[Episodes 66-70] Rajni Bai!

- Rajni is off to find a job...Meanwhile, her supposedly classy, independent in-laws are praying for her failure. Surili doesn't want Rajni to become independent...because, apparently, Rajni will start showing them attitude. Umm...then what exactly are Surili and Co. doing? They spend ALL their time throwing attitude around, being unfeeling parasites and badmouthing everyone. Someone needs to show these hypocrites the mirror ASAP. I have zero tolerance for this and zero respect for them.

- The brief scene in the company lobby provides much-needed comic relief. Two minutes into the episode, and I'm already in need of comic relief? *weary sigh* Parasites...they've already drained my enthusiasm away. Thankfully, Rajni restores some of it here. I feel like it's been a while since we've seen Rajni acting stiffly robotic to the extent that she does in this scene, so I was happy to see that sharpness of movement again! Ridhima's expressions in this scene are too cute, haha! She displays curiosity and disapproval, one after the other, by barely moving her facial muscles, somehow letting her blinking eyes convey those reactions...and I'm super impressed again. How does she do that?!

- Rajni presents some good points during her interview. I'm glad she brings up the observation that a homemaker can manage dwindling expenses during hard times...and that it doesn't make sense that a piece of paper is given more value than actual skills/abilities. True that degrees/certificates are symbols of the work a person has done or is capable of doing...but what about people who can't afford to go to school and have valuable expertise? Mr. Black Coat and Mr. Spotted Tie are nice guys. Mr. Sahai, on the other hand...Fired. The "chai, paani, bachchon ke liye mithaai" thing made me chuckle, and I love the way Rajni's naivete, honesty, and quick learning abilities are shown through this incident. Idioms are super confusing to someone who hasn't been exposed to them and their connotations!

- Aishwarya is on vacation AGAIN?! For a month?! Man, where does she go for those vacations? I'd much rather watch her and Dev bickering than be forced to put up with Surili's reverse psychology and sweet-poison comments. The best thing about this entire second half is Rajni. She's able to close her ears so that she won't hear her awful neighbors - and eavesdropping is bad. And she's super happy to get a job. I am on the fence about this particular job, but I'll leave those thoughts for another day. Right now, I'm still smiling at Rajni's childlike enthusiasm. "YAAAHOO! Mujhe job mil gayi, mil gayi, mil gayi!" She's so adorable! When on earth is Surili going to start realizing that she has the best daugher-in-law anyone could ever wish for in the form of Rajni?! I really like Pallaviji as an actor, but god, I can't stand Surili and her delusions and schemes!

- How fabulous was the last minute of the episode, though?! *doorbell rings* "Yes?" Sari-clad woman with sunglasses and a bluetooth headset turns around in style. "Namaste Madam! Main aapki nayi bai! *dramatically takes off sunglasses and blows stray strands of hair off her face* Rajni! Kasa kai?" SO fabulous! Loving the attitude already! And the accent, of course! She's adding Rajni-style flair to this, as expected! Rolls her 'r' and everything. This woman - I mean, this robot has style!

- "Aisa kya ghoor ghoor ke dekh rahe sab log? Pehle kabhi bai ko dekha nahi, kya?" I'm pretty sure no one's seen a bai like Rajni Bai before! With every new avatar of Rajni's comes a new version of her theme music, new mannerisms, and a whole lot of style. There's no denying that Ridhima is nailing the accent and attitude already! I expected nothing less! She's so good! I'm looking forward to the upcoming episodes when Aishwarya comes back and we'll get to see Anokhee and Ridhima in the same frame like this! It's going to be awesome! Kudos to both of them for their voice modulation in these roles! 👏

- "Paisa phenk, tamasha dekh! Advance nahi milega, na, toh main toh chali!" And Rajni saunters off without a backwards glance. Woot! I'm not going to lie, I know Rajni's trying to unite the Kant parivaar, but I'm hoping she'll give Surili and Co. a dose of Aishwarya-style attitude at least every once in a while because Rajni doesn't deserve to be treated like this. Hell, Aishwarya throws attitude around but I seriously commend her for working in this sort of environment day after day! Anyone in her place would probably need vacations just to stay sane! The oh-so-great women of the Kant residence don't do anything at all! They can't answer the door, they can't butter a piece of bread...Useless people, all of them!

