My two cents to the constant comparison || Gone Girl v/s Beyhadh
It is no secret that several people believe that Beyhadh is just an Indianised serialistic version of Gone Girl. Be it Amy and Maya's manipulative sharp-mindedness that seems alike or the Desi Collings some see in Samay, in this post, I have noted most comparisons between the two.
[I am not familiar with the book as I haven't read it but only seen the movie, I'm certain I'd have a better insight of the characters after having read the book. I'm aware similar posts have previously been made in the forum, this is just an in depth analysis with its share of personal opinions. If you happen to disagree with this post, or have any valuable additions/suggestions, feel free to express so in a civil manner.]
Maya Mehrotra v/s Amy Dunne
Miserable childhood
Both, Maya as well as Amy have undoubtedly had some terrible early years. While Maya's childhood consisted of coping with an abusive father, who supposedly isolated her and drove all her well-wishers and friends away, Amy struggled to survive with the expectations of her parents and faced constant rivalry with Amazing Amy, who, despite being based upon her, was always one step ahead.
Maya: There's no doubt Maya's childhood has been terrible, it was right then when she began developing her psychopathic persona. Maya had an abusive father, who beat her and publicly humiliated her in order to drive all her friends away, a mother, who was blinded by love and good-for-nothing, even back then when she wasn't in a state of paralysis. Ashwin and Jhanvi's relationship was toxic, but there's more to it. Ashwin never wanted anyone to come in between the wealth his wife could provide him .This childhood has stayed with Maya as her fears, all of season 1, she had regular flashbacks of the torture she had undergone as a child. Her fear of colours and water were all due to the abuse she faced in her childhood. The memories of her 9th birthday haunt her, and it's not only sorrow or fear that she felt, there was anger- anger seeking its way out that could easily turn into vengeance.
Amy: Where she fails, her fictional character succeeds. Based on the movie only, I think Amy's parents weren't nearly as terrible as they are said to be. Their only real fault was creating Amazing Amy and being clueless about how they were affecting their daughter emotionally. I believe her parents were mere perfectionists who wished to raise their daughter like every other parent - to be the absolute best. When they wrote Amazing Amy, they saw their daughter as an inspiration for the main character but also created Amazing Amy in a way such that their daughter always followed her footsteps. The outcome of this, however, turned out to be different. Amy felt this immense pressure to live up to the impossible expectations. She saw Amazing Amy as someone who mocked her everytime she failed, always doing better than her, in Amy Dunne's words - Amazing Amy was always one step ahead. Whether Amy was psychologically fragile by nature, or whether her upbringing caused it all isn't too clear to me from the movie. If anything, her parents seem to be oblivious about how pressurized they made Amy feel, if I'm not mistaken, her parents are both psychologists and I think this was a big miss. What I do not like about her parents is the fact that they seemed to give a lot of importance to Amzing Amy, perhaps more than the attention they ever gave their daughter, making a business out of it.
Influence, wealth and power
Maya Mehrotra - multimillionaire and successful entrepreneur. Her staff quivered at the thought of her. Maya is depicted as an influential, powerful person, someone of an incredibly high status. Amy, on the other hand, wrote personality quizzes for a magazine. It is shown that Nick and Amy struggled to make ends meet, not being in the best economical position. Amy, unlike Maya, lacked the advantage of influence.
Maya: Right from the very beginning of the show, Maya had been shown as a person of power. Owner of Fashion & The City. No doubt that she would have had to work to get where she was, but post attaining success, there was nothing that could lower her from the pedestal she had so gracefully placed herself upon. Maya was influential, and she was well aware of it. She slapped a police inspector (reasonably so), knowing he could do nothing about it. She even went on to tell him not to take advantage of his post, whilst doing the exact opposite at the moment. She bailed Ayaan out of prison at the mere mention of her name, unaware of what he had been charged for or why, not really bothering either. She was rich, never faced economic issues as far as we had been shown unless in the previous years.
Amy: Amy wasn't extremely rich or influential or powerful even. Her profession consisted of writing personality quizzes for a magazine. A Harvard graduate in psychology, her profession could even be deemed petty in comparison to her high qualification. At a point of time, both Nick and Amy lose their jobs and they seem to face financial problems. Amy accomplished a lot without using her name or existence to her advantage. There's no doubt that Amy could have been responsible for the ruination of the world, had she the benefit of power.
