The episode started off with Naeem Bi asking Babita if she could not even forgive HS this once.
Prem mein, gunah bhi maaf hai.
Insaan hai, insaan se ghalti ho sakti hai.
Naeem Bi asked us her, and the audience, a valid question that spun some more in our minds. Why do we seek perfection in a life partner? Do we want a saint or a real (flawed) human being as a companion? Why are we so willing to find fault with others instead of reflecting upon our own deficiencies? If we seek forgiveness, we must also be willing to give it.
Babita was adamant about living her life independently with Minnie and focusing on her work. These are the points on which HS had hurt her - her ability to run the business and look after Minnie. Of course, the other point about staying away from him was already in the works.
Baar baar apne aap ko akela kahegi to farishtey sun lenge tur teri dua samajh ke qabool kar lenge, aur phir tu sach much akeli ho jayegi.
Naeem Bi has so much feeling for everyone, she’s such a sweetheart. I think this is how she became so wise over the years.
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Nanu Ki Naseehat
Minnie was waking HS up again, urging him to hurry. It was interesting to note that despite everything that had happened, Babita had made breakfast and informed him via Minnie that she was out on a errand but did not talk to him. He often said he did not like arriving late for work so I guess Lala used to function as his alarm clock before mother-daughter entered his life. We don’t see that much of him anymore during HS’ morning rituals.
As Minnie kept nudging him to wake up, he compared her to Haryana Roadways or something and said she was even stricter than they were during police training. It wasn’t a coincidence or a stray remark. The CVs are slowly painting elements of her with a different brush, to give us subtle references to nature vs. nurture in her case, how she has blossomed since she began living with HS. As she often did with HS, she started off her chattering with Nanu, telling him about HS’ poor cooking skills and proudly talking about Babes. She also mentioned that they hadn’t received a discount on rent in this time. Another reference to the fact that they were still tenants in his house.
Nanu being a buzurg began to talk to HS about his future and plans to remarry:
Kab tak yoon chhade ki tarah ghoomta phirega, teri itni umar bhi na hai.
I have to applaud the CVs for this throwback to episode 181 where she wistfully asked him if Imarti was more beautiful than her Babes. Back then she had not known anything about HS’ relationship with his late wife and wondered if her mother was good enough in comparison.
Now she did, so her wistful tone had completely different intonations:
Oh ho, kahan Nanu? Inki to choice hi itni hi-fi hai. Imarti ji ke baad to koi inhein pasand hi nahin aati.
She was no longer upset or angry with him for how he felt about Imarti, nor was she going to push him to “move on” or choose her mother. She finally understood the reason and significance behind Imarti’s larger-than-life legacy and the place that she would always have in HS’ heart, that she would always be part of him. Part of her still wondered if her Babes would ever “live up” to the same standard, if HS would still consider her mother as a life partner and give her the same level of respect and love that his late wife had received from him.
I really loved how simply Nanu (I’m going to call him that from now on) put forward his point, without heavy philosophy, that HS should consider a domestic life, and have his haveli filled with the laughter and the soft touch of a woman. Such a good example to set for elders in the society! He had just started recovering from his grief but already he was advising his daughter’s widower husband to find a new life partner.
Baat to sahi hai. Mhari Imari laakhan mein ek thi. Ghar mein bahu betiyan ho to ronak rahe se. Bhandaarein bhade rahein, rasoyi pakein. Ghar ghar sa lage. Meri maan. Tu dobara biyah kar le.
Na bapu. Manne zaroorat na hai. Jo hai, jaisa hai, jitna hain sag khoosh hoon. Arey akela kahan hoon main? Lala hai mhaare saath, Naeem Bi hain, aur ab aap aate jaate rahoge. Phir ke problem hai? Set hai life.
