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Hi guys...long time no see. Was quite busy this week with some family stuff and caught up with episodes late. But got through all of them now. So penning my views now.
This week story progressed, albeit slowly . After all the nail biting we did up until the confession and until Aru came back with Mukhi to Amboli, this week seemed slow and shallow. But it did have its magical moments. Lets go through them all.
3 tracks that are now open are :
1)The dreaded Dharmi is back. I am glad she is back, so we all get can get done with her track once for all. Rami-Aru-Anshul...do everything you want to go, and get done. Dharmi is upto no good...and she will create some upheavels but Mukhi has already clarified in friday'e episode that to him, Dharmi is the sister of his wife and bahu of the house Aru. He does not care how Dharmi disappeared. He has accepted Aru and I do not think Dharmi and Rami can affect any change in Aru Mukhi dynamics, except for some drama.
2) Mukhi agreed to be part of the Sawan Utsav: This can be a light hearted track but with serious messages about compatibility and knowing each other.
3) And ofcourse Saanvi's love interest, Abhay has entered the scene. Aru will be probably shown looking upto him , as they showed in the first introduction shot. The camera angle showed Aru looking up at Abhay from a 90 degree angle. Mukhi's insecurities will keep visiting him because he will misunderstand Aru's respect for Abhay as compatibility with someone of her age and caliber. This , in my opinion is the most dangerous of all the tracks. Any change in Aru Mukhi dynamics , any separation mentally or physically will happen through this track only. This is the only track where Mukhi can break Aru's heart completely. But somewhere this track can collide with Dharmi's track. Hope makers keep solving the loops they create and do not stretch them .
Of course Rami's amavas has come...but Raami, jaise Amavas aaya hai vaise Poornima bhi ayegi...there is a dawn after dusk...light after dark...you know you cannot change that Ramiben darling:)
Lack of physical intimacy:
Okay. About the writing and execution of the episodes. I think the makers themselves were not sure of the tracks they want to pursue after confession is done and Aru is Amboli. The drunken scene was so so...the longing they showed in Mukhi was superb and Mukhi 's touching " abhi na jao chodke" confession was lovely too.But again this week there was a huge dip in chemistry. A much in love couple behaves a little differently...you don't take permission to touch , to hold, to cuddle etc. Yes waiting for the act of absolute intimacy is different, but there is no reason to be touch me nots. So some scenes by the bed were odd, as in the talking and understanding was very mature but bedside manner was not.
Was not happy the way Aru fake romanced Mukhi to get to Bhuj. The man gave her his word of honour...she needs to keep that honour and respect him with the same.
Now this guy is afraid to touch her hand. 😲 Which is very weird because they love each other. The body language needs to reflect that...
Mukhi's insecurties :
I liked Thursday's episode where Mukhi admits his fears to himself. But does not "trust" Aru and their relationship to be able to rely on her and confess his fears to her. Though the scene was very heart touching and Eijaz did it very soulfully...some words from Mukhi hurt me a lot. It hurt me that even after two months of marriage , after confessing his love and admitting he cannot stay away from her, he was thinking of Aru being better suitable for another "Rajkumar". Even if a spouse feels at times that they may not be the best for their spouse the usual reaction is to " want to try and be the best for you". If I feel that my husband deserves someone more educated, I will take up that education. I can try to better understand his business and help him. There are always things you can do to fill the gap to a good extent, if you have the will. Yes, age gap is there which is why the marriage was so hard to accept. But even when they had not confessed, the attachment and longing were shown to be very strong from Mukhi's side also. His mention of this Rajkumar that Aru supposedly deserves was very un-nerving, He is the one that has saved her from every disaster that you can name. He is the one she feels safest with. He is the one that had the golden heart to forgive the 1 crore loss. His morals , public support of her etc was the one that won her heart. And he has accepted her as Mukhiyani too. In the jalebi episode Aru tells him, saare hero ek taraf our Mukhiji ek taraf. She makes him feel so important to her. Inspite of all that, he is still thinking that some other guy would have been better for her...its warning bells for me. Hope Mukhiji does not suffer from low self worth type of issues. Agreed it all started with the Bhuj karyalay