Love & Emotions
Maya is often seen making decision regarding her feelings and intuitions. She truly cares for the ones she loves, not many really. Her weakness being, her one and only Arjun. Amy on the other hand is cold-hearted and knows no limits. She hates Nick, despises him. Amy's got a plan, one in which she intends to destroy Nick, getting him blamed for her own murder. Maya would never hurt Arjun. She would never let anyone lay an eye on her man, but Amy has sketched her plan in a way such that Nick's destruction is ensured.
Maya: Maya's relies on intuition. Right in the start, recruiting Arjun in her company despite him having proved to be a complete mannerless person who would never follow her code of conduct was an act based on intuition, she saw something in him and wanted to give him an opportunity regardless of the rules her strong-willed self had. Maya would put everything at risk for the ones she loves: Arjun and Jhanvi. It's been shown how Maya has gone to incredible extents such as jumping into a damn without knowledge of basic swimming to save her mother. The police inspector stunt she pulled was only to revenge that slap he'd graced Arjun with. She has even staked her life to save Arjun in Mauritius, before they were even romantically involved. Transferring all shares of Fashion & The City to Arjun was an irrational act, a wrong decision, taken solely because she trusted Arjun. Trust being a feeling that didn't quite correspond with her nature. Maya wouldn't ever permit anything to happen to Arjun, she'd take a crime upon herself only to save him.
Amy: Amy hates her husband because he cannot accept her real personality. Moreover, she was aware of Nick's affair. These two main factors motivate Amy to revenge her husband's infidelity. Amy's original plan consists of setting up Nick's downfall by staying away for long enough until she was ready to kill herself and frame her husband for murder. Here's a little extract that truly gives an insight to how Amy Dunne viewed her husband:
"You think I'd let him destroy me and end up happier than ever? No f**king way. He doesn't get to win. My cute, charming, salt-of-earth Missouri guy. He needed to learn. Grown-ups work for things. Grown-ups pay. Grown-ups suffer consequences."
Illusion: appearance v/s reality
This is a theme that differentiates the two further- what truly is, and what is shown. Maya was always in control under the public eye, still considered antisocial and cold. Amy, on the other hand, wanted to be likeable; she wanted people to admire her talents, perfection, intelligence and beauty. She pretended to be the cool girl.
Maya: Maya was great at hiding her true self. She was an intriguing person, yet intimidating to all, not only including her employees but also her own mother who seemed to be very cautious of ever word she uttered in her daughter's presence, much more careful than any mother should be. She wasn't interested in socialising or maintaining a life outside the realm of her professional life and her little time at home which defined her personal life.
Amy: Amy wants to be a cool girl. She pretends to be this likable person throughout the first year of her marriage. Amy didn't seem cold or anti-social, in fact, quite captivating and outgoing. When she first met Nick she fell perfectly under the desirable category of cool girl', a perfect conversation starter, and quite compatible to Nick's witty personality.
Emotional, mental and psychological strength
There's no doubt that both Amy and Maya haven't had the best lives, yet Maya is much weaker as a character than Amy is. Maya has been holding onto her past for dear life and anytime something triggered unpleasant memories, she punished herself. Amy, instead, wanted to punish anyone but herself.
Maya: A tough childhood, abusive father, etc. belong to the bad part of Maya's life. However, she holds onto her past very firmly, not letting it go, not wanting to let it go. She is the kind of person who despite her fervent will may give up quite easily. Maya is known for her several suicide attempts. It's understandable upto a point, considering she is just emotionally tired and can take no more. This trait of Maya truly reminds me of the line that was used to introduce Portia to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, perhaps, Maya's little body is aweary of this great world.
Amy: Now, Amy is quite the If I go down, I take you down with me' kind of person. In my opinion, she's had a harder life, yet always tackled situations better. She's good at making impulsive decisions in times of need and coming up with improvised plans, always keeping in mind her ultimate motive. Amy's life is a rocky road, everything in her marriage is fine until she decides to become herself. Her true cold, sarcastic and hot-headed traits aren't admired as much by her husband. Other problems arise in her life as well, both Nick and Amy lose their jobs and struggle to make ends meet. Nick's parents get sick - his mother is detected with stage 4 cancer while his father suffers from Alzheimer. They move from Manhattan to Missouri. Nick also borrows Amy's deposit to open a bar. Amidst it all, Nick's dissatisfaction with Amy leads him to have an affair with his college student. And yet, Amy remained relatively calm, no suicidal attempts as far as I recall. Amy's original plan after setting up Nick's downfall is to stay away and maintain a new identity until she was prepared to kill herself, but even then, another problem makes its way to Amy, she ironically seems to be a beacon for issues. She gets robbed, and is left with nothing, or barely enough. The spontaneous change of plans includes calling Desi, her obsessed high school lover, asking for help she was bound to get.