HS looked at Minnie’s disappointed expression as he said this. He knew she had been hoping for something different. He had not mentioned Minnie at all, which did not come as a surprise to me. I am sure he is still insecure about her permanence in his life. He loves her with all his heart but something stops him from being able to make plans for/with her in his life. Yes, it’s a dil ka rishta, but one that has the potential to be stripped from him at any moment. Part of it is because his equation with Babita is not clear. They are unofficial coparents, but she has not yet voiced her opinions on how she feels about his recent declaration that he was Minnie's father. It is one thing to say it in public, and another to cement it through legal/official channels. The latter is missing and may be the source of his concern.
The fact that he quit drinking because of his Veer Balika is proof of what she means to him, but these are emotions that do not hold in practical terms, just like they didn’t when he was not allowed to sign her consent form in the hospital. I also think a part of him wonders if he can provide for her in an official capacity and take on some of the more practical aspects of parenting. Right now she is still part of “Babita’s household” not his, and has been acting as a bridge between her parents. He was overwhelmed that she went against her mother and chose to stay back and support him, but he knows that for the longer term she could not just live with him if Babita chose to leave one day. There was nothing that could actually bind his daughter to him irrevocably.
Yes, the DNA does not matter in terms of their emotions, but on some level it still does where the question of parental rights comes in. Babita gave him the right to discipline and guide Minnie, but did he have rights to exercise as a father in every sense and keep her with him? Not at this point. If Babita wanted to take her away one day, he had no power to stop her. I think this makes him afraid, and might be the reason why he can never demand anything where Minnie is concerned (except that she not misbehave). He will never admit it and never leave her side no matter what, but physical separation is not something he can control right now, unless he marries Babita.
Minnie spent the morning with her father and her Nanu, as though it were just another day in their lives. I was seeing a different side to her that we had never seen in the earlier episodes. Babita’s in-laws had always been her in-laws, not parents, but HS had accepted his father-in-law as his bapu, because he was Imarti’s bapu, the closest he had to a father figure. By extension of HS’ love for Minnie as his daughter, she became part of Sardar Singh’s family too. He accepted her instantly - it was another dil ka rishta for Minnie, one of many she has formed since she began her association with HS. These are the bonds she formed herself, by her own choice, unlike the ones she previously got through blood ties. I felt as if she was going to be carrying HS’ legacy forward as his daughter as though she had always been his.
I saw Minnie just lapping up all the attention and laad-pyaar around her in this episode and it really warmed my heart. She has been very brave indeed, and has had to grow up too fast. Let her enjoy being pampered like a child whenever she gets an opportunity. It also means that leaving behind HS and his impact on her life will be extremely difficult and heartbreaking for her.
Nanu giving her shagun was also his way of welcoming her into their family line, if you know what I mean. That scene was really poignant. I loved how she looked at HS and didn’t take the money until he nodded. That was exactly what kids did when someone they did not know too well gave them money. Now she had another elderly person to bless her! Minnie got to see a different type of buzurg from her Dadu, an extension of her father’s side of the family now (the Haryanvi camp as I like to call it). She had a way of endearing herself to everyone, and even Nanu felt that Imarti’s daughter would have been like her. In a way, she now fills a void in his heart too. I really hope we see a bit more of Nanu from time to time. Minnie can do with such positive reinforcement in her life.
Nanu was a perceptive man. He wasted no time as he asked HS:
Kal jaise chhori ki maa ne Imarti ke bhav ko samjha, to yunhi mann mein baat aa gayi. Tu kahe to keh doon.
HS cut him off right there.
Rehne do bapu. Ke hai ke jis gaon jaana nahin na, uska rasta poochne se koi faida na hai. Aur main jaisa hoon, akela hoon, theek hoon, manage kar loonga main. Sab bohot accha hai.
Nanu wisely left it there and hugged him farewell. I was really really happy for HS, that he now had his bapu back in his life after being separated for so many years. It surely gives him much-needed moral support. Minnie looked at him with disappointment but also asked him if would really be able to manage without Babita, which he had no answer to. I think at this stage he can, it would be hard but possible. However, if Babita and he got even a little closer there would be no turning back. He was punishing himself right now, doing penance, and building up another hell for himself. Nothing had been said verbally between Babita and him about their feelings for one another, and as long as that remained, there was no sense of compulsion to commit to one another, as far as he saw it.
