Weird title? Well, this is the only title that made sense to what I had to talk about.
Minnie is such an important character of the show but I have long felt that this is the most misunderstood character too. I have been wanting to write about this character for a while now. This character (and the actor) deserves so much appreciation and love.
Patiala babes is also a story of a young teenager. A teenager who is burdened by the responsibility of looking after her mother. Yes, she lives in a so-called happy family and a secured household. But she also is aware of her mother’s innocence and her being misused and taken for granted by the family, friends and outsiders. Minnie has grown up to become a protective shield of her mother. Be it to protect her from the useless demands of Rano aunty, or Lovely bua, or the mechanic dude. She protects her mother from all harm. It should have been the other way round but alas, this young child had to be a mother of her own mother…
But all is not gone, not yet. She still has hopes. She has dreams. She knows this responsibility is not everlasting. It’ll soon be handed over to her dear papa ji. Once he comes back, she is free to fly. She wants to go to Delhi for her college and then travel the world - and of course, go to London. The city where her father has spent his last 17 years. She wants to own the world. She will, as soon as her dad comes home. And this time when he comes home, she plans to hand back the responsibilities…
For a moment she does get that happiness when she realizes that her dad had been planning to come back and settle down. Only to find out that her dad was cheating her mother and her all along. That he was never theirs. That her responsibility was never time-limited but timeless… That she would never be free…
Being a responsible parent, she decides to step out of the house and decides to empower her mother. It was time her mother learns to take care of herself. Minnier empowers her mother with the concepts unknown: self-respect, freedom, standing up for herself, happiness… But in doing so, Minnie has to give up on so much of her own self…
I can never even fathom saying no to my dream college. If I had been in Minnie’s place, I am not even sure how I would have reacted. When she had to say no to a college she was planning to go to and even got the admission. Oh the hurt, the pain that child must have endured. And yet, she smiled for her mother. She never thought about it again. She accepted that her dreams shall probably only remain dreams…
Add to it the temporary loss of her best friend. She lost everything in a span of short time and had more responsibilities added to her young shoulders. Where a few weeks ago she had been dreaming of being free, she was now loaded with responsibilities and that too, forever…
They say that every problem that God sends your way, has a solution. Every problem, every difficulty comes with a solution, with a way out. Hanuman Singh was their solution. When both, the mother and daughter, had been betrayed by their own and were left alone, this inspector came for their rescue. He gave them shelter, support, security and finally a family.
It took them time to trust one another, to understand one another, to adjust but when they finally did, they became a family. No one looking at them from afar can say that this small family came together only a few months ago… To any onlooker, they are a perfect family. A man, a woman and the child. We have had posts upon posts on Hanuman Singh and Babita. So I am not going to spend many words on this family.
Once I was having a discussion on something with my psychologist and that discussion led me to question her about single parenthood and effects of step-parent on the well-being of a child. She said something very interesting and I quote “A child does not need parents, but two positive adults who can nurture the chile. It does not matter if those adults are one’s own parents or not”. This has stuck with me. Patiala Babes has become such a good observation point for this statement.
Hanuman Singh unknowingly, unintentionally, unabashedly became a father Minnie never had. He was there for her when she least expected. Be it to train her, to get her admission, to when she broke her foot, to every time she broke down because of her real father. He was there to hold her, to wipe her tears, to guide her, to support her, to teach her, to hug her. He was there when she was a mess. He supported her, trusted her as a father should. When a boy framed her, it was Hanuman who not only helped her clean her image but also stood by her and trusted her. He was her support.
Months ago when Ashok returned, Minnie, like any child, had hoped her father would bring her gifts. Her gift was a doll. Her father had forgotten her age. He did not even bother doing simple math. A doll for a 17-year-old daughter. I still remember the disappointment on her face. A father who came back after so many years did not even get his only child a suitable gift.
And then there was this father. He knew his daughter's dreams. His daughter did not have to ask for anything. He got her what she wanted. A camera with everything that came along with it… The happiness and the love she must have felt. There existed someone who would put her and her needs above himself. The security that it gave her, and the confidence that one day, everything would be fine.
