and helped me think through a lot, thanks.

anjali, your setting of direction is perfect in your main post. fire, water, earth, air it is all about the elements here. while you have mainly explored the first two, would like to share thoughts on earth and air too.

...sieze-fire...

as the ceasing of one fire that never started is signalled by two little matchsticks, a conflagration is about to commence. and it will blaze to burn everything in its path. a wild fire triggered by a little too much love.
poignant, isn't it?
as we laugh at the stupefaction on the faces of mighty lallan and thrill to the pride in arnav's, the ocean's, eyes, his inimitable smile on "khushi kumari gupta singh raizada," we are feeling the heat of anjali's illusions about to combust before going up in smoke.
there is no running away from it. it is upon us now. the ocean must sieze the fire if it is to be doused and calmed. if agni is to finally give blessings and not annihilate all.
perhaps it is no accident that the ancients appeased fire before any other god; that agni is our sakshi when we wed; our tests are agni pariksha.
fire in all its connotations is here now, oh that red saree of anjali's.

"I Laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice,
The hotar, lavishest of wealth.
Worthy is Agni to be praised by living as by ancient seers.
He shall bring hitherward the Gods.
Through Agni man obtaineth wealth, yea, plenty waxing day by day,
Most rich in heroes, glorious.
Agni, the perfect sacrifice which thou encompassest about
Verily goeth to the Gods.
May Agni, sapient-minded Priest, truthful, most gloriously great,
The God, come hither with the Gods.
Whatever blessing, Agni, thou wilt grant unto thy worshipper,
That, A?giras, is indeed thy truth.
To thee, dispeller of the night, O Agni, day by day with prayer
Bringing thee reverence, we come
Ruler of sacrifices, guard of Law eternal, radiant One,
Increasing in thine own abode.
Be to us easy of approach, even as a father to his son:
Agni, be with us for our weal."
rig veda book 1 hymn 1

...the ocean and its shore...

water water everywhere. pani da rang. pani hai, plan barbad ho gaya!

a witty, daring, literal take on the oft quoted "paani fer dia" phrase. it was a stunning moment when those matchsticks went phooosss. the ocean took not too long to decipher his shore was nearby and probably taking risks on his behalf. we took note of the water effect on the perfect bod of mr raizada, as we had a couple of times before along with mrs ocean of optimism and crazy guts. i refer to public bathing, gobar, akhada of the gh days.
swimming pool, rain, water being flung from mugs and buckets, water saving the ocean's life, water has always been a part of this love story; an element embedded in the protagonist's very name. he represents the largest body of water known to us: the ocean.
will arnav be able to fight the agni that is consuming anjali even as he is saved? or will the ocean become a reminder of the other endless body of salt water in the universe: tears.
i hope not. let's play "water of love," and send them tears on their way.

...earth...

we met this element before all others in this episode. as the earth swayed, quaked, and slipped from under shyam's feet in the very first scene. it was delightful to watch his composure shatter, his swagger stumble. i so wish he had taken the scene to the level he was offered. interestingly, a scream and a single searing eye shot paralleling the same in the 15 february post terrace scene of arnav on the road. later in the episode, many visual similarities in the shyam-khushi face off with the arnav-khushi bridge scene. interesting device exploring contrasting relationships and personalities.
a creature of the earth, mud at its basest, is our shyam. and why not, he slithers on it after all.

the milk crashed upon the earth, the curse is upon me she cried, anjali of her myths.

in a more literal sense, earth featured twice: when her batua fell on it and when there was a sudden as yet inexplicable shot of her slippered foot on uneven terrain. the batua fall will probably have something to do with the papers inside. no idea about the foot, but knowing these creatives...

...air...

i lauded :) the air rushing out of snake's punctured love plot.

under this element i'd like to speak about the environment created by the invisible element: sound. i absolutely love this dimension of ipk. no other serial, nor too many films, handle/s this with such finesse, even funkiness, again without wastage or verbosity.

particularly in my ears that irritating percussion layer in the arnav and goons scenes. the background score is thoughtfully layered, with several elements; kept clean and simple or densely packed depending on the scene. today reflecting the tumult in the other elements, the track was dense, loaded with meaning and message. the shot of the matches being lit, thrown, fizzling out: so much drama with minimum movement, not a single word, just sound and expressions on two faces, ending on that asr smile beginning to appear. beautiful.
the background was rarely silent today, yet it kept its place: elegant, supportive, coming to the fore only when needed. i really enjoy raju singh's sense of his material, there's a certain, for the lack of a better word, sexiness to his scores. bravo to the creatives who take care of this aspect of the show.
anjali's "yeh aapka bhram hai," had a chilling sense of foreboding. and its pitch was perfect.

