Posted:
Gan,
So well-written! I whole-heartedly agree to everything you have said.
One of the things that attracted to me to this show, apart from the leads' chemistry, was how much I could relate to the characters and their situations. They explored Raman's past so beautifully that it set my expectations high and I started looking forward to a track exploring Ishita's past and her insecurities. But over time I realized that it was just one of those things which will remain on our wish lists. By then the time slot and the target audience had changed, and the human element and relatability of the female lead started getting lesser, among other things.
Just yesterday I was discussing with Aani in another thread about how bizzare the outlook of these so-called creatives is, where a husband and wife are not allowed to give in to their physical desires and urges, unless they have an ulterior motive of conceiving a baby as a result of that act. Giving in to their physical desires simply out of love is considered a sin. Well, that ship has long since sailed, of expecting that phase in the IshRa relationship, what with the baby topic constantly being mentioned in context with the "next level" talk.
I am especially sensitive to the subject of infertility as I have very closely seen one of my cousins struggling with the issue for a long time. Over the years I have seen her and her husband go through so much of stress, trying to balance their lives, dealing with doctor visits and treatments , appeasing the superstitious older generation of the family who would advice them to go meet with astrologers and perform poojas and offerings to God with the belief that that would solve their problems.
This show and Ishita reminded me of my cousin so much..the societal pressures and stress they underwent. Each time someone called Ishita a banjh, I would wonder if the Creatives were finally going to focus on Ishita's issues and insecurities. But then I realized that it was being mentioned merely for the "drama" element, not to show how it affected her.
But now when I see these spoiler messages indicating a magical conception with a single session of love-making, I feel like all those incidents when Ishita was being taunted for her inability to conceive since the beginning of the show, holds no meaning or importance now. Considering most of the writers are women, its so hard to believe that none of them would have experienced a similar situation with a close one which they could narrate via this show. I remember, in one of her interviews, Sonali Jaffar had mentioned that the nok-jhoks between IshRa were heavily inspired from her own life.
It pains me to think of the possibilities of a track exploring IshRa dealing with this stress and the connect it would have had with the audiences, like you have mentioned in your post.
Anyway, I guess there is no point keeping any expectations from a PH who is still stuck in the 18th century era of storytelling, while the whole world is progressing far ahead in the 21st century. But through this protest, we can all collectively voice our opinions and at least get the satisfaction of having done something for the show we all loved, whether they pay heed or not, whether they care or not.
Anupamaa
