For the last week's episodes, I mulled over two options for my analysis: one plot-driven - and there was a lot of that - the other based on a PP presentation of the Chandra-Nandini scenes.
The choice was almost a no brainer. See, all of you who have watched the episodes know the plot developments, and they need at the most a few comments, plus perhaps a few interesting speculations about this coming week. Besides, I did not want to begin by blowing my own trumpet for having (in what was almost a first for me in the IF!) got a crucial plot prediction- that the walling in of Nandini was a deliberate, pre-determined plan of Chandra's to get at the real culprit - more than 90% correct (the 10% being my assumption that he did not know of Roopa's identity).
On the other hand, the Chandra-Nandini scenes were both abundant and almost uniformly superb. More important, taken together, they constituted an extraordinary collage, bringing alive for us the essence of a deep, almost all consuming, tum nahin to main nahin kind of bond between our leads. A bond which was all the more extraordinary for being, by now, taken for granted by both of them, despite their not having acknowledged it, even to each other.
In fact, while I was thinking back over these passages, I was reminded of what I had written, once upon a time, about another romance. If you will bear with me, I would like to revisit that passage with you, of course suitably remixed!
Sunlight on a butterfly's wings: When was the last time you watched dappled sunlight dancing on the surface of running water? Or the iridescent colours that appear and disappear on a butterfly's wings as the light catches them? A long time ago, I expect.
But I saw both last week , as Chandra and Nandini teased each other, squabbled and sulked, smiled with shared pleasure, and laughed as one. As they showed the strength of a mutual faith that transcended all else. As they displayed an unabashed possessiveness that came of a sense of belonging together, now and forever. As they planned and plotted and worked together, with a camaraderie that was warm and close and mutually supportive.
As they made of that odd event, their second marriage, something uniquely beautiful and heart-warming: not a renewal of old vows and an old relationship, but the revelation, to themselves and to each other, that they were truly made for each other, and that nothing could sunder them ever more.
What we got last week was, in the truest sense of the word, magical. Romance of neither the RK Films logo she-slips-and-lands-in-his-arms variety, nor of the sensual, heavy breathing kind. Instead, of the delicate, butterfly-dancing-above-the-water kind, where the most commonplace nok jhok, a jealous pout by Nandini, a mischievous sally by Chandra, could brighten their spirits as if a candle had been lit inside them. When looking at each other from 10 feet away, or the slightest, almost accidental touch of the fingers, can conjure up the warmth of a close embrace. It was as if Tinkerbell had spangled the screen with fairy dust.
Charming possessiveness: So here are my takes on their individual scenes, taken in no particular order. As is often the case with me these days, I am beginning at the very end of the Friday night episode, the precap.
One can easily guess what went before, as an irate Nandini, furious about Chandra's deliberate flirting with Roopa and his lurid sallies, is all set to evict him from her bedroom in the tehkhana when he finally lands up there. But Chandra is not going to give up so easily, and so he trots out some old wives' tale about the suhaag raat, and gets Nandini to agree to let him stay. As she relents, but with the condition that he stay on his side of the bed - but when did he do anything else? It sounds almost like a reverse come on! - there is hidden amusement in his eyes, though the nod of his head is like that of a sulky little boy denied something he wants.
As she prepares to lie down, he moves his outstretched arm away from her side of the bed. Only to have her unexpectedly grab it and tuck it under her neck, even as she moves closer and rests her head on his arm.
Be it noted that this is not Pataalgram, and there are perfectly good pillows in place! So here, Chandra's arm is not a substitute for a pillow. It is a symbol, for Nandini, that just like his arm, the whole of him belongs to her, and she will assert that right any time and every time. As she turns on her side and prepares to fall asleep, there is a secret little smile in her eyes and her face, which is reflected in his as he looks sideways at her.
It was an exquisite little snippet - we will get to see the whole tonight - that pretty much encapsulated all that I have said above about their relationship as it stands today.
Angry possessiveness: This is after the first round of serious haunting of Roopa by Nandini's pretatma - as distinct from walk bys. Chandra has finally calmed down the hysterical Roopa - who is really splendid in her abject fear - and got her to go to sleep. He is now walking down the corridor when, out of the blue, Nandini surges forth and plonks herself in his way.
Her chin thrust aggressively forward, she looks like nothing so much as a debt collector, or an irate wife getting the belan out for a straying husband.😉 One can practically see her hands on hips stance as she looks at Chandra , eyebrows raised, accusing eyes fixed on his face.
