Before I make this post , let me put forth an observation. Two kinds of women are irresistible to the psycho-emotionally egoistic narcissists like MJ:
1. The touch-me-not ice queens that breathe fire and have an invisible wall around them.
2. The virginal, soft, feminine girls with no idea of the world. The Red Riding Hoods as someone told me once in real life.
In the first case, it is a challenge to win them and earn certificates for their misplaced ideas of masculinity and male domination. It's a HIGH to be re-convinced of your masculinity. In the second case, it is the classic hunter shade that gets a high out of destroying innocence as it gives satisfaction to the beast inside them, and gives them a sense of power. A tigress and a lamb are the kind of women that attract this variety of men like a moth to fire. Manvi was the lamb to MJ's wolf ( cannot insult lions and tigers. Wolf suits him just fine.)
Frankly, I am not surprised or disappointed by the backstory. It is done to death, it is jaded , it is a common ....wait, it is a common truth of the relationship dynamics in our existing society. Every other day, we see BOTH men and women falling into and falling for these 'sob stories'. Men who are madly in love with women who are two timing them , using them, playing with them. Women who are doormats to men selling them their "problems", making promises that will never be kept, getting abused in every arena but still sticking by the man because of their pathetic idea of love and relationships. The problem is not that they are FOOLISH or have no self respect or dignity. The problem is one of the most basic human fibers that is both a boon and a curse - VULNERABILITY. Vulnerability not only makes you human, it also makes you stand in the line of fire of emotional manipulation. Once your vulnerability takes over you, remember, emotions are the most powerful force in the human system after the power of spirit, yes, even more than your mind ; the thinking power, the moral compass, the difference between right and wrong blurs. You have been preyed upon by emotional manipulation ; your spirit and your mind take a backseat. Suffering , self-invited is bound to follow.
Manvi was not just naive. She was outright dumb who had no FEEL or UNDERSTANDING of human nature, the world outside her cocoon as it is voiced by her mother in the flashbacks. I have encountered such men and women once or twice in my life, and trust me, their naivete bordering on outright foolishness makes you feel like slapping them and protecting them at the same time. They have such a limited vision and such a limited spectrum of worldly wisdom that you fear that that they are bound to make mistakes. You are like - Kaun se planet se aaye ho? The world doesn't run like that!
Was Manvi at fault? Yes. Did she deserve what happened to her? No. Manvi's fault was buying a cock and bull story of her cunning boss, her fault was seeing Antara and the world through his eyes, her fault was looking for a fairytale in a wolf , her fault was giving in to MJ's psychological and emotional manipulation and buying all his lies. She made me think of those dolls in snow globes who believe the glass dome to be the whole world. More than MJ, her own stupidity ruined her life, but the amount of suffering she went through was not ok.
Coming to MJ, well, what a person feels for you is always in the eyes. MJ had no warmth, no compassion, no love and no tenderness in his whole persona. Throughout the flashback, he gives you those creepy feels and it is not because we know who and what MJ is. He looks anything but a man in love , or even attracted to a woman. His whole personality screams - Run baby, run. In the opposite direction. But maybe to see that, you need wisdom, maturity, believe your instincts , which unfortunately Manvi didn't have.
Manvi was just a Red Riding Hood to MJ's wolf. And she is paying the price till date.
No wonder Rudra shines bright for Maya as a man, a partner, a lover and a companion.
Anupamaa
