Jan 10th - Mistakes
Today, well technically yesterday, was a day of mistakes. Many of the characters made mistakes or made a series of mistakes.
Maya - Maya's mistake was underestimating other people. She suffered because she underestimated what Ankit could do. She didn't realize that Ankit had the power to change the game, to get her in front of MJ. She came this close to being caught earlier than planned because of Ankit, a guy she probably wrote off as Rishi's friend. She underestimated what MJ is capable of. She didn't realize or maybe didn't consider that MJ is the type of person who won't just do stuff himself. He will manipulate others into doing his bidding. He manipulated Ananya, he manipulated Rishi almost, and now he manipulated Ankit. She misunderstood and underestimated MJ. She underestimated Rudra. She didn't consider his emotions and his pain. She didn't consider the fact that despite being a thoughtful person, pushing someone to the brink of destruction will make them act rashly. She even underestimated Ananya. In the process of trying to come between Ananya and Rudra, she has brought them closer together.
But that wasn't as a big mistake as failing to account for the human factor. 8 years of planning means you should develop scenario after scenario, run through each scenario, and question each place where another human is involved. In fact, you should also question where you yourself are involved. I use my industry as an example. I work in commercial real estate lending. One of the major things we do is analyzing and forecasting - analyzing a deal, analyzing the financials, analyzing the company, analyzing the numbers, and then forecasting. But we also have to account for the human element. Which city is the deal located in and what is the political situation like, what is the economic situation like, etc. In my company, we've actually blacklisted cities that we won't do business in, doesn't matter how good the company is. Maya needed to consider all that.
However, the biggest mistake Maya made was not understanding and strengthening herself. She knows that she's going up against MJ and she knows the going won't be easy, yet she did not consider that revenge is not a healer. Revenge will not make her pain and fears go away. It'll just give others pain. And if she wants to take revenge, then she needs to be strong. She will come up against her fears again and again, and each time she will not get lucky. She will not have the support of those she was kind to. She will not have the support of those that she has brought to her side. She will need to fight battles alone. And for that she needs to be strong. Facing a fear while trying to stay alive from another source of death is not how you want to fight that fear. A fear needs to be fought the way Rudra fought his fear of elevators with Maya's help. It was the only thing he was facing and he was able to face it and come out stronger from it. Maya needs to do that. She needs to face each and every one of her fears, either alone or with help, and come out stronger, so that the next time she gets stuck, she can fight it off and continue.
The kiss - The kiss and the surrounding responses I already analyzed, but I bring it up again in relation to the discussion that Maya and Rudra had. Maya's words insano se kabhi kabhi galti ho jaati hai and then Rudra's response waqt galat tha ya log. The most powerful part of this conversation because it revealed so much about their underlying relationship and I also feel the future. Maya accepted that it was a mistake, but the pain in her eyes said otherwise and Rudra's eyes were already moist because he felt that Maya was saying that it was wrong that it happened between them. Somewhere deep down he had hoped that Maya would have accepted that it was special and helped him overcome his pain. He had that small tiny hope that even though he was in pain, hearing it from Maya that it wasn't a mistake, would make him feel better. Instead, Maya affirmed what he had thought. This reveals so much about their relationship. Even though they don't want to, both of them will give pain to each other and even when they look for relief with each other, they won't get it.
Even before these dialogues, the way the scene began says so much. Rudra wanted to talk to Maya, but was hesitant. He didn't want to hear that Maya loves him or that she felt there was something special between them and yet he also wanted to hear it. He couldn't hurt Antara or Ananya, and yet he couldn't stay without knowing. His indecision, his anxiety, his nervousness - it was all evident on his face, in his body language, in his words.
On the other hand, Maya watched him from her balcony. She was also indecisive though. She couldn't deal with him right now, she had to stay away. And yet, the moment she said that, she started towards the front door. Then there was a slight hesitation on the stairs. A very slight falter on the landing before she seemed to steel herself and continue forward. It was as if her heart was telling her don't do it. Don't say anything. Don't break his heart. Yet her head won over her heart.
Then after Maya opens the door, there is an awkwardness between them. Of course there would be. Nothing surprising about that. And while Rudra's awkwardness is evident throughout, Maya manages to pull herself together and offer him coffee. But even for Maya that was a diversion tactic. She wasn't ready to talk to him right away. In fact, throughout she almost kept her back to him or didn't look at him. She was trying to control herself and when she finally had control over herself, then she spoke about the kiss.
I went a little out of order on the scene, but overall it had so much in it. And yet those dialogues above stole the entire scene away. It cemented the relationship between them and now the 2 have to answer Rudra's question - waqt galat tha ya log. It is not an easy question to answer, but it is one that absolutely needs an answer.
MJ and Rishi - MJ made his biggest mistake yet, underestimating Rishi and Maya's effect on him. Rishi is MJ 2.0. That means that he will not take nicely to someone or something he wants being insulted or put down. Not to mention that it's young love for Rishi.
If MJ really wanted Rishi to forget about Maya, he had to make the conversation more friendly, even accepting Rishi's choice. And then he should have challenged Rishi to prove this love with small tasks, tasks that would have been designed to take Rishi away from Maya and bring him closer to MJ.
Confrontational works, but not when you're confronting yourself. And that was MJ's biggest mistake. By abusing Maya and then mishandling Rishi, MJ effectively drove Rishi closer to Maya. The promo makes sense now. The reason Rishi slits his wrist is because, after this confrontation, he will believe anything that Maya tells him. Maya is no longer just a sexy woman for him that he is infatuated with. She is his zid. He wants her at any cost just to prove MJ wrong. And this is where Rishi will make his biggest mistake.
Nandini and Maya - On a side note, I love the relationship mother and daughter share. Maya truly wants to protect Nandini from the bad and hence the control. Nandini, though, doesn't just want to protect Maya, but also make her stronger and help her move on over the past.
At one moment she was beating the hell out of Ankit with a shovel, another instant, when she remembered her past after falling in the muddy water, she started crying like a baby. The muddy pool she fell into did not look fatal, but her memories associated with it were not letting her live. Somewhere I felt watching that she is taking revenge on herself for falling for the wrong guy. Because her mind and plans are destroying her the most (like you had said before)