official who taunted him, but he needs to realize that Aru is also at the other end of the same spectrum. And it would be a much bigger taunt and insult to Aru if they completely refused to participate, because he is taking away Aru's chance to play and win, her chance to be the new dulhan and have her fun. After all, this phase does not last long. The girl anyway did not have decent wedding ceremonies for herself. Not letting her participate would be damning her to a life with a label" Old man's wife so cannot participate in anything". I was appalled that they showed Mukhi to be so self absorbed that he was making the decision for both of them without thinking of her. He was forcing her into shadows because he does not want to be onstage and deal with any ridicule. So was he thinking that the people who criticize and ridicule do not do it behind his back ? If anything, he should have had these feelings during Aru;s mooh dikhayi ceremony after the wedding fiasco. But the whole village accepts them. Miya Biwi Razi to kya karega kazi? And if there is any ridicule, they both can deal with it together. Its the "together" that gives sustenance to their bond.
Maturity is not about age or gender:
Though people found Aru to be immature, I actually felt its Mukhi who was being immature in this case. With they showed Saanvi advising Mukhi as well, and make him realize he cannot take away his wife's chance to live the life a normal wife and bride. Aru is chirpy, bubbly and spontaneous, makers are sticking by her character. That does not make her immature...
Similarly Mukhi's ploys to escape the sawan competition do not make him mature,just because his behaviour brooding and serious. How you think is different from how you present yourself. A person can be very mature but present themselves in a bubbly way. Hope they do not shallow Mukhi's character by make him self absorbed in his insecurities...he will make life miserable for her in that way.
I personally relate to this type of thing a lot, because this is an issue I face with my husband but we have improved on it as a couple. A simple thing like dancing with the partner in parties .I love to dance. My husband hated being in limelight , and did not dance. So what happened in parties? He would go sit near the bar and help himself. And since I would be alone without a partner I couldn't dance and have fun even though I wanted to. And I wouldn't want to dance with any other men. Ultimately..the point is he alone was calling the shots for the both of us...I would just sit around and chat and be upset the next few days. I started accepting this as my fate and one of the incompatibilities we had. I hated going to these events ultimately. He did realize how miserable I was if such events came up.It took me a long time to realize that since he was never into dancing sort of stuff( he is more of a sports guy) , he didn't know how to, and feared ridicule from me or others if he danced. Mind you, he never told me this directly...it took a lot of probing. Men can be so thick at times. 😕 I had to explain to him that I couldn't care less how he danced, I only wanted to have the fun of being with him!! As for others, no one has time to sit and ridicule us, and if they do, they have too much time on their hands and we need not bother for them.!!!..after having such rounds of conversation, now my husband does join me at the dance floor for a while👏, to make sure I don't feel alone and he knows I enjoy that time. From my side , I don't pester him about it and am happy with the 15-20 min that he joins me. Husband wife will definitely have different interests...fear of ridicule should not stop us from doing the right thing for the spouse.
Coming back to the show , like Aru explained to him, their age difference is always going to be there. They have to work through it. And Mukhi already held her hands and upheld her as Mukhiyani in village panchayats and where nots...so his sudden fear of public ridicule was a tad too much for me.
Shauchalay track:
I like that they have taken up a humanitarian cause..and one that still is an issue in several parts of India. Am all for the fight. But I found it odd that as a Mukhi and a man with 3 sisters, this issue of toilet facility for women did not occur to Mukhi so far. Mishri would have surely brought this his attention? Agreed they need to find and give a cause to Aru to show her doing something positive for the village , but they can find some better causes like small scale industry, educating women, getting highschool built for girls etc. Mukhi did not know what was going on in is Masala factory, did not know about liqour, did not know the trouble women face due to lack of toilets...this reflects poorly on his Mukhigiri. But I guess, they need something to make the story progress..so am happy with this track. Also yes, they both have different styles of working, which makers are highlighting.
