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These 11 PM-ish episodes give me so many feels that cannot be defined in mere words, yet here I attempt to do so - to decode the man and woman I have cherished to watch on-screen, and continue to do so even today.
I have to say something before beginning the main part of this post though, that I think almost everyone here knows, yet I feel I need to disclose before I start gushing. I'm biased towards Raman Kumar Bhalla, a bit more than Ishita Raman Bhalla, even though I understand her very well.
Having said that, I confess I simply love Ishita in this track ❤️
Odd, isn't it? When Raman is being the sweet, loving, caring, supportive husband, why Ishita then?
The answer lies in the originality of YHM that once was. Here was a female lead, scarred, yet upstanding, who was as fierce as the Jhansi ki Rani, yet who made mistakes like us mortals, and who then owned upto her mistakes and worked on them. She wasn't the be-all-and-end-all devi from the very beginning. She was human, realistic and relatable. She ran away with her kid when she thought there was the danger of separation. She put spy cams in her son's room when she thought the teenager was dating his classmate. She brought her husband's drunk ex-wife home in the middle of the night and made her sleep in their room on their bed. All these actions made her human, someone capable of committing mistakes, realizing them the next day, and making amends.
Unlike the previous family-feud-ending-with-packagaing-juice track, where she just swooped in to run her husband's business only to face unrealistic obstacles like enemy mixing poison in the boxes, or the dentist-turned-obstetrician who just went into Vandu's labour room and relieved her of her child birthing pain; This Ishita is like the olden days - who struggled at making chicken but had to / wanted to for her family, who didn't want to deliver her neighbour's baby until she was coaxed to because she had better knowledge than others.
This Ishita wants to take this job up to help her husband, who in turn is taking care of their youngest kid so that she can come close to her daughter, be Pihu's mother they had imagined her to be. She is not swooping in the office, emo-blackmailing workers and managing orders as yet. She's scared and nervous. She's jittery because she knows this isn't her cup of tea, and she doesn't shy away in either sharing her fears with Adi-Aliya-Mihir or asking for help from them and from her husband. She's so afraid of ruining his hard work of years, so afraid of taking this challenge on that for a few moments she literally begs Raman to come back to office, forgetting Pihu and the situation. She understand why investors would be concerned since she's a newcomer and has zero experience. She's experiencing all human emotions anyone in her place would and she's sharing them. This is such a breathing relief from the crocodile-fighting-ghost-playing Ishita they made us witness.
It is only when her capabilities as a woman are questioned that she fights back, never riding on the fact that her husband's a great businessman, never pretending that she knows it all and can do it all. She has been hidden in the dirt of dramatic twists and turns for so long, that I almost heaved a cry of happiness on seeing her getting at 4 am and studying, and telling Raman where she was faltering and taking his help, and pleading with him to come back to office because she was afraid.
This is the woman who is so inspiring because she truly does. She was Raman's Ishita, not the smiling sacrificial queen, but the one who not only revels in her qualities but also accepts her shortcomings and does not try to be the saviour all alone.
Now coming to Raman - RKB had his wife's back and how!
Away from those yelling monstrosities of times in between, here was a man who was his woman's best friend, critique, well-wisher, support and motivator - all at once. From convincing the lady in question itself, to the family, to ultimately taking a stand for her amidst professional commitments - This was RKB out and out, making his Ishita understand why she needed to do this, encouraging her to go ahead, believing in her when she herself seemed unsure, and to give her the cushion to just go and try and win it, for herself, and for them.
He was not just a great husband today, but an amazing father too. One whose kids' happiness and well-being is at the forefront. He knows how difficult this is going to be for Ishita, to handle a project of this magnitude with no business experience. But he ALSO knows every moment Pihu spends away from her mother, it is this very Ishita that suffers. Deep down inside he knows it was his fault that the symbol of their love is unaware of her very existence, and he wants to do everything in his power to turn that part around now. He needs to be his daughter's confidante and her hero, like he was once for Ruhi, to get her to understand the complexities of their entangled lives.
He was the quintessential RKB from YHM 1.0 One who grabbed Suraj's collar in Batra's Clinic when he insulted Ishita and her work. One who unthinkingly gave up his presidency for her license. One who praised Ishita on stage in front of the entire society for being a superwoman. He was everything I have always loved about him, and always will. He was Ishita's Raman, no not the gushy romantic husband who makes us all drool, but the pillar she can always lean back on in difficult times, and the mirror she can always check her inner strengths reflected in.
I don't know what's in store for the next few days, but watching the original Raman and Ishita come alive once again after ages is an emotion better experienced than spoken about.
Health and Fitness
Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