Chandra looks puzzled. Even when she spits out Itna chipak kyon rahe the us se?, he seems not to get it, for he ejaculates Eh? When the same line is repeated even more angrily, he immediately scents an opening , and replies, in a tone of injured innocence: Main kahan us se chipak raha tha? Main to use santvana dene ka abhinay kar raha tha!😉
Which does not wash, for Nandini makes a moue of disbelief and disapproval. Her next line is even more acrid. Achcha? Her lower lip twists as she almost hisses at him: Thoda door rehkar santvana dene ka abhinay nahin kar sakte the?
But Chandra, now in full form, slips a googly in under her defence: Tumhein to bada bura lag raha hai? And follows it up, eyes narrowed in amusement and one side of his mouth lifting in sync, a picture of cocky mischief: Yaad hai na, ki kal vivaah hai mera? Which dissolves into delight as Nandini goes into denial mode and stomps off in a huff!
Shock and desperation: This strong streak of possessiveness in Nandini surfaces even earlier, when she first hears of the re-marriage decision. Her reaction: KYA! VIVAAH??, would have clocked in at 80 decibels at the very least!
As Chandra launches into his devious spiel of this being a shadyantra of Roopa's, Nandini's response is vividly sarcastic. When her attempt, while feigning personal unconcern, to use Chanakya as an effective roadblock to the marriage is stumped by Chandra's sophistry, she is suddenly afflicted by a bout of foot-in-the-mouth disease. And ends up having to listen to Chandra's distinctly risque description of the alleged suhaag raat he has already spent with Roopa!
Nandini's Kabh? Kyon? Kaise reek of rank desperation, and angry words pour out of her, while Chandra ponders the question, head to one side in pseudo-serious concern. She finally turns away, bubbling like a tea kettle on the boil and, unable to find words adequate to fit his iniquity, ending up snorting Tum to ..bilkul.. WO ho!, like a child having a tantrum. Only to be told, by a half-shamefaced Chandra, that it was all a joke! I was surprised that she did not hit him, but then apni Nandini is not the slapping kind!
Dinner comedy: I do not know about you folks, but I have never seen anything to match the scene of Nandini gobbling down her dinner, even while carrying on a conversation with Chandra, for sheer, uninhibited comic energy and hilarity. Shweta threw herself fully into the sequence, and was absolutely splendid, while Rajat was of course in top form and having a ball. The two of them played off each other to perfection, and the end result was an endless cascade of rippling laughter, among the viewers, that is!
Every gesture of Nandini's, and every incomprehensible line she produced from a full mouth, was unfailingly comic. This reached its apogee when Chandra proceeded to pull her leg with a vengeance - with a highly dubious account of his bedroom antics with Roopa, whom, he claimed, he had mistaken for Nandini - all the while watching Nandini's angry reacti ons with barely hidden amusement, like a cat at a mousehole.
When she finally snorted Use to main nahin chhodungi.. Arre, waise kaise tumhein sparsh kar sakti hai?, it was full paisa vasool for the smirking Chandra!😉
Garima ki raksha: This begins as a charming Chandra-Nandini scene, with Chandra sidling hesitantly up to the bed, and wondering how to ascertain if the veiled female parked on it is Roopa or Nandini. The trepidation with which he regards her is doubled when she does not give the answer he expects to what he thinks is a code question. His exasperated retort, once the matter is cleared up: To phir mujhe vaanar keh kar kyon nahin bulaya, moorkh?, must belong in the Hall of Fame for the most original romantic lines. 😉
When Nandini finishes explaining how she got rid of Roopa and took her place at the wedding mandap, the delight with which they smile at each other in shared triumph is a sight for sore eyes. Nandini looks like a naughty little girl who has just pulled off a neat prank!
This sequence also heralds the birth of the twin to the vaanar joke, the pretatma joke, this one at Nandini's expense!
Enter a groggy Roopa, while Nandini dives for cover, and the mood changes abruptly. For one thing, Chandra and commonsense cannot co-exist, and he never knows where to stop, especially when he glimpses a chance to rile Nandini and make her jealous. So he babbles on and on and on to Roopa about his prem for her and about this being their suhaag raat, accompanying these pronouncements with warm hugs and even a peck on her forehead. He rounds this off by his umpteenth repetition of the tale of his nirvastra lep session, and the accompanying frolics on the palang.