HS Reporting to Work
As Minnie helped HS get dressed for work, he kept fidgeting at this new experience. She had taken time out to help him on this special day.
Arey to main woh bachcha thodi hoon chhori main kar loonga.
Ho aap bachche, time pe uthte ho nahin, main bachcha nahin hoon.
And my favorite line:
To yeh lo! Yo ready hai ekdum phul phorm mein phul uniphorm mein Inspector Hanuman Singh reporting to duty sir!
She was trying to speak just like him. Aww!
Patiala Police, sadev?
Aapki seva mein tathpar
HS was pleased to be able to return to work after the suspension was lifted, with his dignity and reputation intact, but still sounded mellow.
Aur phir itne handsome lag rahe ho, by God!
There it was. She had always found him to be dashing but today she was very excited to see him back in uniform, her hero back on track. It was little comments like this that lit up his day, made him feel a bit more positive. She really was the sunshine in his life. I thought back to all the swag he used to have in the earlier days as a police man and how he did not have the same body language now, seeming almost resigned.
Sach mein lag raha hoon?
Waise poore Patiala sheher ke andar mere jaisa joi baaka naujawan hai nahin.
Kabhi nahin sudhro ge na aap?
Never.
She mentioned that Naeem Bi would have done nazar untaarna (which we later see that she will). She did not want any more sadness after what they’d been through in the past few days, and in her innocent way requested him:
Aur aap bhi apne purane form mein waapas aa jao na Hanuman Uncle.
Aa jao bhai form mein? Pakka?
Hanuman Singh Patiala Police, sadev aap ke seva mein tathpar. Reporting ma’am. Reporting to the most gorgeous girl in this world, Queen Victoria, he said with an indulgent smile. He would do anything for her happiness. He knew that she had been through a lot as well in keeping him company.
Mujhe to mil gaye waapis, mere Hanuman Uncle, purane waale.
Par yaar, Babes ko unke makaan maalik nahin miley abhi tak.
He avoided her question and reminded her that she needed to go see Naeem Bi.
With Babita, Minnie had to look after her like a parent because she needed to, but with HS she babies him because she wants to. He’s been through a lot so she wants to give him the care and attention he possibly needs, but will never ask for. She knows that behind his sometimes gruff exterior, he has a gentle heart that she’s had a good look at recently. I think that has changed her perception of the concept of love and what it means to love so fully and passionately. I don’t think she had witnessed such a thing in her family before meeting HS. Minni from not believing in love, to seeing it in extreme form recently, she surely has come a long way!
Babita had told her about true, selfless love a while ago in theory, but with HS and Imarti’s story Minnie has had a chance to see it in practice. I can’t forget how she looked at him as she held on to his arm, when he talked about suffocating your loved one by holding on to them too tight (episode 185). I don’t know how Ashnoor got that expression so bang on, but Minnie was crying the same tears her father was, her eyes were full of pain just seeing him hurting. She finally understood, and I think through the process her love for HS has deepened further. Not just as a child, but even as an almost-adult she is beginning to understand what makes him tick.
There was not much of Babita in this episode, and I think that was deliberate. It was to give us a glimpse of what life would like for people in her life when she was not around. Minnie not knowing what to do, her staff feeling confused, even Naeem Bi feeling ill at ease. It basically highlighted the fact that she was the face of her business, the backbone, the soul. The last time they had interviewed Babita and Minnie, they had focused on her but Minnie had felt left out. This time we saw that Minnie, no matter how smart she was, could not handle things on her own.
As Khatri saw them scrambling to figure out what to do, he began to taunt them, increasing their stress levels. With was noteworthy was that where previously Minnie would have launched a verbal assault on him, this time she was actually the one holding Naeem Bi back from cursing and asking her to ignore Khatri.