- Surili can't deal with Rajni's attitude already? Wow. You asked for this, Surili Madam! "Tumhe hum pe bharosa nahi hai?" Instant reply from Rajni, with a disdainful sneer, "Bilkul nahi!" Look at that face! Even if this is Rajni trying to draw upon Aishwarya's mannerisms from her data bank, I'm glad that she's speaking up like this. For me, personally, it's so satisfying as a frustrated viewer to have some sort of outlet, and to say that Rajni Bai's sass is entertaining would be a massive understatement.

- Amrish is baffled by Rajni's new job, and rightly so. I love that he immediately asks Surili what this nonsense is. He doesn't ask Rajni. He asks his wife. As Amrish and Surili fight this out, Rajni's face reflects my reaction... 🥱 A vote of thanks to Ghyaan for trying to speak up in Rajni's defense. Meek attempt, but better than no attempt. I thought we'd gotten a respite from Surili the Tyrant. But no, she's back.

- In the middle of all of this, Rajni tries to get her work done. Little things about this...Maggie doesn't even remember what Kuhu is allergic to?! But Ghyaan does. And Rajni does! Wow. She tries to use her logic and explain it to everyone at the table, adding a bit of Marathi flavor in the mix, and it's fantastic. Rajni Bai's logic board is holding her in good stead. "Saara kaam main ich karoon?! Mere paas extra time nahi hai! Haan!" Brownie points to Ghyaan for him trying to stifle his laughter while looking at his mother's irritation. Now if only he could speak up!

- "Woh issliye, Mummyji...Pehle main iss ghar ki bahu thi. Sab ke liye pyaar se khana banaati thi." I was so surprised at the switch in accent and tone here, but I absolutely love that Rajni shifts to her normal voice when she speaks as Rajni Kant, the bahu of the Kant parivaar. Along with her voice, the music shifts, too. After a moment of letting the impact sink in, the music and the tone switches back to that of Rajni Bai, the sassy servant. Very nicely done. I like the quick contrast between these two roles that Rajni is fulfilling here. First and foremost, she was - and still IS - Shaan's wife, daughter-in-law of the Kant family. In that role, she is pleasant, relatively soft-spoken, and acts out of love and respect for her family members. Changing circumstances and Surili's manipulation have pushed her into this second role, that of Rajni Bai, temporary maid. In this role, she is sarcastic, relatively caustic, and acts out of necessity and obligation. At heart, of course, she is still Rajni Shantanu Kant. At the end of the day, she is still a part of this family. There's a bitter irony in the fact that when Rajni used to look out for her family in a selfless manner, no one acknowledged her or appreciated her. Now that she's in a "lower" position in the house, those same people are demanding things from her. Such hypocrisy. Daughters-in-law are not servants. And dutiful servants shouldn't be looked down upon, either.

- Amrish is back on #TeamRajni, then? He's angry that Shaan agreed to let Rajni do Aishwarya's work in the house...But Shaan doesn't even know! LOL! He's fast asleep on the couch! What a baby, haha. Man, I missed Shaan so much in the previous episode!

- Half asleep, a groggy Shaan grumbles something about "Aishwarya" being useless and accuses her of shirking duties...Rajni makes an irritated face at her husband's words, then stands to face him, swinging her jhadu over her head. What style she has! Seriously impressive skills with that jhadu! "Kyun re, Sanki Baba!" Shaan freezes in shock, still reclining on the couch. It's Rajni.