add to these four elements, those of the previous crooner: belief, faith, test, triumph, and the element of timshel or choice that we as humans have and it's clear next week is going to take us to another planet.

true, anjali, the ship was not meant to stay in its harbour.
Edited by indi52 - 9 years ago

from crooner 93: devil's advocate... as asr keeps quiet i try ti understand it, even convince myself there's something there... but at that time, i still trusted the story tellers, and is o longed for everything to be alright... that sharpness of tale in place. now i admit i read it wrong... tehre was nothing in  the core of that silence... it was possibly a hatke thing for a hatke thing's sake.


good morning, priya
enjoyed the devil in the title, what to smack the one on the screen.

will update after your post is in. might be a bit late today, late afternoon ist.

keenly watching the man without words, and marvelling at our seriously risk taking creatives. 😊

edited 😊

priya, that was a most inspiring crooner. zing in it, girl. made you sit up and think, after you had had your "aha" of course.
the creatives have gone ahead with their gut feel and taken the risk of a practically speechless lead at the height of action and in a week where low trp's must be tackled. are they being wise? no idea. but if they're being kinda true to their instincts, i'm ok with it. that's what makes this show work for me, the sharp gut feel of the people who make it and act in it.

the chess board analysis is wonderful. never quite got the game, but even in the way they are positioned there seems to be all sorts of meaning and messages. i love divya's reference to statues and her impatience with their immobility 😆. but when they do move, they add to the story of the board. i found payal's slow walk up and taking up a position in front of khushi, as though protecting her from the black knave/king, most interesting.

will take a cue from your reference to the quality sound aspect of iss pyaar ko to give some structure to my thought. i agree this part of the show is noteworthy, and tuesday told us how nuanced even within the short span of time available to actually put things together. i am hooked. in a fit of madness have written down the entire dialogue of the first 10 minutes. the layers of sound in the track and its manipulation is engrossing.

... crescendo rising ...

"a gradual increase; specifically : a gradual increase in volume of a musical passage b: the peak of a gradual increase: climax"

right from tuesday i feel we're watching a single yet complex strain of music ascending to a high, very high volume, the point of climax. through all the bombastic loudness and devilry of shyam knocking down accuser and witnesses on the basis of lack of physical evidence, the accentuated hysteria of anjali, the stacatto bursts of connections in mamiji's mind, the spirited yet poignant salvos from khushi, the sweet tandem playing by nk, and the quiet of the one who'll finally make sure the devil faces the music, through it all we approach the destination: a rousing climax. the deafening slap, i presume. but even if i hadn't seen the promo, the sense of a gradual growing toward a peak is pretty clear. i am enjoying that in terms of structure.

... to his tune the world does dance ...

krishna. and how he is among us. yes priya, now we see him wise, determined, slayer of evil in arnav singh raizada. asr has put the vastra on his bride and he shall make sure nothing puts even the slightest stain on it. in this sisupal tale version of the fabulous figure from our shared story, he is quiet, watchful, waiting for shyam to come to the point where he can deliver punishment. he had not given shyam 100 chances, just one. as shyam, unknown to himself, dances to the ultimate flautist's tune and lands right in the middle of the mess and confesses to his misdemeanour, the sudarshan will fly. yay. will it be that thappad?

and in nk, the sweet sakha face of krishna. nk is innocent and straight forward in this portayal of the multifaceted nandkishore.

is there a little krishna in mamiji too? remember her krishna fancy dress? in her sharp, seeing mind, her fearless tackling of issues, her role as the one who gets shyam to break into a cold sweat with: i heard every word... phatii saree may have proposed "dibhorce" but you were the one to say "yes." gotcha. loved the way her face was pulled into focus the as she heard shyam accuse khushi of snake-chasing, and him wanting to have none of it.

on the mahabharat inspiration theme, anjali and shyam remind me in some ways of gandhari and duryodhan. she with her self chosen blindfold; he with his adharma, his i want what isn't rightfully mine and i want it at any cost.

arjun's hesitations come to mind when one remembers khushi's worries about creating havoc in the family. but now the silent krishna has perhaps persuaded her that she must do what needs to be done and so must he.

