Posted:
"Shooting star?! It's a stupid meteor.
[...]
Tumein pata hai isska temperature kitna hota hai? It's 6000 kelvin. If it hits our earth, we all are dead. Do you know that, it can destroy the whole world. Sab khatam ho sakta hai, sab."
"Wo USA mein jo accident hua tha, wo uss raat ki baat hai. Wo raat Rishabh ko bohat haunt karti hai.
[...]
Rishabh aur main, we were stuck in the rubble. Aur humein bachane wale bhi koi nahin tha. And koi bacha hi nahin tha. Na Mom, na Dad. Aur main? I couldn't even move. Buss...Rishabh sirf chilla raha tha."
Nandini; Episode, 1.
"The sky, it's so close to us! Like, I feel like I can touch all the stars. All of them. But you know what? I, I don't want to touch them. I want to crush them and throw them away. I hate you stars, are you listening?! I hate you all!"
Nandini; Episode, 58.
-x-
Nandini's hatred for stars has been one of the driving forces of MaNan. Even in the first episode, we got a scene where the couple was introduced through their reactions to the same "shooting star". While we saw Nandini show utter disgust at the flying ball of gas, we had Manik thank it for giving him his Buddy. I didn't watch the entire series for this meta, looking for references to quote and only quoted from the two episodes where the star connection was really shown between the two.
Somehow I could never really buy Nandini's hatred for stars too much. How is it intense hate if one night with Manik, one confession from his side that he likes the stars for the light they give, and we saw Nandini happily gifting him the stars. While the whole moment was beautiful, Nandini giving Manik the light he so craves but never embraces, it kind of undermined Nandini's hatred for the stars. It was too quick to be resolved. Then my brain started thinking in a different direction.
Nandini's intense hatred is more for the meteors than stars themselves. She had a legit scientific reason to hate the meteors, being a Science girl and all. While it hasn't been explained fully but it has been hinted strongly that a meteor had a huuugeee part to play in the incident which happened 10 years ago which took Nandini's parents from her, gave Manik his Buddy, took away from Rishabh's voice, and gave Dhruv the aggressive attacks.
So, where do the stars come in play?
Imagine.
A seven year old Nandini, stuck in a rubble, unable to move. Night sky above, strange land around. She sees in some distance the silent, unmoving figures of the two persons who were the reason she was brought in the world. Even in the dark she can see the way they are covered in blood. She sees the car in which they were happily traveling just a few moments ago, she sees it upside down and crushed beyond repair. And she hears the voice of her younger brother, crying and crying and crying. She wants to move, she wants to scream, she wants to cry. She feels her limbs go numb, she feels the cold of the night sweeping in. All around her, all she hears are the cries of her brother. She wants him to shut up, she wants to cry along. She wants to do something, anything to get away from this feeling of helplessness. Human nature kicks in at the tender age of seven, the need to survive is strong. But she can't do anything. Then she looks above. And she sees the bright lights twinkling in the night sky.
And she hates them.
In my head Nandini's hate for the stars isn't because she associates them as being the reason for the accident. But it's more like she associates them as being the sole witnesses of it. She sees them twinkling like little gems and she is reminded of how utterly helpless she was in that night. She sees them and she says to herself that they were there and they stood there like silent bystanders and did nothing for her. At the age of 7, anything is possible. If stars can feel like magic to some, they can be the target for hatred as well.
Nandini's past is literally just waiting to be explored. Her backstory is amazing, we think about the tragic incident and we see this Nandini who is strong and unshakable and we admire her. For all that she went through and still going strong. But I can't fathom how all that light is possible without its own shadow? To quote Kingdom Hearts, "the closer you get to the light, the bigger you're shadow will be." Everyone in the show has their own set of demons, why not Nandini? While I get that Nandini has to be the sole voice of reason, logic, understanding, maturity among a whole ensemble of troubled teens; but that doesn't mean that she shouldn't be given her own troubles to deal with. We know that in the ten years since the accident, Nandini pulled herself so firmly that it's hard to break her. The girl always finds it within herself to smile, for others.
But what of the immediate hours after the accident?
What did she go through as she lay in the hospital bed with no tender hand to hold? To find herself an orphan out of nowhere. What were her feelings during the time she went from USA to India? How timid were her steps when she entered the unfamiliar house where her father grew up? How did she take the news that she now has to live in Mangalore and build her life a new? How did she deal with the fact that her life in USA was now an event of the past which can no longer be visited?
It's a blessing that she had a family who didn't let her fall apart. But even so, opening up to and accepting any drastic change always takes time. I want to know about the child Nandini. About how she found the strength in her to notice the light of the fireflies and fall in love with them. How she desperately wished to collect the remaining pieces of her old life before giving up and accepting that she can't get those things back. Nandini going to her Amms and wanting to just see her Appa's pen and hold it for some while. Nandini seeing the mute state of her brother and remembering all their silly fights where they used to run around the house, shouting and bickering; remembering all that and coming to terms with the reality. How she began to tend to her brother like a mother. How the two siblings clung to each other and bonded so strongly.
Nandini as a character offers so much, so much more than her connect with all the other characters. We have seen her be there for others, who was there for her when she needed them? Oh, this girl won't break. She has this inspiring quality of always getting up with or without any help. I don't want to see her break, but I want her to talk about all the times she wanted to break. Her secrets belong only to her, and it's all well and good. Her fireflies, her Aiyappa, they know them all. But they can't answer her back. She doesn't need anyone to listen to her story and give her sympathetic glances. And I wouldn't want that to happen. But this girl so needs someone who'd listen to it all and say, "I'm so proud of you."
