This was quintessentially a classic PB episode. The scenes and dialogues were simple but they held a wealth of meaning, and so this post is relatively 'short'.
From Mickey reading Minnie's thoughts and voicing them, to her realizing for the first time just how well he understood her. He knew that Minnie was dealing with all these changing dynamics and had been observing how she dealt with things.
Again, I felt as though Mickey were are junior version of HS in the way he was so sensitive yet respectful of Minnie's emotions and turmoil.
He wanted to avoid going into details because it was a difficult conversation but on Minnie's insistence he opened up.
Kab tak tu apne Babes ke liye jeeti rahegi Minnie?
Dusron ke liye jeete jeete thak nahin jaati tu?
Kabhi khul ke hansne ka mann nahin karta?
Bina kissi ki parwah kiye, just because tu khush hai.
Kabhi naachne ka mann nahin karta? Behisaab, bekhauf, befikar.
Bina ye soche samjhe ke Babes uss samaye kya feel kar rahi hogi?
Achha sab chhod, kabhi tu khud ke liye royi hai? Kabhi bhi?
Dusron ke liye jeete jeete thak nahin jaati tu Minnie?
Suddenly feeling conscious at being so visible to Mickey, she decided to change the topic and call Preet.
In that moment she reminded me so much of HS, who often became uncomfortable when the focus shifted to his emotions and pain and when he would want to change the topic too. Just like HS, Mickey picked up exactly on what she had been trying to do, and assured her that she did not need to remind him of the friendzone and that she was safe from him. But was she safe from herself?
He had brought her some food, and then began to nudge her playfully just to lighten the mood and for a little while Minnie and he shared some carefree moments without the burden of the world resting on their young shoulders, drawing smiles from passers-by.
Back at home, Minnie returned to writing in her diary, finally unleashing what were repressed thoughts. There was finally someone who understood her, who saw her for who she was. Babes had always seen her as her child, not as a person, and not as the woman she was growing into. Minnie still hesitated to complain or find faults with Babita not understanding her... But Mickey was a surprise confidante. This unsettled her and I found this to be completely normal.
A lot was changing in her life and with the knowledge that she could rely on HS to look after her mother so that she didn't have to do so 100% of the time, Minnie now had more free time to think about herself. Mickey's probing made her take a step back and assess her own situation, her own feeling about life. Yes, she had seen what Babita had gone through, and had felt a lot of emotions on her behalf? But what about her own emotions? Losing her father, leaving the home she had grown up in, facing the taunts and difficult times because of society, financial and moral struggles?
Let's not forget, having to deal with HS and his impact on their lives. Sure, he was a wonderful man and had been extremely generous, but it had still been a massive change for her as a youngster to deal with this type of person she had never come across before, and all that he brought with him: Lala, NB, and most importantly Imarti. It was all new to her, and while her new family had welcomed her with open arms, it hadn't happened overnight. Before she knew it Minnie had found herself in completely different surroundings among radically different worldviews in a matter of months.
I think we are going to see HS and NB pick up on this after a point. They are both extremely perceptive and will understand that there is a gap in Minnie's life that needs to be filled and also that she needs to find her own identity outside of the Babita's sphere of influence. I expect when they, especially NB, feel Babita is ready they will also give her a nudge in the right direction so that she can pay more attention to this aspect of her daughter's development and help Minnie emerge from Babita's shadow.
After HS, Mickey was the second man she actually relied on and felt close to. It was no wonder, because both men were alike, and she had much more affinity with them both than she did with Preet or Babita. I don't think it is a coincidence that they are showing more interactions between HS and Mickey. Girls often look for similar traits in their companions to what they see in their fathers, in this case HS. I don't think she realizes this yet. It is not yet clear whether Mickey or Minnie could indeed be soulmates without having a romantic relationship, time will tell. But it is clear that Minnie on some level is afraid of her affinity to Mickey, and is afraid to hurt Preet by coming between them.
She could not talk to anyone but she could tell her diary everything without being judged, even if her opinions were to change in future. Babita found her daughter asleep on the couch and as she tried to to pull the diary out of her hand, Minnie held on to it tight and jumped up. I don't know if Babita will ever end up reading her daughter's diary. If she does, it will be a huge bombshell in her life when she discovers the extent of Minnie's towel that she was unaware of.
