Aaj aakhir mein baat HS ke dil pe lag hi gayi!
All those things that Minnie had previously said, which had pierced his heart, which he thought he had forgiven and forgotten, finally surfaced today. It's not so much her words he remembered, but the stab in his heart every time she had said those things and the feeling of being an outsider that accompanied them, the deep-seated insecurity about being her father that had built up over time with each incident.
Once upon a time, HS had resigned himself to Babita being unattainable. Over time, this changed as he saw her feelings for him change. Babita herself had indirectly proposed to him, and he had leaped at the opportunity. More than anything though, it was also his one shot at making his Veer Balika a permanent part of his life, so that he could ensure she could be his daughter forever, that parent and child would not have to lose each other the way he had lost his mother. He had always been insecure about Minnie, perhaps even more than Babita, because there was nothing he could do to bind her to him forever. It was all good to talk about dil ka rishta, but the hospital consent form incident drove home the point that all his love for her would count for nothing when legalities and formalities were required, where blood ties were considered more important.
What happened today was not him doubting or misunderstanding Minnie per se, but his insecurities regarding her coming to the fore. This had always been at the back of his mind, the gap between them. He had accepted her as his daughter ages ago, but he had known deep down that she had some distance to go.
Perhaps he will not feel sure of her love and loyalty to him as a daughter until he hears her calling him father/dad/papa/bapu. I don't know if that's the direction this is headed but the fact that she calls him uncle must subconsciously remind him that he's relegated to that role in her life. He declared her his daughter and he meant every word of it, but it had taken her by surprise. She had never asked for it or expected it, but she took his lead and embraced this new flavor in their relationship. They understand each other at the basic level and can see into each other's souls, but they need to work on their relationship and not take it for granted that by calling each other baap-beti everything would automatically fall into place. She has not grown up in his care and he has not learned to become a father by parenting her (or anyone else). It will take time.
In the meantime, we might see HS maintain his distance from Minnie for the first time and stop expecting anything from her, and this is going to be hard for her (and for him). They might end up controlling their natural instincts that make them share everything with each other. He has never been able to stay angry or upset with her for long so let's see how long that lasts. Minnie might think it's because she hurt him while he might want to give her space because he doesn't want to force her to accept him or this father-daughter relationship.
This incident has not only shaken him, but stirred up all his insecurities regarding his place in her life. She wanted her mother to get a husband but had not explicitly asked for a new father. HS, on the other hand, had wanted a wife, but also a daughter as part of the marriage. He had actually started expecting something for once for his own happiness, that too not from Babita but from Minnie, and after the whole gifting her a lehenga, it really shook him that the daughter he had loved as his own and wanted to keep with him forever had perhaps not really accepted him to the same extent.
I also think the CVs are showing us that it's easy to say that we shouldn't care about log kya kahenge but in practice it's hard to do. All three of them were affected by it at one point or another during this wedding period, because Kammo, Khatri, that CD and then the Khuranas. For once, Babita fought with her ex-in-laws like a lioness. As Mickey had pointed out, today she didn't need to be instigated by Minnie to answer back to them. She spoke up on her own, she didn't need her teacher to help her cheat in this exam and she passed with flying colors. It was fitting that the Khuranas would not play any part in her life henceforth and that she no longer felt a sense of obligation to them. She needed to spill out the poison in her heart and start this new phase of her life with a clean slate.
I have to applaud the CVs again for breaking stereotypes. Where sauteli maa is a tried and tested angle on ITV here we're getting taunts about sautela baap. I would hate to see HS having to spend all his time proving that he is as good a father as any but I think the seeds of self-doubt have unfortunately been sowed during this wedding. I just want him to continue to be himself and shower Minnie with all the love, guidance, and protection she deserves. It's not going to be easy, and I think his insecurities are going to take a while to be appeased. I also think Lovely's words are going to haunt him, and he's going to keep second-guessing himself as to whether he's good enough to be her father, whether he's doing right by her or not.
It would be interesting to see if roles are reversed where Babita is giving him confidence when he falters in this regard. There was a lighthearted scene a few days ago where HS asked her why she had changed sides, to which Babita had said that Minnie had always been with her. HS is new to them both still, and the fact is that mother-daughter are so tightly coupled means that he cannot have one in his life without the other.
The whole topic of father and fatherhood is extremely sensitive for him. After he had selflessly given so much of himself, put aside all the other issues and put her first, a part of him had been looking forward to finally getting the security of being her father through this marriage. Today he felt that he would never be able to reach that place and level of importance in Minnie's life, and Lovely's words about him being sautela didn't help. Today he wasn't concerned so much about being an outsider to Babita, but about the fact that Minnie had not really accepted him and that she would always consider him the outsider in the relationship with Babita, whichever way he looked at it.