Companion follies: How on earth Nandini, after having been fooled twice already by the very same bluff, gets taken in for the third time is hard to understand. The only conclusion possible is that love and jealousy can make even a good brain go dull!
The other inference one can draw is about Chandra's decidedly dubious pre-occupation with his birthday suit. This has a companion obsession in Roopa's itchy back and her constant desire to be freed of her vastra, jinse uska dam ghut ta hai. Neither of she nor Chandra can be accused of any originality!
And if they both happened to be re-incarnated in the 21st century , their natural habitat would be a nudist camp!
Given all his follies, I was hardly sympathetic when the chickens came home to roost and Chandra, faced with Roopa's amorous advances, begins to look positively hunted.😉 Rajat is excellent in this sequence, and Chandra's final thanksgiving to Providence for having saved his garima must have brought the house down! Though I do not see how the word garima, which means honour or prestige, in the sense of what is gained thru personal achievements, fits in here.
Sahi maayine mein vivah: OK, now we move from the teasing, leg pulling, quarrelling, sulking, jealous, possessive face of love - prem ka pehla rang- to another. The face of loving and giving, like Friday's child. Of instinctive protectiveness in each towards the other. Of a sense of belonging together, irrevocably, now and forever. Of the inability to even visualize one's life without the loved one, or with anyone else.
Nowhere is this prem ka doosra rang more in evidence than in the remarriage rites. What seemed at first sight to be a foolish whim of the exasperating Daadi, at the prodding of Roopa, turns out to be an intensely moving sequence. A sequence which is, in effect, the gateway to the gentle, protective, loving, new relationship between Chandra and Nandini. Which leads to the realization, by both, of what each of them feels for the other, and to the affirmation, again by both, of what they will now bring to the relationship and to each other.
It is this face of their love that one sees when Chandra says: Main tumhare atirikt kisi aur se vivah nahin karoonga. Main tumse ladta hoon, jhagadta hoon, ghrina bhi karta hoon, chidta hoon, parantu tumhare saath hi rehna chahta hoon, kisi aur ke saath nahin.. Nandini ko main sada hi apni patni ke roop mein chahta hoon..
Or when Nandini, after the marriage rites are over, thinks to herself with wonderment: Aaj sahi maayine mein mera vivah us se sampanna hua hai jise main chahti thi..Par kabhi socha nahin ki Chandra wo vyakti tha jise maine swapna main dekha tha, par pehchan nahin sakhi.. Bas ab yahi chahti hoon ki hum sadaiva saath rahein...
Or in the remixed marriage vows that each of them takes during the saat phere, so radically at odds with the original ones, vengeful and full of corrosive hatred.
Thus Chandra: Vachan deta hoon ki jeevan bhar tumhare saath rahoonga, aur tumhein prasanna rakhoonga. He will do this as much for himself as for her, because he can never be happy without her, or when she is unhappy.
Similarly, Nandini: Main vachan deti hoon ki main tumhare sare dukh, sare kasht, tum par aane se pehle hi swayam par le loongi. This is the ultimate in Savitri-like protectiveness, again as much for her own sake as for his, and for the same reason.
Thus, this prem ka doosra rang leads to a union of their two identities in a way that is more spiritual than earthly. It is an aatmaon ka sangam that transcends all else, which makes the one feel adhoora, incomplete, without the other. If one could cite the parallel without the fear of being dubbed sacrilegious, it is something like the concept of the ardhanareeswara.
In such a union, there is no longer any place for ego, or one-upmanship, or for scoring points off one another. There is only a sense of belonging together, of a shared destiny, of the need to be together till death doth them part. Thus, as Nandini and Chandra smile into each other's eyes at the end of the rites, it is as if all their thoughts and hopes merge together into one bright, joyful whole.
Instinctive faith: The same prem ka doosra rang pervades the scene in the tehkhana when Chandra comes to meet Nandini the day after the walling in.
As he gently touches the wall before breaking it, Chandra's eyes are dark with the pain of and his regret at having had to wall her in, even if only as a charade. Some of this unhappiness is carried over into his expression as he enters the room and looks at her. But the look on her face, as she regards him, is full of melting tenderness and warmth, and as she smiles, the whole gloomy place seems lit up by the radiance in her face and her eyes.
