@Pri - Initial episodes - When Manik was touching her especially when he entered her room and traced her arm while she was sleeping? Was that a bad touch too? But she never reacted to it, heck she never did when Manik egged her , bullied her. She never fought back or took his touch as the bad one. Did Manik crossed his "line as a man" because he was a complete stranger then. Unlike Pandit who makes it confusing and uses familiarity.
Why a month, because Pandit never initiated it before so openly. It was last episode where his actions seemed to have gone one step ahead. He was otherwise using all bullying tactics and useing force to intimidate her. it was only this time, he tried going for soft touches . 1 episode . Denials are always there even when others scream about it because if there is Manik's voice saying one thing, there is Dhruv-Principal negating it , along with Ams assurance about Pandit. So many voices in her head, she trusts Manik's version but she is looking for her own tangibles.
I could count the touches - First one happened during the time they were handling the veena . Every innocent gesture nothing suggesting lines of any kind were crossed.
Another when he took the paper out, she gave him the look clearly questioning him with her eyes which is why he blames the paper and diverts with Ams.
3rd was the hair thing, which she never saw but she heard what Manik said but there was nothing in it which can suggest it was creepy.
4th- Now the classroom fainting time.
4 touches that is for you, excluding the one Nandini did when she stopped him from intervening in fab5 fight.
Out of these touches- only the last one is where she clearly saw something majorly different. She saw it as crossing the line as a teacher . This is the shift. From all the previous touches he gave her which she ignored as accidents.
So if say Nandini never thought Manik crossed a line during the intitial episodes- if she bases it on that would Pandit touch not seem as him not trying to cross that line. He touched her when she was fainting. Classroom looking thing got completely overruled because everyone else didn't think it was wrong. Is it because we knew Manik is the hero so we waited while with Pandit we are aware that he is a abuser , hence we want nandini to perceive it already.
Manik said he was wiping her tears- is it big enough to accuse someone of being a lecher? Or crossing the line as a man?
It's not about the month, but the touches- if we count that and view her reactions, see the nature of them. We will know , while she was always alert, they never were conclusive enough to even be considered more than accidental touches.
Only last one could be defined as suspicious behaviour. Otherwise it always seemed like an angry teacher reprimanding a student.
Tell me how was Nandini smart when right after punching Manik, she bought in his lies of friendship and took the lift for him? Naivety again. If she was smart she would not easily be manipulated by Manik- he showed it again when he tricked her with the water bottles.
Naivety is also Nandini's character sketch just as much. And they have highlighted through Harshad, Manik and Nyo that Nandini can easily be manipulated, so why is it hard to see Pandit's work on her.
Like I said, emotional abuse is very subjective. Not denying it needs audience to extrapolate but for me when she was bullied by a person of higher authority especially keeping Nandu's track about the same, it wasn't hard to relate.
Like Manik says she takes things at face value and she is doing that exactly here.
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