The more I drive deeper in her character, the more I fall in love with her. She's so well written in all her angles. Though she isn't talked about much, there's so much in her that's worth talking about. And I really wish that the CVs do that. She's much more than a girl who's always gonna be there to fix others or be someone's romantic interest or someone's best friend. She's a girl of her own. With a past so disconnected to everyone else. And it's all worth talking about.
Talk about it CVs, just once. Talk about it. Don't let this girl's potential waste away.
Somehow I could never really buy Nandini's hatred for stars too much. How is it intense hate if one night with Manik, one confession from his side that he likes the stars for the light they give, and we saw Nandini happily gifting him the stars. While the whole moment was beautiful, Nandini giving Manik the light he so craves but never embraces, it kind of undermined Nandini's hatred for the stars. It was too quick to be resolved. Then my brain started thinking in a different direction.
Nandini's intense hatred is more for the meteors than stars themselves. She had a legit scientific reason to hate the meteors, being a Science girl and all. While it hasn't been explained fully but it has been hinted strongly that a meteor had a huuugeee part to play in the incident which happened 10 years ago which took Nandini's parents from her, gave Manik his Buddy, took away from Rishabh's voice, and gave Dhruv the aggressive attacks.
So, where do the stars come in play?
Imagine.
A seven year old Nandini, stuck in a rubble, unable to move. Night sky above, strange land around. She sees in some distance the silent, unmoving figures of the two persons who were the reason she was brought in the world. Even in the dark she can see the way they are covered in blood. She sees the car in which they were happily traveling just a few moments ago, she sees it upside down and crushed beyond repair. And she hears the voice of her younger brother, crying and crying and crying. She wants to move, she wants to scream, she wants to cry. She feels her limbs go numb, she feels the cold of the night sweeping in. All around her, all she hears are the cries of her brother. She wants him to shut up, she wants to cry along. She wants to do something, anything to get away from this feeling of helplessness. Human nature kicks in at the tender age of seven, the need to survive is strong. But she can't do anything. Then she looks above. And she sees the bright lights twinkling in the night sky.
And she hates them.
In my head Nandini's hate for the stars isn't because she associates them as being the reason for the accident. But it's more like she associates them as being the sole witnesses of it. She sees them twinkling like little gems and she is reminded of how utterly helpless she was in that night. She sees them and she says to herself that they were there and they stood there like silent bystanders and did nothing for her. At the age of 7, anything is possible. If stars can feel like magic to some, they can be the target for hatred as well.
Nandini's past is literally just waiting to be explored. Her backstory is amazing, we think about the tragic incident and we see this Nandini who is strong and unshakable and we admire her. For all that she went through and still going strong. But I can't fathom how all that light is possible without its own shadow? To quote Kingdom Hearts, "the closer you get to the light, the bigger you're shadow will be." Everyone in the show has their own set of demons, why not Nandini? While I get that Nandini has to be the sole voice of reason, logic, understanding, maturity among a whole ensemble of troubled teens; but that doesn't mean that she shouldn't be given her own troubles to deal with. We know that in the ten years since the accident, Nandini pulled herself so firmly that it's hard to break her. The girl always finds it within herself to smile, for others.
But what of the immediate hours after the accident?
What did she go through as she lay in the hospital bed with no tender hand to hold? To find herself an orphan out of nowhere. What were her feelings during the time she went from USA to India? How timid were her steps when she entered the unfamiliar house where her father grew up? How did she take the news that she now has to live in Mangalore and build her life a new? How did she deal with the fact that her life in USA was now an event of the past which can no longer be visited?
It's a blessing that she had a family who didn't let her fall apart. But even so, opening up to and accepting any drastic change always takes time. I want to know about the child Nandini. About how she found the strength in her to notice the light of the fireflies and fall in love with them. How she desperately wished to collect the remaining pieces of her old life before giving up and accepting that she can't get those things back. Nandini going to her Amms and wanting to just see her Appa's pen and hold it for some while. Nandini seeing the mute state of her brother and remembering all their silly fights where they used to run around the house, shouting and bickering; remembering all that and coming to terms with the reality. How she began to tend to her brother like a mother. How the two siblings clung to each other and bonded so strongly.
Nandini as a character offers so much, so much more than her connect with all the other characters. We have seen her be there for others, who was there for her when she needed them? Oh, this girl won't break. She has this inspiring quality of always getting up with or without any help. I don't want to see her break, but I want her to talk about all the times she wanted to break. Her secrets belong only to her, and it's all well and good. Her fireflies, her Aiyappa, they know them all. But they can't answer her back. She doesn't need anyone to listen to her story and give her sympathetic glances. And I wouldn't want that to happen. But this girl so needs someone who'd listen to it all and say, "I'm so proud of you."
The more I drive deeper in her character, the more I fall in love with her. She's so well written in all her angles. Though she isn't talked about much, there's so much in her that's worth talking about. And I really wish that the CVs do that. She's much more than a girl who's always gonna be there to fix others or be someone's romantic interest or someone's best friend. She's a girl of her own. With a past so disconnected to everyone else. And it's all worth talking about.
Talk about it CVs, just once. Talk about it. Don't let this girl's potential waste away.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