- "Woh kya hai na, Shaan Baba...Aap sleeping kar rahe the, na, toh main aapko khush khabri de ich nahi paayi!" LOL at the way Rajni goes running over to the edge of the line to talk to Shaan. She's so happy about this. "WHAT?! Paagal ho gayi ho?" "Mere mein woh feature hai ich nahi! Aapko maalum hona mangta hai!" "Mereko pata hai!" So much to love about this new style of bantering! Shaan and Rajni modify their trademark lines, totally rubbing off on each other without realizing it. And even more important is the fact that Shaan is absolutely indignant that his wife is working as a servant in their own house. Later on, he remembers that he had built Rajni with this very purpose in mind, so why not give her a test run? But it's significant that his initial reaction is one that is very much emotional in nature, a husband's outrage on behalf of his wife's self-respect.

- "Aaj ke zamaane mein, hawaa se pet aur pyaar se pet nahi bharta! Samjhe?" And we're back to Shaan the Scientist and the unhappy misconception that scientists don't do anything. Poor guy! But Rajni does have a point. They need to earn money to eat, at least! As for pyaar, I wonder when that factor will come into play.

- Ah, Dhyaan. I like him more and more every day. His transparency and conscientiousness is like a breath of fresh air in an increasingly stifling environment! "Arrey. Nahi, Maa! Bhabhi ne complaint nahi ki hai, lekin mujhe dikhta toh hai, na?" He's the one who calls out for his mother, to try and sort out the latest problem in their lives. Amrish has sharp words for both Dhyaan and Shaan, but at least he's in Rajni's corner again. He does have a point. Totally agree with him there. I'm quite glad that Amrish spoke up and sternly tried to take Shaan's ego down a few notches. He succeeds in scaring his middle son for a few moments, but then Shaan bounces back, claiming this won't make any difference to his ego. Oh, Shaan. He's on the fence again, oscillating between his views of Rajni the Machine and Rajni the Wife. This is why I'm so interested in Shaan's emotional journey in addition to Rajni's. He has quite a long way to go, and Rajni is slowly chipping away at that ego of his, which makes him so endearingly infuriating sometimes! Thanks for that, Karan!

- "Dekha! Bola na! Yeh ek number ka lukkha hi hai!" #IRONY Aaah, I LOVE this. Rajni throws that word at Shaan, and THAT stuns him. It stunned me, too. How's your ego feeling now, Shaan?

- "Actually, Mom...Papa theek keh rahe hai. Mujhe...kuch kaam karna chahiye, you know...paison ke liye types." Even more irony! "Aap chahte hai main...truck chalaaoon? Cleaner ka kaam karoon? Mera matlab hai ki kaam achha hai! Par mujhe suit nahi karta, na!" Shaan has led quite a comfortable life, hasn't he? Wanted to be a scientist, became one. But desperate times call for desperate measures, they say.

- And Rajni has something to say, too. "Woh truckwaale nahi hote, na, toh aap AAP nahi hote! Haan! HAH!" Her disgruntled exclamation is so great, haha! Shaan gives in. He's not happy about this at all, but he gives in. "I'll be a genius truckwaala! The BEST truckwaala EVER!" LOL! I'm dying here! Pareshaan Shaan is going to be a truckwaala. Exactly what he didn't want to do in life. His ex-girlfriend called him a lukkha and wanted him to join the family business - he didn't give in. Rajni calls him a lukkha - Shaan gives in. He goes on a mad rant, pulls at his hair in exasperation, but then looks down at Rajni and says, "OK?" He's calmer now. But his energy has transferred to Rajni now. "Sachchi?!" "Haan." Rajni lets out a squeak of happiness and fondly pokes her jhadu at Shaan's chest. "Mera truckwaala pati! Pom-pom!" DYING here! Oh my gosh, Ridhima and Karan and their sensational comic timing! This whole volley of words between Shaan and Rajni is pure gold! And the last bit totally reminded me of a marriage proposal. So freaking cute, these two! ❤️

- Random aside: Rajni's little exclamations and her facial expressions are giving me life! "Aga bai! Deva Deva!" Throughout most of the episode, Rajni looks like she's 100% done with everything. I love her exasperated face so much! Oh, and the bit where she purses her lips, possibly trying to hide a smile when Shaan makes a witty comment...Too cute! A+ for expressions and voice modulation, Ridhima!

