Can I just say that I find this show absolutely refreshing amongst pretty much all the garbage that's on air these days.. there was a time I used to watch at least 80% of the shows on air, and in the past few years I've barely even watched 2-3 shows out of which I dropped most of them early on.
Thanks to this show, I've been forced out of my cocoon so please bear with me as I've not made a post on IF for a long long time. This is going to be long. You have been warned.
Let's start off with the things that I absolutely love about this show -
1. Viaan - Katha's relationship and interactions. Yes, we all want more of them. So do I. But can I say that I find the way they're maintaining this distance and awkwardness so damn realistic and refreshing. In pretty much most of ITV when leads fight / separate etc, it's like the very next scene they're back to acting all normal like nothing happened. I LOVE the fact that Viaan promised to maintain his distance, and he has done that. They've kept the interaction as minimal and formal as possible, just the way 2 people in real life who're uncomfortable with each other would act. They don't go screaming at each other's faces about their pain or have petty fights. They've suppressed their emotions and are avoiding the elephant in the room like professionals. Their love is not being cemented on some superficial trip/fall or physical attraction, but rather on mutual respect and understanding between 2 adults who've gone through the highs and lows of life. I love their silences, and the way they read each other but do not let it on. Both of them are able to sense each other's discomfort but do not confront one another on it, and neither do they impose their thoughts on each other. If this was another ITV show, Katha would already have given Viaan a lecture on letting go of the past, and making peace with what his father did, and Viaan would already have had fallen in love with Katha and be trying to pin her to the wall or romancing her.
2. The characters. All of them. Layered, complex and grey, and well-casted.
Katha definitely does have the shades of your gold-hearted FL, but what sets her apart is that she speaks up for herself and does not try to be the goody two shoes and interfering personality who needs to invade everyone's space and give moral lectures on right and wrong. She does not engage in melodrama and gets to the point. She established her boundaries with Ehsan by making it clear that she's not looking for a man when he came to her house. She tackled her son's bullies by killing them with kindness. She researched on Viaan out of curiousity but does not go probing and digging into his personal life.
Viaan has been in a dark place and has his typical ITV male lead prejudices against women. But he does not go about shouting about it. He keeps to himself, and lets his work do the talking. He is a man of his word. And the best thing, he is actually intense without the usual pinning of the FL or making cold stares. I love the way he has been contemplating his life, his choices, decisions and confronting his prejudices since that black night. He is slowly beginning to understand what it means to love, to care and most importantly to devote oneself to another. He is letting go of his resistance towards love slowly and steadily.
Katha's mother-in-law and father-in-law. I actually enjoyed the way the mother played the game and was able to make the father realise that he was wrong, and was selfish. Such a refreshing portrayal of an elderly couple with a real dynamic rather than the usual sugary sweet or distanced couple. They're a good mixture of both. Love their push-pull, and the way both of them know how to make each other tick even at this age.
Katha's brother-in-law. Surprisingly, I quite liked his interaction with Katha last week. He doesn't hate her and how refreshing is that. He acknowledged her cordially and while there was a tinge of frustration in his tone over the way he's being treated at home, he did not lash out at Katha and while the show has not delved into that, it is clear that he does miss his brother Adi.
Reet. Well she's your typical trouble maker who creates all the drama. But I'm hoping to see her grow and have a reality check when she finds out about her husband's affair.
Won't say much about Viaan's mother as we don't know enough yet. But I find her pretty toxic. On one hand, she poisoned her son against women and on the other hand, she wants her son to find love. On one hand, she let her son witness what her father did and on other other hand, she worships the father in the name of love. I am not surprised that Viaan is taking his time to figure his emotions regarding Katha given that the mother seems to have established really contradictory definitions of love for him. I hope she she won't become the evil annoying hindrance to Viaan / Katha's relationship.
3. The journey so far. The way that black night has pushed both Viaan and Katha into such different directions who are finding their way to each other. It is a walk of shame for both; for Katha who had to go through that with her boss, and for Viaan who made such a proposal and acted on it. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way they're both making strides towards each other. For Viaan, it is of forgiveness and redemption, and for Katha it is one of acceptance and letting go. Both of them desire to be seen by each other, which Viaan has finally realised. The way he spoke to her in the dream was heartbreaking. But it was also interesting because it was the very black night that allowed him to see her. He appears to be craving for Katha's attention but does not realise that she does see him. It is HE who has to look beyond the black night, and to move forward to forgive himself, and seek her forgiveness thereafter. Katha, on the other hand, is trying to recognise who Viaan is. The man who made her the dirty proposal or the golden man everyone claims him to be. She wants him to be either, not realizing they're both the same. He is not the black night. He is in "flesh and blood" and the black night was a circumstance. Making him out to be either good or bad, would not change what happened, but it would allow both of them to heal, especially her.
OK I think I'm not making sense anymore. Wrote too much.😆
Wanted to talk about other things as well but I'm lazy. Maybe I'll make another post soon.
Looking forward to your replies if my post made any sense 🤗
Love,
Samridhi
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