There was a sweet moment of NB and Beeji talking about women's wishes and how they coped with changes in life. NB made the excuse that people would laugh at her if as widow she were to dress up, but the fact was that after her husband had passed away she did not feel like dressing up, no matter that he had been an abusive man. Sometimes, even wise, elderly women like NB hesitated to open enjoy their lives and fill it with happiness. They had the right to dress up and make merry, no matter their age or marital status. I was happy to see NB decide to dress up after all. Imarti's passing and being abandoned by her children to an extent had made her own life very gloomy indeed.
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HS as Sous-chef
Lala had always wanted to see his sir saahab happy and enjoy domestic life, but he was still not accustomed to having HS cook for him in that setting, and felt very uncomfortable standing on the side and not helping out.
To which HS reminded him that HS used to cook for him until not so long ago, but this time he was assisting the best chef in town so could guarantee better quality food and not the burnt daal and roti Lala had so often suffered with.
HS didn't care about anyone, except his to-be landlady.
Laley kaisi baar kar raha bhai? Itne time rehke bhi tu mhaare saath manne pehchana nahin ab tak? Hein? Bhai duniya ki sochunga ke main?
Ab na sochunga. Sirf apne hone waali makaan malkin ki sochte hain. Unhi se darte hain bas ab.
Bhai darna bhi padega na? Pata laga ghar se baahar nikaal diya to? (why did I get the feeling this was about to happen).
HS was flirting with Babita but was also telling her that he was putting her above all else. Lost in his words, she did not notice that the paratha had been burnt, until Lala pointed it out.
Yeh kya kiya aap ne?
HS picked it up and continued teasing her as he peeked through the hole in the burning paratha he had picked up.
Maine ke kiya ji. Jo kiya aap ne kiya. Dil jala ke rakh diya.
Zara sambhaal ke, he said gently, knowing the effect he was having on her.
It was a throwback to the scene when he had been trying to fix the burner and had been looking at her through the gap from the other side. It had ended with her rejection and him indicating the flame to say his heart had been burned by it.
One thing is for sure, HS and Babita should do everything together but cook, since they lose their concentration and end up burning food! They had probably decided after this that he would heat the paratha and she would roll out the dough as it would be safer overall! I also loved the realistic touch once again at really showing a burned paratha and char on the tawa.
It was interesting to see that they were now cooking upstairs instead of downstairs as was the case during Imarti's time.
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Jeeja-Saali
The arrival of Poonam created much-needed excitement. I absolutely loved the banter between HS and Poonam. Poonam, did not miss a beat as she jumped straight into flirting with HS, asking him to feed her parathas.
I loved HS' awkward expressions as he said
Ji khilayenge na, kyon na ... k-khilayenge?
After all, aap inki woh ho na, bachpan ki best friend. Aur phir, mhaari to woh hui? Special guest.
Babita seeing both of them this way for the first time, was reluctant to go to her room to dress up but gave in after much nudging by Poonam.
Mujhe ice cream khilate khilate, meri saheli ko pata liya?
Nahin ji, unhein to bohot pehle se pata raha tha main.
Aap jo hain na, ice cream khaane bohot late aayin. (Yes, Babita and he had had two ice cream dates already)
Ok. To aap yeh kehna chah rahe hain ke agar hum aap ko pehle mil jaate to?
To? he asked, wondering where this was going.
To... she said, suggestively, making him feel very awkward.
I loved loved loved his aside to Lala and the way they broke stereotypes here showing a man being conscious of being teased where usually women show such concern.
Laley, yaar. Yeh to mhaare se bohot zyaada ashleel batein kar rahi hai, bhai. Hmm?
Main ladies ki bohot zyaada respect karta hoon.
Iss ke mann me yeh to naa hai ke manne chhedegi? He asked, slightly nervously.
Aniruddh was just fabulous in this scene.
Kismat waale ho ji. Jeeja saali ka rishta hai. Thoda chhedne ka haq to banta hi hai ji.
Banta hai? he asked innocently.
Bilkul banta hai ji.
Yaar Laley tune manne pehle na bataya.
To ab bata diya ji. Carry on.
Tu dekh ab, he said with a smile. He had previously flirted with Poonam as a task to help out his Veer Balika, but this was different.
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Pre-cap
Babita is angry with HS because he seems unaware of her complaints. She asks him in front of everyone if he likes/loves her or not.
What's your name, by the way?
Udne Ki Aasha
CID
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