Radhika, for two days in a row, I am happy after watching JA. Yesterday because Jodha did not let Jalal down and proved that she is his 'ardhangini' in the truest sense. Today because Salim did not let Jodha down as a son and stayed true to the fact that despite all miscommunication and bouts of anger towards his parents, he truly loves them. That his love for his mother is deep, his respect and admiration for her sincere, was completely visible today.
Today's episode also brought to light, the striking contrast in the personalities of three mothers in the mahal, whose lives are connected to each other. Hamida Begum, Jodha Begum and Rukaiyya Begum.
Hamida Begum, the queen mother, matriarch of the family who has always been wise and levelheaded with her thinking and decisions is now opposed to Jalal announcing war with the Shah of Iran. So determined is she to thwart his plans that she tried to emotionally manipulate Jodha into converting into Islam, in order to please the Shah, a plan that sadly did not materialize because Jodha's love and respect for her husband and the promise that she made to him, prevented her from giving up the religion of her birth.
The revelation by Jodha that she was coerced into visiting the 'ibaadat khana' for the purpose of conversion by his mother, left Jalal shocked and upset. He found it hard to believe that his mother had actually indulged in such an act. We are yet to see him confront his mother about this issue, however we saw how disappointed he was with her actions.
We see a mother who is still showing gratitude towards the Shah's father for favors done towards Babur and Humayun, in the past. Why is she unable to realize that the present and future well-being of Hindustan lies in its freedom from external forces dictating terms and conditions of governance on it. Why is she unable to understand Jalal's point of view? Why is she not able to understand that by not bowing to the Shah's interference in his administration, Jalal is up-keeping the dignity of the Mughal Sultanate and that of his aawaam. Why is Hamida Begum disrespecting the decision of her judicious son? As a mother why has her love towards Jodha and Jalal turned conditional? Is there something more than meets the eye?
Jodha Begum, a mother who is selfless, who silently missed her child when he was sent away for training on the battlefield, a mother who quietly swallowed tears of hurt at her sons' uncalled for behavior towards her, a mother who magnanimously allowed/allows a motherless fellow queen to have complete access and motherly privileges towards her child, and above all a mother whose love is totally unconditional.
Salim proved me right with my thinking that he may be angry with his parents, have occasional angry outbursts at them, but love them he does, with all his heart. It is that deep love for his father and mother which he was unable to experience between ages eight to seventeen that has made him display indifferent behavior towards them. Salim's feelings of immense respect, love and admiration for his mother, was clearly revealed today. The manner in which he quietly entered his mother's hojra, folded his hands in obeisance and lit the lamp while Jodha was apologizing to him for letting him down by not converting to Islam, was one of the best scenes that I have seen in recent weeks. The silent actions spoke volumes about his high regard for his mother.
Jodha's expressions of motherly pride and love towards Salim when he accepted his flaws and unhesitatingly acknowledged that had she converted to Islam just for his sake, he would have been disappointed with her, stood out and left me moist eyed too.
Paridhi Sharma has excelled in the interaction with her onscreen son. To give the reel son his due, Ravi Bhatia also came up with an awesome performance today. His voice modulation, body language and expressions were bang on. This mother-son bonding will be etched in my memory for long.
'The heart of a mother is a deep abyss the bottom of which, you will always find forgiveness'. This saying is apt for Jodha. Despite the turbulent relationship she shares with Salim, she is the large hearted mother who forgives and continues loving.
The fallen angel, mother number three ammijaan Rukaiyya Begum, I find it very hard to place her on the same exalted position as Hamida Begum and Jodha by designating her as a mother. Nevertheless, I will do so, just to make my character comparisons easier. Mother she is, not biologically, but just by right of being Jalal's first wife. She has repeatedly proved that she is unworthy of being a mother with her unpardonable, malicious actions towards Salim right since childhood. She is continuing to constantly misuse Salim's love, respect and trust in her to poison him against his parents, especially his mother, whom she believes has snatched away all her happiness ever since Jalal married her. She is the most self centered, jealous, manipulative, destructive, spiteful, wicked and repulsive example of a mother ever. Her fake love for Salim is conditional, her only aim being to cause grief to Jalal and Jodha by filling his mind with unpleasant, vicious thoughts about his parents thereby causing further strain and unpleasantness in their relationship.
On the one hand there is Jodha who assures the Shehenshah that her mother Mariam Makani's anger towards her daughter( meaning herself) is only temporary and that she will clear the air and set everything right. She pleads with him not to interfere in the sensitive matter between her and her mother-in-law. She assures him about making peace with Mariam Makani.
Rukaiyya on the other hand is thrilled about the fallout between Hamida Begum and Jodha and cannot wait to spread this news within the harem. She has also decided to take further steps to bring Salim within her control and vowed to create additional problems between him and Jodha.
Jodha wants to create peace within the family and Rukaiyya further unrest and unhappiness.
Hamida Begum's obstinate, unbending, petulant behavior towards Jodha and this entire issue of conversion is not befitting that of a Queen Mothers' at all.
( I normally skip all of Rukaiyya's scenes. Today's episode had me not wanting to skip any part. What I wasn't prepared for was, when she screamed like a woman possessed. At first I thought that she was hurt, then I realized that it was her screaming in a fit of rage. The scene where she ingests 'afeem' was really unpleasant and scary. I wonder what other despicable idea she has up her sleeve.)
Such a innovative and insightful post,👏 love the comparison between the ladies of royal harem as mothers. No matter how much ruqaiya try , mother is mother, and step mother can not take her😳 place
Thank you very much for liking my views. 😊
Edited by Charu.S - 10 years ago
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