Nice write-up!! U brought out all the finer points !!!

It will help shajni lovers to connect with show who can't watch it regularly for some problems.

Actually I also live in hostel n can't watch TV n bhrk but I love this one. Your update connect me with show m my shajni.

Thnks yar. You r fab.keep going

Finally Shaan will be genius truckwala best truck wala ever I was rofling at this line Shaan pulling out his hairs karan ridhima both too good

Thanks! 😊

I love Rajni in this Aishwarya-style bai mode - her expressions alone are enough to amuse me, but then there's the accent on top of everything, which is fabulous! I'm happy we're getting a chance to see another side of Rajni's linguistic talents after the Hyderabadi one! As long as it's not permanent, though, I'm good! 😆

Thank you so much! 😳

Glad you're reading along and liking my thoughts, too! I'll try to keep making these weekly posts as time allows. As long as the show moves in a positive direction, I'll probably be here!

"Aap sleeping kar rahe the, na..." LOL! Shaan's shock always amuses me so much.

I pretty much died laughing during Shaan's rant! 😆 "GENIUS truckwaala" and Shaan's flailing cracked me up! Karan is just way too good at comedy, man!

- Shantanu Kant. Best truckwaala ever? "You come here, assi tussi will drink lassi!" 🤣 Nope. More like most amusingly useless truckwaala ever! But Karan speaking Punjabi is super cute, haha!

- "Oh Shanpatti Shaan Baba! Aata nahi, toh pehle seekh lene ka! Then do! Hah!" Rajni is awesome. She knows Shaan isn't cut out for this. "Yeh Shanpatti Shaan toh aapka business ek din mein ich dooba daalega!" And Shaan agrees. Because he is definitely NOT the best truckwaala ever.

- It's nice to see that Amrish knows his youngest son's value and strengths and acknowledges them, even if they aren't on good terms at the moment. When this is all sorted out, hopefully the brothers will get back to work and everything will fall into place again.

- "Lekin main bai!" "Main toh creator hai, main toh - Main creator hoon. Rajni. Yeh mera command hai ki mere saamne tum Aishwarya ki tarah baat nahi karogi! Just say 'OK Shaan!'" "OK Shaan." These conversations where Rajni's accent makes Shaan slip into that same lingo are really fun to watch. He rambles and she makes faces while trying to hang on to his words, haha.

- So Rajni suggests that Shogata should get married. Amrish thinks this is a good idea. Surili obviously doesn't. Rajni is probably the most excited person right now. Her dhinchak dancing is SO cute, oh my gosh!

- "Bade bade logon se chhoti chhoti galtiyaan hoti rehti hai!" Ahaha, this is gold!

- Rajni and her jhadu! She has an assortment of cleaning items now. I think this jhadu and the crude one she uses in the courtyard are my favorites. She wields them with a flourish and it's very impressive!

- "Ek hi baar mein dono virus DELETE!" Loving the tech lingo, Shaan. "Aur cherry on top! You know cherry on top?" "I know cherry on top?" "But do you know chipkali on top?" "That is gross." 🤣 That IS gross, LOL! But I love the contrast in their dialogue delivery here, especially the way Ridhima says "gross" and the music dies down, perfectly timed! Whatever Shaan says about Shogata being annoying, I totally agree with. If she leaves, he'll probably be happiest and I'll be next, cheering. But it is quite sad that Shogata doesn't share a good relationship with any of her siblings OR her sisters-in-law OR even her father. I don't think that's their fault, per se...she seems far too arrogant. And that is really sad.