Age Gap Ordeal -Onscreen : Its a phase
The makers have actually taken up a very challenging topic in this story...two people with a huge age gap and culture gap who love each other. But living with each other day in and out brings many challenges even for an ordinary couple, more so for AruMukhi and makers are having a hard time to navigate through this challenge in realistic but entertaining way. If they show too much drama to keep us entertained , we call it OTT and Trp ploy. If they keep it realistic and human, it will be called "Art cinema or parallel cinema". They have to strike a balance ...and its getting harder for the makers day by day. IF they overlook the age gap and make Aru Mukhi behave like normal couple, the show will lose its central theme and charm. And if they focus on age gap too much then story does not progress. Its a pickle...but I have confidence in the makers and trust they will find a way to showcase this phase and journey of ArMu to being a true couple in a believable but entertaining way. They have done superb job with tight screenplay, writing and execution in the first 3 months, they know how to get back there.👏
Age gap Ordeal- Offscreen: Its a phase too
Since our leads are really 20 years apart in real life, we can expect similar issues to crop up at times between them which will reflect in scene executions. I usually do not comment on offscreen stuff, but on this issue I sympathize with both the leads , so making this point. Its not easy for a 40 + , well experienced guy in the industry to act with and mentor a newcomer 22 year old lady , while making sure he doens't look like a creep . Its equally hard for the lady here, cause if she looks too good and is too comfortable doing close scenes with him, her future offers against younger men might be slim. Its an industry where women age very fast and a new fresh face is launched every now and then. Where as male leads age and experience is valued a lot. Now since confession is done, the phase of boundaries and how comfortable they are at executing scenes with intimacy is a matter of daily digest. and the 20 year age gap between them does not allow them to be like other normal leads in other shows. I cannot throw the nara of "professionalism" between them because even being professionals, they are dealing with a unique situation. Also close scenes do tend to spoil the casual and relaxed friendship that they might otherwise share so far. But as in all relations, its a phase, and they will find their way out of it, of dealing with it and working around it.
I am actually glad they are doing separate interviews for a while, because many a time I have found Niyati relying too much on Eijaz to do the talking...where as Eijaz at times is overbearing in his mannerisms with her . Especially his jibe at her refusal to do intimate scenes, in an interview that goes out on national television was quite overbearing because its the production house and the makers who call these shots...not the male lead..no matter how older he is or his experience is..He is usually very witty, but not everything is a joke especially on public tv. There might be nothing wrong with intent, but some issues are sensitive, a decorum need to be observed . Afterall performing intimate scenes is a sensitive issue and even stellar actresses have boundaries they will not cross. Again..these issues are addressed by the production house..and its the directors job to execute these scenes aesthetically. Hopefully we all will get through this phase and soon we can have balanced interviews with both of them together.
These are my opinions solely...I do not know anyone from the production house or team.
What Aru Mukhi can ideally learn form each other : Aru is ready to take risks, and fights for whats right. She just needs some support form Mukhi..and he has promised to be the air under her wings. He needs to learn that she can handle it..but she needs to learn patience and the right way of doing things, systematically. Her spontaneity and wit will not resolve every situation . He can lean on her for emotional issues in the marriage..she can more than deal with it. She can lean on him for intimacy issues if any...and learn what steps to take to govern a village with all its systems. She can educate him on benefits of completing his schooling and getting a degree. They are perfectly compatible and can bring a lot of meaning to each other...waiting for it to happen.
Since this is daily soap, there might be times when the episodes are not upto mark..because its hard to keep up the same quality daily. 2-3 good episodes a week will do as long as chemistry between AruMukhi is high and story is captivating.
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