Ashok had returned home after 5 years. The father had returned home after so long and did not even embrace his daughter once. Let alone talk to her. There was that father, and there is this man. She rushes to him the minute he steps in, tells him everything that happened the whole day. Teases him, plays with him, orders him around, like any daughter would, like most of us still do with our fathers. The father who never shy away from hugging her or comforting her. The father who gave her confidence that she comes for him. She can pull him out from the family gathering and take him away for herself only. Something she could never do with Ashok.
Minnie has also found a grandparent in Naeem Bi. Yes, she always had dadu and beeji but her relationship with them was different from the relationship she shares with Naeem Bi. She knows that Naeem Bi would scold her but then also hide and protect her from her parents. I just loved the scene when after starting a fight with her mom, she ran and hug ‘dadi amma’. It was just so beautiful. So nicely portrayed.
Minnie is now finally becoming a child again. After her operation, her confrontation with Hanuman, she knows she has a parent who will be there for her, who will put her first and her needs first. She knows there is someone who will take all her responsibilities and will ensure that she can be free and fly… She is finally acting like a child. I am simply loving her child-like expressions, her making faces, her zid…
Yes, she has anger issues, she has depression but then a 17-year-old facing so much can never come out of it unscathed. Her attitude has a reason. Has many reasons and those are now finally being addressed. When you have been too strong for too long you are bound to break down. Minnie has been too strong, been dealing with things which she shouldn't have been dealing with. She was raising a mother. She was fighting the real world when she should only be discovering it now.
Now that her mother is finally empowered (yes there is still a long way to go but she is capable of taking it from here) and she now has someone (Hanuman) who is looking after her well-being and her happiness. She now has someone who will make sure her issues are sorted. Her dreams are fulfilled. That she is finally free to fly again, to dream again… to finally own the world …
Relationship with Mickey:
That’s a big no.
The whole concept of this show was empowering women. The pain babes went through was because of another woman. Nothing can justify Meeta being in a relationship with a married man. So according to Meeta, she wasn’t aware for two years… but when she did find out, she should have stopped. Nothing justifies her not stopping. She was weak and she was a home breaker. You always have a choice. Always. And she chose to break a home. If Ashok wanted to leave Babita, she could’ve waited till he broke his marriage.
If Minnie falls in love with Mickey, becomes the reason Preet and Mickey break up and a new relationship begins… The show is done for me. Because then Minnie justifies Meeta, and Meeta cannot be justified. Forgiving Meeta is one thing, justifying her is another.
The only way I will understand and accept the relationship is if Preet and Mickey break up for reasons unrelated to Minnie. After a gap, Minne and Mickey date, but then also, both Minnie and Preet need a heart to heart discussion on the topic…
Although I feel Mickey and Minnie relationship should not be explored. It simply shouldn’t be.
Minnie and new equations:
There is so much to explore here. I’m just dropping in some ideas here…
- Accepting someone as a father figure and calling them father, are two different things. I would like to see Minnie dealing with calling Hanuman her father. Will she take up his name? Does she want to be known as his daughter or will she just add his name along with her mothers? Will she become Minnie Hanuman Singh or Minnie Babita Hanuman.
- The equations will change. For 17 years she has slept next to her mother. Will she be able to share her mom? Saying things and practically accepting them are two different things. There are bound to be struggles, jealousy and adjustment issues.
- I think there will be jealousy if the question of a new sibling arises. With Ashok Meeta child it did not arise many feelings as there were no real emotions. Here she will have to share her mother and father with a new child. Her insecurities with Hanuman. Will he stop being her father once his own blood and flesh arises? A 17-year-old dealing with a baby sibling. The embarrassment, the acceptance. There is ample material for CVs to explore.
Okay so I didn’t intend it to be so long but this post was long overdue and had to deal with too many thoughts. I am sure there is much more to Minnie that I missed out. But these were some of the things I wanted to write out for a while now...
Sorry for such a long post!
Shiv Shakti
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