Guys, I know ki shayad ye pad ke tum logon ko mere kaan ke niche ek bajane ki man karenge...ya phir the jootha treatment..ya phir the sade hue tamatar treatment...ya phir- well you get the point BUT hear me out...
Disclaimer: I do not endorse cheating of any sort and have not written this to justify any sort of future events of the same.
Its a long ride y'all...really sorry about the length lol.
Initially I planned on this being a comparison and a wish list of sorts (attaching ss here).
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Yz8EHMz.png[/img]
However, I thought I should clarify a few terms. So, what exactly is cheating? What is an ema?
What is the difference between these too and are there acceptable lines? The conclusion I've come to, based on all the cases of these two terms that I've come across (including both ITV and English versions as ridiculous as that sounds lol), is:
Putting it in simple terms,
Cheating usually refers to two-timing and one-night stands and usually happens without the foreknowledge of the respective partners in the relationship, whether its a serious relationship or a sacrosanct marriage.
EMA or Extra Marital Affair refers to a prolonged (most often, sexual) affair with a third party which may or may not involve feelings. The respective partner may or may not be aware of the same.
Now, I know the above definitions do not entirely cover the premise of the terms and is only meant as a loose interpretation of my thoughts on the same.
Emotional cheating (F's ema was shown as one, probably because they didn't wanna show the implications of a physical relationship on a show that is rated PG at best) is also a thing, where you have given all the rights and responsibilities of your partner to the third party.
I don't know to how much detail I can go about the other show since this is a forum exclusively for Meet but for comparison's sake, I have to mention it.
What I realised, once I forced myself to think about a possible ema, is that Meet Ahlawat can never strictly be a F 2.0. This could be because their situations are entirely different. MA was actually, in essence, cheated on by Manushi because, along with leaving him at the altar, (a) she was two-timing with Kunal and (b) she was manipulating him for her greed. F, on the other hand, wasn't manipulated in any way pre-marriage (J had made it clear that her acceptance of his proposal weighed heavily on his ability to fulfill her dream of Canada). Not that I am down-playing the trauma of being humiliated and rejected at the altar, but F knew why it happened to him whereas MA didn't.
F se meri sabse bade shikhayatein (and when I use this word, please understand that my abhorrence for his actions and him as a character goes above and beyond the scope of the word) ye the ki usne
(a) T ko use kiya...that too in the worst way(s) possible (I hope you get what I'm alluding to) and then described it, regretfully, as him 'fulfilling his responsibility' (please note the sarcasm) to his gf aka his saali and
(b) Didn't even have the courage to admit that he is a cowardly two-timing bas**rd and instead chose to keep her (T) in the dark while hurting her emotionally and mentally
Of course, I could go on and on about him and his many flaws but that is NOT the point of this discussion.
From what I have seen of Meet Ahlawat so far, he has little to nothing in common with F, chahe baat uske character ka ho ya phir heart break ke saath deal karne ka tareekha ho. Which is why I like to think that chances of him turning into F 2.0 are very few. But since ITV has a history of character-assassination, I am not entirely confident in my assumption.
So, I wanted to discuss the worst-case scenario we have all been mentioning in passing in our discussions. If worse comes to worst and Manushi jeet gayi toh next kya aati hai, yeh humein lagbag patha hai. Par kya hum usko ek ema keh sakte hein? Kya hum usko sirf ek galat faimi ki naam de ke nazar andaaz kar sakte hain?
I wanted to put myself in MA's shoes and think about what he is going through (though I have fortunately never gone through heart break myself). We all seem to think that MA shouldn't be taking it so hard, that it shouldn't be so hard to move on from a relationship, especially one that seems like a fledgling of one to us (sorry if I am being presumptuous). Our thought-process is rational considering the fact that the show never showed us the entire fleshed-out relationship. I like to think that this is because it would be detrimental to the health of the show, considering it should be mainly focused on the relationship of the leads, not the antagonistic side character's fake feelings and OTT sugary buttering.
Meet A was, however, fully invested in the relationship (and we can assume that it was an amazing relationship for him), judging by the amount of times he keeps going 'kyun tune meri jazbaton ke saat kheli' and vagera vagera, no matter how much we hate the fact. It was even more special in his case cuz he had apparently rejected 40 girls already (just photos, guys).
We know that MA's and MH's relationship is new and have also already established that MA (and MH) sometimes tend to behave like children despite their maturity when it comes to family matters. So, putting two and two together, if Manushi takes her manipulation to the next level, MA getting manipulated is not entirely off the charts.
F got manipulated by J despite the fact that he KNEW the reason she abandoned him. Phir bhi, in the beginning of their relationship, he blamed T because he felt ki kahi na kahi, it was her fault (and we let it slide cuz he was heart-broken and people tell a lot of things that they do not mean in their anger).
Coming to the main point, if MA does get convinced that MH is the culprit, he will obviously confront her. This is the main difference between F and Meet. While F never backed away from hitting at T with allegations from the beginning, he later kept stuff to himself, forgoing confrontation. And then, he willingly chose to not inform his wife T (of course there were several times he wanted to reveal it but was too weak to) that he was having an affair with her sister.
I like to think that because Meet A has gone through the pain of not getting answers himself, he will immediately confront MH, speak his mind, let her know exactly why he is abandoning her (ugh, the very thought is painful) and then do his best to end things as permanently as possible before he gets back together with Manushi. (This is what I wish for if things HAVE to go this way)
And if that's how things happen, we cannot really label it as an ema or even cheating for that matter. It will be painful af, we will be super angry with MA for sure for not trusting MH but we won't be able to label it as an ema. At least I won't be.
Meet H being Meet H, she will either keep quiet (and choose to look for proofs against MA's and Manushi's allegations) or deny the allegations and choose the most self-torturing way of reaction(ugh ITV ugh) thanks to family members' intervention.
What I wish for, if all this happens, is for the so-called haq ka ladai (which is prolly the most disturbing thing I've heard of cuz they're asking you to stay with someone who has made it clear that he doesn't want you) to not happen. Just end things, get the reality of Manushi to come out and redemption or no redemption is up to them cuz I'll prolly be outa here if any of this happens anyways. Then let there be a leap...show MH as a cadet in a Police-training academy fulfilling her father's dreams, lookin all desirable and making MA burn in regret for ever doubting her.
Do let me know what you guys think...hehe. And do share if you have a worst-case scenario wishlist.
Arjun
Hindi TV Shows
Veer Hanuman
