Okay I promised myself that I'd find time to write on KRPKAB so here we go. Inspite of the lows that the show's been witnessing lately, what a cracker of an episode marked the new milestone it reached yesterday! I have seen and loved other shows before this one and while KRPKAB might not speak of an epic tale of love, it holds its own with its simple, realistic approach to the day to day complexities of life.
Even though Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi had the rich business tycoon falling in love with the middle class girl as its main story, you saw from the very beginning only how it attempts to tell that same story differently. These characters were never stereotypes. The seemingly arrogant Dev Dixit was always an emotional man who would give and give and give and the people around him would simply take and take and take. Yes he could be methodical and ruthless too, paying little heed to anyone beyond his family but at the core, Dev was never a man without feelings.
Then you had Dr. Sonakshi Bose as the no-nonsense, strong, intelligent, caring and loving protagonist. These characters have changed over the course of these 200 episodes. They have fallen in love, they have had their hearts broken, they have healed and learned and grown and most of all, with each passing day, they understand each other better and gain strength from each other thereby adding more and more depth to the love that they share.
What makes Dev and Sonakshi so special for each other is that nobody really knows them like they know each other. They both pretend to be invincible, they're both thoroughly selfless too... Its only with each other that they have learned to let their guard down; in Dev's case - fallen to pieces, knowing that the other person will gather them back up. With regards to Sona, it was only ever Dev who could recognize her trying to move on as an ill-disguised attempt to salvage her pride. In addition to that, everytime we have seen Sona lose some part of herself to appease her in-laws, we have also seen Dev try and pull her back and remind her of who she is. Essentially Dev and Sona's situation was summed up quite perfectly in the scene after the sangeet where they discuss the many characters in their lives and their struggle to find some normalcy and happiness in the midst of all the drama.
While that drama may never really cease until the final chapter of this story, we have seen how these two try and make the best of every situation. Be it their cancelled honeymoon, Neha's marital problems or Ishwari's possessiveness and insecurity, every conflict has eventually resulted in their bond strengthening. Sometimes they are on the same page, other times they aren't but that growth is omnipresent. While the jhoola issue was largely unexplored in my opinion, Dev learning empathy and realizing his mistake with respect to the matter of calling Asha as Maa, was well done. Empathy does not come easy to Dev. He has always been driven by giving his family whatever they need regardless of the consequences. Dev only acts, he never thinks. That changed.
Coming to yesterday's episode, while I don't entirely approve of Sona acting like one Mahanta ki Devi, I do like the affect it has had on Dev. He continues to be completely grateful for how she handles this mad family (And the Dixits are mad as far as I'm concerned) and with time we have seen how his protective nature has now shifted to include Sona. She is his wife and he is responsible for her. It's a relief to see Dev finally taking a stand and protecting Sona from his own family and acting like the medium he should be. She is no longer alone now. Dev is there to back her up and defend her when no one else does. Afterall his support is what makes all the difference. Not Nikki or Mamaji, Dev. Dev had to be the one. I guess him falling ill was what changed things. While everyone was adamant on being right, Sona was the only one who simply wanted Dev to get better, not caring who gets the credit. It opened his eyes to how completely unfair his family is to Sona and how their cruelty is entirely unwarranted. I guess Dev finally realized that his family really does not see Sona the way he does. Such a welcome change overall.
But the biggest moment of yesterday's episode for me was Dev taking a stand for himself. Time and again, we have seen how Neha and Ishwari exploit Dev's emotional nature. All he needs is a reminder of his past to feel miserable and guilt ridden again. Yesterday we saw Dev fight that instinct. He tends to absolve Ishwari and Neha of every big and little thing because he owes too much to them. But it wasn't just all them was it? It was Dev too. He suffered right along with them and worked hard to change that. It's honestly so good to see Dev recognize his own personal efforts to help his family. He's finally seeing his own worth and he has Sonakshi to thank for that. Perhaps if Dev can come to terms with the fact that he really did everything he could at the time, he can be at peace with himself and learn to let go of his guilt and his pain. When he does that, it will no longer have any power over him. I once wrote about how Dev is currently stuck between his past and his present. He wants to move on to a happier place but his past refuses to let him, sometimes even leaving him guilt ridden for trying. This is Dev Dixit embracing the present, this is him moving on and I couldn't be happier for him. There is a promise of happiness and love here in the name of his wonderful, beautiful wife so who would want to look back? With Sonakshi, we have seen Dev discover what it means to be loved, truly, selflessly and without agenda. He has experienced Sona accepting him in all his flaws, working hard to help him overcome them and most of all, never ceasing to love him inspite of all the mistakes he makes. That kind of love liberates you, it brings out the best parts of you and helps you evolve into a better human being.
And for me, that is what Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi is about. It's about love, about the complexity and delicacy of relationships but most of all it is about human conflict, the struggle each of us makes with our personal demons. Be it Sona, Dev, Ishwari or Neha... that conflict remains the central theme. You either wage war with your worst parts or remain blinded to them and live a deluded life. That is the journey of all these characters and that is also what real life eventually comes down to as well.
Happy 200 to my KRPKAB family đ¤, lets hope we continue to witness growth in this story and see it get a fitting end.
Cheers,
Maham
Shiv Shakti