... brown, indian eyes ...

for two and a half episodes we've looked at the man's watchful eyes. talking to khushi, gauging di's state, looking in turn at each member of family decoding reactions, getting irritated (so cutely) with nk's exuberance around khushi, and keenly observing shyam's every single move and response. creatives aren't taking chances, einstein or fool, you'll get this point.

remember the night on the terrace? as he witnessed the unthinkable and the very breath was knocked out of his body as though a physical blow had been delivered. that night also he was silent. only his eyes spoke. and how. in a matter of seconds i'd read confusion, shock, horror, and then an unbearable surge of pain that kept on rising, engulfing him. he walked away without saying a word. sound had been pretty fantastic too in telling the story. that is the day i thought for the very first time: oh my g, the man is not only ddg, he is an actor. with the potential to be phenomenal.

that night. and now. oh such a difference in those eyes. thank g the pain isn't there. it kills me. he'd given her a bindi then, he's laid a dupatta on her now. guess that's what makes the diff to a character like asr. the eyes, better than any blue spanish ones i bet, speak at a new volume and melody now.

waiting for climax. wanting to hear shyam sing.

thanks for reading my uncontrollably long post.
😉 oh and priya, for this chess board i am definitely a fool.

from crooner 95: mending fences episode 292, after the eviction of shyam.

the tinkling of the tea cup on the saucer as her hand trembles. everything is shattering all around.

again his world is in turmoil. but this time, she is there, she whom he trusts. she whose every feeling shines from those clear, honest eyes. he lifts her in his arms and takes the first of many steps that will give her the place in his life he believes she is the rightful owner of. that's what it felt like. kind of carried me away.

will be back, priya, after your update.

two of the most beautiful broken pieces becoming whole in front of our eyes. thanks for yet another pertinent and memorable quote.

edited 😊

he closed the door on shyam's last lingering look at anjali and paused for an instant head downbent before turning. the crescendo that built all of last week had peaked and the storm and thunder in it had shattered hearts and foundations everywhere within the home.

i am sorry, di i know you will hurt a lot. but i trust khushi. i believe every word she has said.

and in came the deathly calm after the storm, preceding the next hurricane; registering first in anjali's eyes. an even almost quiet tone through the episode, in it nestle the the notes of impending crescendoes. in fact, isn't one rising already, in an unlooked at hand, an "arnav," a hand grasped only to be let go off with finality, and a request to be left alone. this crescendo will take everyone with it, sparing none.

but right now, a most lovingly crafted episode. for when troubles come to a home each member is affected, not just the people in its eye. anjali, arnav, khushi yes, but look what it's doing to the others too. reminded me of that phone call asr made from captivity, when each one grabbed the receiver to speak, how feelings of a family came through there. he ended that one with "khushi, i love you."

today, i trust you khushi. its consequences: an ousted shyam, and a hundred unanswered questions and unrest in everyone's mind. measured, touching look at the raizadas in their long and difficult night. the close up of personal agony made tolerable by the presence of the sweet clean nk, walking around, disturbed by the extent of injury on the battlefield.

while everyone is thinking of anjali, even me, arnav singh raizada's world is shattering once again. just out of a kidnap and a crazy betrayal, he has to be head of the family and take harsh decisions again. for this, one of the two most important people in his life will turn away from him. maybe not forever. but it will feel like that to him. my heart is saddened for this man.

yes priya, the epicentre: arnav singh raizada.

the madness never ends for him, does it?

rabba vey.

their love has covered immense distance in a short time, perhaps the test by fire did it, but now he needs no proof and she needs no redemption. from 6 june of one year to 3 july the next, a boy and a girl met, hated, irritated, got attracted, flirted, fought, bickered, teamed up, got mad at each other, got mad about each other, again i hate you'd, mistrusted, were torn apart, tied the knot, scattered the pearls, strung them back again, became a man and a woman in love, now taking the steps into this relationship with all it asks of you.

as i watched barun sobti's arnav s in that last scene, hand tucked under her cheek, the other hand tucking her stray hair behind her ears with that unconscious gesture from that guest house night, i saw an expression on his face that had me rooted. how does a 28 year old boy never formally trained in acting do this? every time with the most understated of gestures or tone of voice he adds another stroke to asr, another depth, another touch of reality. not a single opportunity is lost or given less attention to. an incredible actor hellbent on bringing a written man to life. there is a junoon here whatever mr sobti might or might not say. he is beginning to love asr almost as much as we do. of course, if he hears this he'll fall down laughing and crack nasty ones about middleaged phangals. shatir.

i have to say here, while i am in awe of sanaya irani's talent too, last night i felt she could have nuanced her khushi a bit more. i do understand she needs a break and through out last week, especially tied and gagged on the road, she was outstanding. but last night i felt arnav singh raizada grew a hundred fold. no doubt kkgsr will be there soon.

and for me each rabba vey, right from the first one has been perfect for them at that time and place in their life. enjoying raju singh's complexifying (don't look for it in the dictionary) of the two little words.

sorry for the late update. looking forward to tonight. 😃

from crooner 96 : the night that was episode 293 when he smiles and teases her at the poolside.

waistcoat. bright star number 1.


gosh, priya, ref to last of those stars, that quote is turning out to be prescient.