I felt really bad for Minnie, seeing all her plans to make her mother's big day spoiled, her wonderful intentions turning into something horrible due to that vile Khatri. Despite all that, something wonderful also happened today. Her Hanuman Uncle had been in tears because of her, she realized that she had the power to hurt him because he loved her so much. Most importantly, she realized that while she had been focusing on her Babes during this whole wedding, HS was also a part of it all that she had not focused so much on. His needs, his feelings, his concerns were not something she had prioritized as much as she had Babes' needs. That is totally understandable but just as HS will have to learn more about his daughter, Minnie will have to learn more about him and figure out that like Babita, he too needs and wants her in his life unconditionally.
All the siyappa today had to happen. They rushed into this wedding without thinking about all the repressed issues, but I guess at this point it is better they go ahead with the wedding and work through all issues together, rather than wait for everything to be fixed and then marry. It is sad that such a thing came about on what should have been a happy day but I think it is better that the three of them stop hiding their true emotions for the sake of protecting the others. Minnie will do it for a while longer, which may lead to a breakdown.
She was upset about hurting her mother, but what shook me was the look in her eyes as she realized to what extent her Hanuman Uncle had been hurt. Even towards the end, she tried to sweep things under the rug but she could see that his smile did not reach his eyes. I don't think he truly believed Minnie would do such a thing with the CD he would realize that was a stupid thing to even assume or contemplate.
His words said it all:
Aap ki chhori aap ko hurt na kar sakti, par mere ko to kar sakti hai.
I think what I'm trying to say is that HS knew that Minnie would never deliberately hurt her mother but he came to terms with the fact that perhaps Minnie didn't love him or accept him as much as he loved and accepted her, that she would never love him as much as she loved Babita. I also think he was overwhelmed by all that had been happening for the past few weeks and months and just couldn't control his emotions any longer.
I think this supposed realization of his broke him today as it did the confidence she had instilled in him as being a good man, being her hero, worthy of being her father, being the best. After many years of loneliness, Minnie had made him feel important, cherished, respected, and wanted. She had filled him with hope that today turned into despair of sorts. The tears in his eyes were something else altogether: those of a helpless man, a father-in-the-making who was no longer sure if the child who was more precious to him than anything else even wanted him in her life. Through Minnie he had subconsciously begun to recover a piece of his missed childhood, but today he felt as if he had been stripped of that, and of the opportunity to be her family in the real sense, the way he would have wanted his father to be for him. I am failing to put into words this particular emotion in his eyes, but what Minnie saw in them was the realization that no matter what he did she would think he had come between her mother and her.
One more thing: Babita didn't know about the talk father-daughter (yes I will still call them that) had in the hospital, which is why she did not understand the importance of what HS was saying today about Minnie's previous refusal to accept him in Babita's life or her tears. They said they would keep it between them, but the hurt and insecurity he had suppressed had raised its ugly head again. There was a whole other layer of conversation and emotion between HS and Minnie today that only they and we viewers could understand. It was a great throwback to their scene when Minnie had confronted him about the audio clip. The writing was absolutely brilliant.
They really need to stop hiding things from each other, words, feelings, incidents, whatever it may be. He was not really angry with Minnie, but hurt. When we did see his anger was when the Khuranas were being mean to Babita (again) and questioning her dedication to them. Babita's outburst was much needed, not just for herself, but also for HS to see that she had reached her breaking point where her past was concerned, and for Minnie to see that her mother needed to have an independent equation with people without Minnie. She could love Minnie with all her heart yet not care at all about Minnie's other blood relatives, and still be completely justified in doing so. HS too no longer needed to put up with the Khuranas if Babita didn't want to.
Lastly, I would say that I agree with Minnie in that HS said some things to her in his emotional state but didn't that happen in families? That didn't mean you needed to take things to heart and call all bets off and cancel everything. They would work their way towards each other. I think both Minnie and HS might become extra-cautious around each other, and that might temporarily create a gap between them. He may go ahead with the wedding because Minnie still wants it, as does Babita, but I think the question of Minnie's true feeling in this matter and others will weigh on him. It will make him a better father in the long run as he tries to understand Minnie at a micro level, but along the way father and daughter are going to see tough times. Minnie will have to make him understand how much she truly loves and idolizes him for who he is to to her and not just for what he is to Babita. For that to happen, though, Minnie needs to first learn who she is and what she wants in life, including if/what she wants in a father and whether or not that will be HS.
Today, Minnie finally realized how much HS needed and wanted her approval as a daughter, but also that she would have to prioritize him the way he had her. Right now she's still leaning more towards Babita but I think this would lead to her finally looking at him the same way she looks at her Babes in terms of loving both parents equally, if you know what I mean. Until then, we might see a not-so-confident HS, who questions his own abilities as a father. I would hate to see him like that but I guess it's part of his journey.
I still can't get over Minnie's tears and hurt at thinking that she in some way had been the reason for her Hanuman Uncle to be so hurt. She was upset at Babes being hurt but I think HS' tears got to her in a different way. She may or may not keep her distance but I hope she tries to show him in her own way that she wants him and this family unit as much as he does.
I really can't wait to see what happens with father-daughter!
Ashnoor and Aniruddh were just brilliant!
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