Public advantage
Both Maya and Amy seem to have used the common crowd as a part of their manipulations, the latter more than the former. While Maya used media and public to out some bitter truths of her past, Amy just uses the country's sympathy to ruin Nick's public image.
Maya: Maya has been shown to manipulate and use media in a few occasions. The first being the time she revealed Ashwin's abusive nature, not only earning pity, but also ensuring to prevent further threats from him. The second time she used media to her favour was by announcing a fake pregnancy, almost hoping that a public reveal would make her get what she wants. And the third and perhaps biggest manipulation of public to her advantage was by faking a rape case and then earning almost everyone's sympathy, from the courtroom Judge, to social activists fighting for women's rights. The last case also made amends and bridged Arjun and Maya's hopeless relationship.
Amy: Amy knew what she wanted from the crowd and she knew how to get it. She had a well-laid plan to ruin Nick's public image and earn the country's sympathy by being America's sweetheart, she even worked on fulfilling the needed requirements, even if it meant faking a pregnancy.
Nature
Maya and Amy can be defined as perfectionists, narcissistic, selfish, competitive, manipulative and antisocial. While the last point doesn't particularly apply to Amy, both the characters are very similar regarding their manipulative nature. Both like controlling people to get what they want.
QUOTING GONE GIRL - Here are some quotes from Gone Girl that are either relatable, applicable or remotely similar to the concept of Beyhadh.
"There's a difference between loving someone and loving the idea of her."
No one is in love here. Neither Arjun, nor Maya. Arjun initially just felt a certain infatuation for Maya, not love. Maya was more straight-forward and quick when it came to things, she had the life Arjun dreamed of. He had big dreams that came along with a fast-paced life which is exactly what Maya was- quick, fast-paced. Arjun's liing for Maya originated because he saw in her everything he ever wanted to be.Maya too, wasn't in love with Arjun himself, she was in love with the surroundings and security she felt when she was with him. As Vandana had said, Maya is not in love with him, but the idea of him.
"My gosh, Nick, why are you so wonderful to me?"
He was supposed to say: You deserve it. I love you.
But he said, "Because I feel sorry for you."
"Why?"
"Because every morning you have to wake up and be you."
Pity. Humanity. Kindness. Or for the sake of the emotional attachment that once existed. Call it what you may, that's exactly why Arjun remains with Maya.
"I was told love should be unconditional. That's the rule, everyone says so. But if love has no boundaries, no limits, no conditions, why should anyone try to do the right thing ever? If I know I am loved no matter what, where is the challenge? I am supposed to love Nick despite all his shortcomings. And Nick is supposed to love me despite my quirks. But clearly, neither of us does. It makes me think that everyone is very wrong, that love should have many conditions. Love should require both partners to be their very best at all times."
Since this program is called Beyhadh and its main theme consists of crossing all boundaries and having no limitations, I wonder whether ever Maya will have the realisation that certain terms and rules are needed to make a relationship successful. It's not always about the extremes, even Amy seems to have realised that.
"I feel myself trying to be charming, and then I realize I'm obviously trying to be charming, and then I try to be even more charming to make up for the fake charm, and then I've basically turned into Liza Minnelli: I'm dancing in tights and sequins, begging you to love me. There's a bowler and jazz hands and lots of teeth."
This is clearly something that shouldn't have made its way into the post but of course I added it cause I can do whatever the hell I want. On a not-so-serious note, I added this quote because it somehow manages to remind me of the time Maya decides to pole dance to grab Arjun's attention. This is something that had me in fits of laughter. (If you are questioning my sense of humour, let me tell you that anything is funny enough to a human at 3am.)
"When two people love each other and can't make it work, that's the real tragedy."
Isn't that what season 2 of Beyhadh is all about? The failed ArYa relationship and the reasons behind it, and how both characters seem to be oblivious to how they worsen the situation day after day.
[SHORT PARAGRAPH COMPARING SAMAY AHUJA TO DESI COLLINGS TO BE UPDATED SOON, until then, sayonara lovelies]
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