- I also feel bad for Dev, yaar. He may be a bit like a headless chicken when he goes into a panic, but don't call him a loser! Dude, Shaan, the guy is your best friend, he's been with you through thick and thin...and he's helping you with Rajni! Show the man some respect! That said, I find it hilarious that Dev is in "sadma" and refuses to come to Shaan's half of the house because they only eat khichdi nowadays. Sometimes I wonder what it would've been like if Rajni really were human and actually Dev's relative.

- "Selfish hai, saala. Selfish!" "Saala - is an abuse. It's wrong to abuse." Rajni is right. "Saala means brother-in-law. Tumhara bhai!" Shaan is also right. Oh, language. Why so complicated?

- Amrish knows that Surili doesn't think much of him? Okay, so I really, really want to know HOW these two fell in love and got married. And how and when did Surili's "classiness" start creating issues in their relationship? Because Amrish is a GEM of a man and he doesn't deserve ANY of the insults that are thrown at him by his wife and daughter! Shaan mentioned his parents' story during his engagement, and it seemed really sweet...What happened to that Surili, though? Is she still there, buried under all of the riches and ego and the rest of the trappings that come with "high status?" Because if that's the case, I'd much rather see the simpler Surili who seemed to have more compassion and based her belief in people's abilities and potential rather than their status.

- Ah, Amrish and his truck/transport lingo! Amrish doesn't need to change for anyone! One of the reasons I loved Amrish right from the first episode was because he is a son of the soil, through and through. He's a self-made man and he's unapologetic about his roots and where he came from. He's proud of his Punjabi heritage but he doesn't let it taint his view of other cultures - and that's how it should be! Also, no matter how successful of a businessman he is, Amrish is sincere, has a strong moral center, and holds steadfastly to important values. I admire this character more and more as the episodes go by! More power to you, Amrish Kant!

- Matthew Sir! Or Mutthu Saheb...Matthew is such a cartoon, but he's an entertaining one. He's snooty but also kind of funny. "Oh! Rajni! Toh servant ki theme mein aaj dress karna tha? Bata dete pehle! Mere paas ek excellent butler ka costume hai!" LOL, Rajni and her jhadu almost scare Matthew away! "Holy mother! I almost died?"

- Dhyaan's faces during the last scene are basically me. He is just a spectator of the tamasha his family is creating...and he's totally done with it all, even before the real tamasha has begun. "Oye, shut your face!" The best thing Amrish has said to Surili all day, possibly. And Dhyaan is completely deadpan, like, "Yeah. Nothing new here."

- Amrish and his English. I'll admit that Amrish's literal translations of phrases made me smile, mostly because of his earnestness and because Rajendraji is so very sweet, even with that hideous bow tie. Actually, more than anything else, Rajni's way of answering made me smile, because she goes along with Amrish and sticks with his incorrect grammar, as well. She's so sweet, and I love her so much for standing up for her Bauji more vocally later on. She points out that Matthew's Hindi is bad, too, but no one laughs at him - why?

- "Bachchi nahi! Kachchi hai aapka Hindi!" Shogata jumps to Matthew's defense, but Rajni has a fantastic rebuttal ready. "Toh mere Sir bhi Punjab ke puttar hai! Unki Punjabi ekdam rocket maafik! Aur Angrezi ghode ke taange maafik. Usmein problem kya hai? Aisa kisi ke Angrezi pe hasna toh badi sharam ki baat hai, re baba!" So proud of Rajni! She's absolutely right. Also..."Where is the fun? You are killing ME!" Hah! Take that, Shogata. The only person missing in this is Shaan. I wish he'd been here to see this! He does call Shogata out on her selfishness at the end of the episode, though, so I'm good.