"The darker the night, the brighter the stars,
The deeper the grief, the closer is God!"

lopsided smile. the brightest star of all.

two things stayed with me last night. the first was that smile. as it spread on his face and settled into the perfect angle, i could feel myself sitting up straighter and my eyes widen with happiness. of course, it was great to see barun looking so good and in such a killer mood. but for me it signalled more. after a long long time, can't remember since when, maybe that 15th of feb, i saw asr regaining himself.

so much has happened. and right now he is in the eye of yet another storm brewing. tonnes of responsibility, loads of fence mending, a growing guilt regarding khushi (i get the feeling), and all of it has made this character mature, show beautiful facets. i have enjoyed all of that. but as the night grew dark again around anjali's anguish, i was looking at arnav s and wondering what will it do to him? will he become this serious, always tender, ever caring soul, never naughty, brusque, in his own world, abrasive, above the rest, a tad irritating, sometimes downright obnoxious.
oh no, so not arnav s at all. in fact, i was getting a bit weary of the heaviness.

quite by chance an opportunity presented itself. as she turned to go so did he. they bumped into each other. once. twice. three time. my daughter said, "is he doing that on purpose?" i said, "no, but now he will." and he did. (i squealed with joy, daughter looked worried.) he'd noticed her discomfiture earlier. he was trying to be good and let her pass, when suddenly a slow lifting of the eyelid revealing familiar wickedness. he moved to block her, she grew flustered. and the smile returned.

i felt he claimed himself back with that play by the poolside. right in the middle of madness. khushi unwittingly but so fittingly provided the perfect excuse. when the going gets tough, the tough get going, but not possible if you ain't all of yourself. when he is all asr and every bit arnav, he can deal with things from a place of confidence. for the character to be true, this is important. i don't know if that's what the creatives planned, but that's what i took out of it.

goes without saying, i love to see him flirt and make her all shy and bashful. and i adore that gruff, possessive husband air, providing info, being accountable (may not last long hehe).

i notice a slight change in her smile. interesting. but i would request creatives to look at khushi seriously and not let her lose her khushiness in the bid to become patni and lover. i feel sanaya is feeling a bit tied to a stereotype right now and not being able to add the thing that is khushi to it all. my feelings, many might disagree.

the second thing that struck me was how similar naniji and asr are. both are bold, straight forward, strong characters who take the lead and get things done. and they like to have their own way too. they are "karta", karmyogi natured. not people done unto. in the middle of a long terrible night, instead of collapsing in a heap of despair, nani sets aside her tears, takes care of anjali, then asks her grandson to answer questions in a cogent manner, takes the horrors revealed on the chin, puts forth a decision regarding protecting anjali. bravo. how many women in their sixties would do what she did in that situation. she has been straight and determined in most of her dealings and formidable when crossed. yet you can't help loving her, or maybe that's why. grandson got her genes alright.

agree with priya, asr needs to address his hasty and wrong actions fair a square. i am guessing it will happen, possibly in conversations with khushi. look forward to that. but please no sad mopey rtr. couldn't take it. that would be plain what the.

absolutely delighted with trp. however proud to be 2.7 too.

as long as there's ipk my dark night is bearable. in fact, isn't that a star i see?

from crooner 97: tides of chaos...

beautiful crooner, priya. the quotes running melody through it. the neruda opener wouldn't let me rest.

I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.

I hunger for your sleek laugh,
your hands the colour of a savage harvest,
hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails,
I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.

I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,
the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,
I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,

and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,
hunting for you, for your hot heart,
like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.

i imagine stanzas two and and four being thought aloud by arnav singh raizada, smile playing on his lips, eyes lazily shutting, then opening and filling with purpose. and stanza three running through khushi's mind as she goes about her daily chores, catching her off guard, stopping her in her tracks, confusing her completely, as she comes face to face with desire. with a capital d.

stanza one, something of that promo in those lines surely.

i want all of love in this love story. greedy me.

adding on 😊

from crooner 98: whispering storms on the day of the fight.