Shaurya’s life has mostly revolved around women. The men have always had a passive role. I doubt if he has any male friends who are really close to him. His perspective towards the world in general and women in particular has also been shaped by these women.
First of all there is his Badi ma, the woman who has been around for the longest time. She has adopted him unofficially, and has given all her attention to him since his own mother left. She has fulfilled all his material needs. She consoled him when he woke up in the middle of the night, crying for his mother. She always talks sweetly with him, notices his wounds, prioritises him over everyone. Her whole existence is dependent on Shaurya. So he should never have felt any dearth of love from her side. She has been a constant physical presence but Shaurya has felt suffocated by it. He could never adopt her as his own mother and forget Aastha (given the age he was in he should have replaced Aastha with Devi). Instead, he only feels indebted to Devi for raising him.
Devi’s upbringing has also shaped Shaurya’s outlook regarding women. He has seen her successful in the role of a wife and mother, the ones held by society in high regard. The ones in which Aastha has been a total failure. He has seen Devi not having any ambitions of her own. Her family has been everything for her. That has made him look for a life partner who makes her family her biggest priority and has no desire to make a career of her own. It should not come as a surprise if he is shown to be a believer in the gender roles and stereotypes that his family and our society upholds.
Then there is Aastha, the one who gave birth to him. She had been in Shaurya’s life only for four years, but those four years have been the happiest years of his life. He was so small that he may not even remember all the time that he spent with her but just a few snippets of it. Aastha has always been an open minded, free thinking woman who does not conform to societal rules. She loved her son but left him to chart out a life of her own. To Shaurya, she sacrificed him at the altar of her self-esteem. This one decision of hers had turned his life upside down. He could not understand why she did what she did. His family has made him think that she ran away from her responsibilities to have a carefree life. He could see how miserable his father has been ever since she left. He has seen his father neglect his responsibilities in his sorrow. Aastha’s actions have made him think that a woman cannot manage a career and family simultaneously.
Despite all this, Shaurya has Aastha’s values imbibed somewhere in his subconscious mind. This is what makes him stand up even against his Badi ma when he sees injustice being done to the women of the house. Shaurya still yearns for his mother. Although he would not show it to any one. Is it only a mother’s love that he misses or does he miss the woman Aastha too? Does he deep down admire the woman in her who fought against all odds to make a place for herself in the society?
Here comes Anokhi who might be the answer to the above question. The free spirited girl who all of a sudden entered his life and made everything go haywire. She has high ambitions, fights for what is right, never bows down to any pressure. She is nosy and irritating but these attributes made him see things with a perspective that no one in his family has ever done. She made him confront his feelings for his own mother. She is making him cross the barriers that he has not done for fear of getting hurt again. She has freed him from himself. She has shown him that a woman can be passionate about her dreams but also ready to give them up for the ones she deeply cares about. He has found himself opening up to her. Her words are affecting him. He remembers them even when she is not around. He has found himself being concerned about her. Now even the thought of going away from her is disturbing him. Is he falling in love with her?
Just like Anokhi does not know Shaurya very well, Shaurya too does not know Anokhi very well. But they are falling for each other. The process of knowing each other will continue even after falling in love. Anokhi is fiercely independent, Shaurya is going to be deeply passionate. This will also be the cause of their conflict. External forces will be there to aggravate or mitigate that conflict. It is through the prism of his relationship with Anokhi that Shaurya will see the different colours of the other women in his life.
P.S. - Even I think Anokhi’s interference in Shaurya-Aastha relationship is getting overboard. She should give them some space. I have very little patience with constantly lecturing female leads.
Anupamaa