- I'll also admit that during this scene, while everyone was teasing Amrish about his awful English - with none other than Shogata leading the pack - I love how sympathetic Rajni and Dhyaan are. Was Surili also slightly unhappy about Amrish being teased, or was I imagining it? On a more personal note, I could relate to this scenario, as a child of immigrants. Even though I was born and brought up speaking English, I've always admired those people who come from other countries, take it upon themselves to learn English or any other language, and then build their lives in a completely new country using that language. All of that said, I loved what Rajni pointed out about Amrish's Punjabi being impeccable. His efforts to speak English are commendable, too, because he really shouldn't feel pressured to be something he is not...but still he wants to try, for his daughter's sake. If only his family would realize that!

- Rajni and Dhyaan make me happy when Shaan or Dev aren't around. "Phir kya hona tha? Mere toh circuit hi choot gaye! Bole toh..." "Matlab?" "Matlab toh, Bhau, Nanaji ne samjhaaya nahi, na?" I only know a handful of words and phrases in Marathi, but I absolutely LOVE the sprinkles of Marathi in Rajni's dialogues in this phase! Ridhima is having too much fun with this, isn't she? It must be quite hard on her vocal cords to say so many lines like this, but she also gets to dance around and be a bit crazy. She's doing such a fab job!

- "Waise mera navra hai kidhar?" I died. Mera navra! ❤️ Shaan's baiko initiates a scan...She locates him in the lab. Naturally. Rajni's navra is fast asleep. "Good morning nahi, good night, Rajni." Awww, he's so tired but he's talking to her half-asleep!

- How ridiculous is this rain dance party idea? "Very, very bad idea." So says Rajni...And Shaan also feels the same way. "What show-offs, yaar. Shaadi announce karne ke liye rain party, so annoying." Wohi toh! I freaking love this guy! He's like the voice of the audience. Also, I have a question...Whose values did Shaan imbibe while growing up? Amrish's? Because Shaan is totally against luxurious excesses and frivolities, and I love him all the more for that!

- Rajni sighs, watching her husband trying to sleep. "Aisa kya hai iss neend mein...jo har pati der tak sota hai?" Eyes closed, Shaan answers instantly. "Neend mein patni nahi hoti, na, pati ko pakaane ke liye." Oh, Shaan...Just wait...When you start dreaming of your patni...Well, I'll shut up and wait to see what happens.

- "Go. Fan on kar lo." "Hmph! Khud on kar lo!" And Rajni stomps away, leaving Shaan to sleep. I love that she doesn't do what he says here, because he said something that annoyed her. But wait. She can't feel annoyed...but she expresses her annoyance anyway. And she still leaves him to sleep instead of pestering him to wake up. Aww, these two.

- The water bottle scene. My favorite part of the episode, no contest! I love that Rajni is such a gracious host to complete strangers, giving them water and then insisting that they take even more water with them so their family won't be thirsty. More than that, I love how the water scarcity issue is addressed while giving the audience a little glimpse of Rajni's mental processes as she talks to the father-daughter pair. Rajni recalls her conversation with Shaan about sadness..."That is very sad...and sad is very bad..." And she applies that to this situation. She takes in what the man says about the state of his basti, and the look on her face is one of concentration, maybe even realization, as her logic board works and connects data to reach a conclusion. "Thamb!" She gives the little girl not one more bottle, but two. One for her Aai, and an extra bottle for the child to drink. If that's not indicative of a large heart, CPU or otherwise, I don't know what is! These little things just make me love Rajni more and more! The background music that starts playing during this bit is one of my favorite tunes from the show. The soft piano music is SO lovely and it always, always pulls at my heartstrings! Once again, I just want to say that, like Karan's Punjabi in the previous episode, Ridhima's Marathi in this episode is like music to my ears!

- Speaking of music, Rajni dancing to Tip Tip Barsa Pani is definitely a highlight of the episode for me, LOL. She totally gets into the song, as usual! Shaan comes running, yelling, "Rajni! No!" And then he realizes that there is no water. His proud expression and that flying kiss he sends to Rajni after hearing about how she sent the tanks of water to those in need - awww! That was like, "I'm so proud of me! And I'm so proud of you!"