Posted:
Hi Friends,
Apologies once more! Have been missing here (again) for the last few days. :( I was partly busy with the festivities, partly depressed by the story line and partly handicapped, as my computer was out of service. I am still depressed by the story line. But life goes on and here's my take on the trend the show is taking, or, rather, took last week.
The Repenting Emperor
Jalal seeks Salim Chisti's blessings so that he can get sukoon. (And an heir?) Chisti Sahab doesn't let him get off the hook so easily. He tells Jalal that he has to repent for every person he killed in Chittor and only his conscience can tell him when he has atoned completely. Only then can Jalal get sukoon and an heir. To quote him, Salim Chisti tells AkDha that what they lost cannot be returned to them nor can they be compensated for it. But they can get what they seek if Jalal's slate is wiped clean of the Chittor massacre.
JJ agree to live like an ordinary couple at Sikri during this period of penance. (Seemingly 3 years ?, as Javeda's and Bakshi's kids are quite grown up during this time.)
Side Note: History aficionados and those to whom Chittor holds a special place in their hearts still, please bear with me. I am only recounting verbatim what was shown to us. I felt sick too to see Ekta Kapoor turning history on its head and showing Akbar repenting for Chittor and actually going out of his way to rebuild the lives of the people there. The truth, as we all know, is that he actually celebrated his victory at Chittor and sadistically ordered the massacre of some 30,000 peasants in cold blood. Chittor was never rebuilt or repaired or resettled.
How an emperor could stay away from the affairs of the state for so long, leaving Agra in the hands of his ministers like Todarmal and his mother and begums, is beyond me. If I remember correctly, Jalal could not stay away from Agra during the separation track and had returned to Agra alone, leaving Jodha in Amer.
Why is Akbar being justified so much by Ekta? First, he was given the excuse of being emotionally distraught for waging the war. Now he is being shown to repent and take suitable remedial measures.
Jalal's repentance must have been almost over because he is blessed with the good news of Jodha's pregnancy in the Wednesday episode (Oct 22 2014). The entire pregnancy is done away with in just one episode! Why the rush, Ekta?
Jodha was treated roughly in her last pregnancy and this time too, she has not been pampered at all. We have to guess Jalal pampers her from their words to Salim Chisti. Jodha is gifted a new bandi, Shahzad Bano, to take care of her.
Akbar, as we know, didn't see Salim for one month after he was born, due to astrological reasons. Why couldn't Jalal tell the truth to Jodha? Surely, she would have understood that it was best for Akbar not to see Salim for some days? Why did Ekta have to bring in this issue of the woman who was widowed by Jalal, and show Jalal going to Chittor to personally rehabilitate her?
Salim was born in Sikri on Thursday (Diwali), in the absence of Jalal. On Friday, he was home in the palace and with Jalal, his father. So, a small leap of one month again on Friday!
I couldn't understand Jalal telling Jodha now after 3 years that he was with her at all times and she needn't apologize to anyone, after having accepted her apology for Hussein's death. Why was the twins' death raised after so long, esp on a joyous occasion? Why was Jodha made to seek Ruqaiyya's pardon too for being careless enough to kill Hussein and thus rendering Ruqaiyya childless? Why was the Jalal who had promised his support to Jodha just a few minutes back silent, as Jodha sought Ruqaiyya's pardon and Ruqaiyya shed crocodile tears, when he knew Ruqaiyya's reality?
All these leaps and Jodha being made to apologize to all and sundry for no fault of hers and being made to repent for 3 years for Jalal's crimes can be set aside when we see the worst NR till date, second only to the Chittor NR. This relates to the emergence of Ruqaiyya as the tour de force of the show. It's fine she wasn't punished or even exposed. But making her the main lead of the show, while the erstwhile leads, AkDha, danced around her to her tune, is unbelievable.
Ruqaiyya, the Most Powerful Mughal Ever?
Slowly, over the last few episodes, we were informed that Ruqaiyya had got over the tragic demise of Hussein but had 'lost her narmi' and was crueler still, if that is possible. We saw Jalal scold her for indirectly causing the deaths of the twins but he also gave her his word that he would remain her friend forever. The only saving grace was that he refused to hand over Salim to Ruqaiyya.
At that point in time, I really felt very envious of Ruqaiyya. It must mean something to be able to get away with anything, including the death of royal heirs, just because she happened to be the childhood friend of the emperor. Au contraire, Jodha, being an ordinary princess, has to apologize to everyone for not committing any mistake. Is it Jodha's sin if Ruqaiyya's mission to be the MUZ failed?
Ruqaiyya being Ruqaiyya, now thinks that if Jodha has to be the MUZ, then she should only be the MUZ and not the ammijaan too of Salim, the waris. Now she has come up with a new crooked plan according to which she will ensure that Salim regards his mother as only the MUZ but not his mother. She plans to ensure that Salim will regard only Ruqaiyya as his mother. All this to hurt Jodha because Ruqaiyya knows that, for Jodha, the MUZ title holds no relevance but being mother to Salim does.
Ruqaiyya now plans to use Salim to separate JJ, as she feels he was responsible for bringing them together. Doesn't she know that they came together first and, that is why, they were able to produce Salim?
Friday also saw the entry of Anarkali's parents and hinted at the imminent entry of Anarkali herself.
Ekta, how many more NRs are we going to be subjected to? Which research showed you that Anarkali was a historical character? Please share your research with us too.
The worst possible scene for me personally, not taking Chittor into account, was Jodha thrusting Salim into the scheming Ruqaiyya's hands and begging her to accept him and forgive her (Jodha). Why can't Jodha accept that Hussein was poisoned by Zeenat and it was not her fault? Why must Jodha force Salim into Ruqaiyya's hands and call her his true "badi ammijaan"? Why must Jodha insist on Ruqaiyya sharing the joys of motherhood with her?
I have never heard from any quarters so far that Ruqaiyya was involved in raising Salim exclusively. Or that Salim regarded Ruqaiyya as his real mother and called Jodha MUZ. Salim was close to all 3 chief queens of Akbar and quite respected his own mother. He even addressed her as Hazrat.
Just to glorify Ruqaiyya, Ekta is running down both Jalal and Jodha. Jalal looks like a spineless jellyfish in front of Ruqaiyya and Jodha is quite the baby-producing machine for Ruqaiyya to fulfill her ambitions of being the most powerful Mughal ever.
Has anyone ever read that Ruqaiyya was so powerful that she had the run of the empire, her wish was above everything, and even Akbar couldn't say no to her?
Why is Ekta deliberately running down Jodha's importance? And why is she destroying Jalal's character too, in the process?
Updates: Oct 28 29
Arjun
Cricket