The flashback of their meeting in the prison the night before the walling in was confusing, for I could not understand (a) how Chandra expected her to confess her guilt if he thought that might be the satya he was seeking, and thus how he could be sure, based on her statement alone, that she was innocent, and (b) how the arguments that Nandini used, even the first, about her having saved his life, were really relevant to the issue or adequate to establish her innocence.
But then I realised that none of this mattered. All that mattered was the testimony of Chandra's inner voice, and that had declared Nandini not guilty even before he had tracked down Roopa's identity thru a fortuitous sighting of her on her way to meet Sunanda the night of the walling in. Yes, he pieces together various items of evidence right from Nandini's rescue from the tantrik's cave, and is thus able to make out that there is a doppelganger.
But this is not the real McCoy. That is in the little bit where he says to himself that what really reveals to him that Roopa is not Nandini, is the ajeeb si bechaini, the instinctive revulsion of the spirit that he feels when Roopa comes close to him. The lack of the soul connect, the Nandini ka aabhaas.
His expression as he is looking at Nandini then, with his hand resting snugly on her shoulder , is quite remarkable: soft, almost tender, with no overt romanticism in it, but a great sense of apnapan.
As for Nandini, her faith in Chandra, and her trust in his judgement, are by now total. As she says to herself, her face lit up with serene happiness, that so long as he is with her, no one else's accusations matter to her. Tum jaise kahoge, main waise hi karoongi!
Just as sweet and touching was the eagerness with which she asks Chandra, after her first essay at playing a pretatma, whether Roopa had been scared and whether she , Nandini , had played her part well. It was like nothing so much as a schoolgirl awaiting her report card after an exam. When he says Itna bura bhi nahin tha, she looks duly gratified!
At the end of this segment, when the two of them dissolve into bubbling mirth at their insider joke about a vaanar, one is struck by the total sense of comfort they now have in each other's presence, the sense of shared joys and sorrows. Indeed, their relationship has truly undergone a quantum change.
Protective understanding: Chandra's astute psychological grasp of Nandini's psyche and her inner make up, and the gentle protective affection he feels for her, can be seen from the term he uses to describe her - badi bholi hai - while briefing Chanakya about Roopa's true identity.
He is absolutely right when he wants Roopa's blood bond with Nandini to be kept a secret from her. Not that he will be able to ensure this. The secret will come out, but when and how remains to be seen, as also the fallout of the revelation. However great the initial shock and revulsion Nandini might then feel, it would be strange if the strength of the bond she and Chandra share now, and her faith in him, are not able to help her weather these.
This would in fact be the last segment of the dhai rang prem ke, the strength to overcome such very difficult situations while keeping their core relationship intact.
OK, this is it about our now not such an Odd Couple. Let us move on to the plot and to Chanakya.
A Chandra show: As for the former , apart from my having predicted that it would be all a Chandra show and having been proved correct, what I loved was that Chandra did it all on his own , without any inputs or backing from Chanakya, as has invariably been the case thus far.
In fact, it was Chandra who sent Chanakya the crucial message about his having discovered Roopa's existence and identity, and also indicating how they could use her to get to, and get at Padmanand. It is this message, which gets to Chanakya well in time, that enables him to promise Padmanand that he would bring him his daughter ( ie Roopa, whom they would palm off on him as Nandini) within his 7 day deadline. Which in turn makes possible their new master plan to seize and kill Padmanand.
The new battle stratagem: It seems all right on paper, but I hope the Magadhan reinforcements, presumably buried up to their necks in the grassy parts of the terrain,would surge forth at the right time to make sure that Chandra and his minimal forces are not overpowerd by the enemy. Judging by the poor co-ordination during a similar exercise at Piplivan, which led to a near fiasco in which Chandra could have been killed twice but for Nandini's interventions, I am not too hopeful this time either. F ingers crossed for this one not to end up the same way!
Morever, I cannot understand why, if Padmanand's fleeing soldiers gain the hill and are able to look down on the battlefield, they would grasp Chanakya's plan and possibly benefit from it. Would all the camouflaged Mauryan soldiers not have emerged from hiding before the enemy soldiers were scattered? If so, what more would be left to be revealed to them, and what harm could that cause the Mauryan side?
Chanakya as hostage option: There was a valid doubt expressed as to the wisdom of Chanakya going alone to meet Padmanand, thus exposing himself to capture, and either being killed or used as an even more valuable hostage than his daughter Bharati.
The best and most psychologically convincing answer to this is the one given by Anil (AKT.JA) on my last thread, which goes as follows.