Chaand Taare Tod Laaon
The news of the reporter on her way to interview them in Babita’s absence sent everyone into panic mode. In came her hero, knight on a shining bike, on his daily round in the neighborhood.
Ke baat hai chhori? Aaj tu apni mummy ke shop pe? Hein? Tu to bhai ghani responsible ho gayi.
His first day back at work, and what does he do? Find a way to come back and check on his daughter.
As she tried to shoo Lala and HS away because of the tension, he interjected.
Ke baat kar rahi hai chhori? Hein? Mhaare hote huey tanne koi stress de sakta hai. Dekh, poore Patiala sheher mein aisa koi nahin hai jo mhaari Queen Victoria ko disturb kar sakey, aur agar kar de, to durant wahin pe baith ke main kara doon FIR. Bata tu ke problem hai?
It seemed to be a lighthearted comment, but he was dead serious beneath the surface. He would break anyone who tried to bother her. Contrast with Ashok, who didn’t even care what was happening in her life. Here HS was worried about every single thing that affected her, despite being a police inspector even the minutiae surrounding her were his concern. Again, he allowed her to remain a chid and feel free to ask him for help.
Akhbaar waali aa rahi hai review karne. Mujhe at least 4 stars to chahiye.
Of course, HS in his over-enthusiasm completely missed the point.
Oh ho! Chhori tu na bohot chhoti baat kar deti hai actually. Dekh, bhai tu 4 stars ki baat kar rahi hai, 3 star to yahan tere saamne hi baitha hai. Agar tanne maagna hai chhori to 100, 200, 300, 500 maang bhai. Toh to mein baazi maanoon.
Tu kahegi na Veer Balika, to bhai tere liye poore aasmaan ke andar jitne taarey hain na, sab ko ek ek karke tod ke tere haathon mein laake dhar doonga. Tu bas bol!
Quantity aside, he really meant it. If she had indeed asked for the moon and the stars, I am sure he would bring them for her if he could. This public doting of his daughter set Kammo off laughing but I found that very touching.
Bas bas haan Hanuman Uncle, yeh haath mein laake dhar aise doonga. Yeh sab to karo mat. Itni unchi unchi pheko mat.
Arey, sach bol raha hoon main.
And he was. We may have taken the episode and its humor lightly but there was another point to consider here. Earlier on, he had not mentioned Minnie when talking to Nanu about who would keep him company. Yet, here he was, trying to be as involved in her life as he could be. The last few days he had been very much focused on himself, but now it was time to give his daughter the attention she needed. This was his first day back on the job after he had called himself her father. He was going to use his power to help her in any way he could.
I loved the way he committed to helping Minnie in whatever way he could to impress the lady reporter without knowing what he needed to do. As Preet complimented him on being dashing, I loved the way he swung his sunglasses, his swag and confidence back on, until he saw Minnie’s conspiratorial expression and knew he’d signed up for something he hadn’t bargained for.
Back home, they surrounded him, pleading with him to help. Reminded me of the time when they were asking him to propose to Babita.
Then started their buttering up, which was hilarious!
Yeh na, t-shirt aur jeans mein aur bhi zyaada cute lagenge.
Aap na yeh leather jacket try karo, bohot handsome lagoon.
He was happy with his uniform, but Minnie was relentless.
Hanuman Uncle, bohot achhe lag rahe ho aap. Ekdum dashing lag rahe ho uniform mein bhi. Tall, fair, handsome, type hai na? He couldn’t resist a smile.
She lovingly combed his hair.
Ekdum rockstar lago ge aap bhi mere Hanuman Uncle. Waise hi lagte ho.
Aniruddh did a great job of portraying HS blushing at this and looking embarrassed. His expressions were just perfect! I almost felt as if it was Aniruddh and not HS.
Tu chhori aise mat kiya kar. Tu aisa karti ha na main thoda sa na embarrassed ho jaata hoon, little little.
Achha abhi subah hi bol rahe the, main kitna dashing lagta hoon, chhori, she copied him.