I think it is a question of the proverbial bird in hand vs whatever may or may not be found in the bush later.
Chanakya's offer to return Nandini is here and now. If Nand kills or arrests Chanakya, who knows how Chandra will value the return of the hostages? What if he says, "Keep them, and forget about Nandini."
Nand understands a father's love and is counting on the same emotion in Chanakya. OTOH he himself probably won't give up much either for Rakshas or for that already-arrested senapati, and is understandably unsure of just how far Chandra might be willing to go for Chanakya+daughter.
Please notice that Nand went out of the way to locate and imprison Chanakya'sdaughter, and didn't bother with holding Chanakya's wife or kidnapping Chandra's foster mom etc. Whatever Chandra may or may not feel, clearly such relations don't carry much weight with Nand.
The other doubt: As to the other question of why Chandra needs to try and prove a case against Roopa, instead of merely arresting her and Sunanda and getting a confession out of them any which way, Anil had an equally convincing answer.
He didn't know anything about this conspiracy till very recently. Even now he cannot be sure he understands it completely: who all are involved, what do they want, what other dangers still lurk around. It is reasonable to go slow and investigate further.
As someone with 38 years of experience as a professional diplomat, I would endorse this reading in toto. This is how any spying case is handled. The suspect is never arrested at once. Instead, he or she is watched and followed, until it is felt that no more information about his/her contacts and other useful elements remains to be gathered. At which point, the suspect is pulled in, and sent for trial and punishment.
The new promo: Which I have not seen, incidentally, but which apparently shows Padmanand, evidently warned by Amatya Rakshas that Chanakya would be palming Roopa off on him as Nandini, stabbing the girl who rushes to embrace him, shouting that he was now getting rid of the abhishaap on his own life.
But of course the person stabbed would not be Roopa but Nandini, who would have insinuated herself into the contigent going to meet her pita maharaj in the conviction that she could talk him into handing over Bharati with no quid pro quo.
Well, one sees that Nandini is going to get an unexpected intro to her pitamaharaj's real nature. The rest will probably develop as per Sandhya's draft scenario, which is reproduced below
1. Nandini will learn that her Pitaji Maharaaj is a devil who was good only to her.
2. Chandra will cry tanks - Ekta will wish to duplicate the Mazhar Scene (in Jodha Akbar)
3. This will be the worst punishment for Nand for his atrocities - stabbing the only person who was dear to him, himself.
3. This incident may probably leave Nandini childless. Enhancing the bonds with a motherless Bindusaar and thus Chandra himself.
As for me, I only hope Rajat does better than he did in that weeping scene about Chhaya, that is all. 😉
The bit about the stabbing being the reason for Nandini's subsequent childlessness is rather neat, Sandhya. But Chandra does not need this mothering bit to have his bond with Nandini enhanced. It is already as strong as spider's silk, which is said to have many times the tensile strength of steel.
Why Nandini goes in Roopa's place in not yet clear. I presume she is not told of Roopa being carted along at all, and must have latched on the delegation, being confident her being able to get Nand to let Bharati go free.
But all this leaves two major questions still unanswered.
1) What about Padmanand? One presumes that Chandra kills him at once as soon as he has stabbed Nandini taking her to be Roopa. But he might well escape in the melee, while Chandra sobs over Nandini's prone body, as a dress rehearsal for what is to come.😉
2) What about Roopa? She will still be around, unless she ups and stabs Padmanand in the back - the perfect place! 😉- while he is weeping gallons over his priyatamaa putri. But that will still leave her around. I do not see her as a candidate for a change of heart!😉
Shocking gaffe: The idea of the Mauryan royal family celebrating this Chandra-Nandini re-marriage while the daughter of the family, Chhaya, is still in a coma, is incomprehensible and appalling in its insensitivity.😡 Not one of them seems in the least bothered about her, not even Chandra, who cried all those buckets of tears after she lost her baby and slipped into a coma, nor the ever caring Nandini. It is as if poor Chhaya had been swallowed up by a black hole!
OK, folks, I am winding up here, and you can have fun adding your own takes on the predictions made above.
See you again soon. Please do not forget to hit the Like button if you think it is warranted.
Shyamala/Aunty/Periyamma/ Akka/Di
PS: The three wonderful photos here are courtesy my dearest Anjali. Thanks a million, my pet, especially for the ones from the precap!
PPS: My hands are really very tired now, so do bear with me if I respond to your comments only later in the week. Thanks
Jhanak
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