Aur abhi, jab aap ki sundarta use karne ka time aaya to aise back off kar rahe ho?
An understatement on male objectification if there was ever one.
I am glad that he was consistent with his assessment that flirting was ashleelta.
Then Minnie used her little girl voice, hugging him and emotionally blackmailing him until he relented.
Agar main nahin sambhal paayi to? To aap ki Veer Balika ki insult ho jaayegi na? Please?
I absolutely loved this bit as it reminded me of the last time he had told her not to put on that puppy face, that it wouldn’t convince him, and he went ahead and did it anyway.
Ek to tu yeh puppy face mat banaya kar, he said, holding her chin.
Samajh gayi na? Tanne ke lagta hai, tu aise puppy face banayegi, aisa bhola sa masoom sa to main teri baaton mein aa jaaonga, aur main aa bhi jaata hoon.
Tanne pata hai teri kissi baat ko main mana nahin kar sakta. Tere liye main chadh jaon sooli pe.
And he would, die for her.
Hanuman Turns on the Charm
As he nervously approached the lady, taking blessings from above, he put on his sunglasses and his thanedaar charm. He would do anything for his veer balika, even flirting with the lady, despite it going against his principles. It was a nice contrast to see him become lighthearted and enjoy himself as he tried to blot out all the difficult emotions of the past few days.
I didn’t expect him to extend his hand to her for a handshake because I thought he was conservative when it comes to physical contact with ladies, but I guess he was going all out.
Hanuman, naam to suna hi hoga aapne.
I loved the CVs’ reference to pop culture here with the whole SRK vibe and the chaand taare earlier.
Hanuman Singh haat dhoke peechhe nahin padta, saamne se offer deta hai.
His confidence took a hit when she caught him. Line maar rahe ho?
Nahin ji madam, aap ko pata chal gaya ke?
But she did agree, impressing Mickey again with this swag. You could see that he was also becoming somewhat of a role model to him.
In the spirit of the moment, despite being Babita’s daughter, Minnie was simply amused to see HS flirting with the lady. We know this will come back to cause trouble at some point! At least the lady, who I expect is Poonam, got to taste a LOT of yummy food.
HS continued to turn on the charm to encourage her to keep eating.
Aap agar ek baar kha ke dekhengi to main dil se keh raha hoon, by God, dimaag ke to pench khul jaayenge. Khatak karke. Aur dil ke darwaaze khul jaayenge ek dum thak karke.
Bohot maza aayega. Mere kehne se ek baar khake dekhiye. Please?
And then that killer smile.
Arey madam, khake to dekhiye please.
This whole sequence was a great reminder that mother-daughter were indeed lucky to be so close to man like him. Also a reminder that he was a VERY eligible bachelor after all and had a lot going for him. That he would choose them both was their good fortune.
What we also saw in this episode was that Babita’s business was running because of her name and talent. In essence, she was the single point of failure. Without her being around for a few hours, the others could do a second-best effort at most. Should she build some redundancy in so that she is less involved operationally and more into creativity and business development? She was gone a couple of days and the shop had become a mess. She needed to put some structure into place for how to run the shop but also future shops so that her business could scale.
We also saw various people’s interactions without her presence. It felt incomplete without her, whether it was the shop, the catering, or even HS going to work after awhile. Even if she wasn’t in the frame, just knowing that she wasn’t around had that impact. HS’ happiness was incomplete without Babita being there to wish him. Minnie did what she could to cheer him up, but it was not going to be the same. How did he think he was going to live without Babita? Woh to HS ki zindagi mein apni mithaas ghol chuki hai.
In this episode, both Babita and Hanuman said they didn’t need anyone in their lives. Let’s see what the future brings.
Precap:
All this attention to Minnie made me wonder if Babita will one day leave and Minnie will be left crying if she has to leave HS. We would see Babita allude to it in the next episode, but I have feeling that day will come when Minnie has to leave her father. It can’t be so easy.
Health and Fitness
The 50
