Kinky Romance!

Is Rishta turning into a show about kinky romance ? Given the kind of background score and songs used, it seems that the makers want to project what is going on between Armaan and Ruhi as romance. In today’s context, where Ruhi is shown almost pawing at Armaan, I just want to understand if the makers are hinting at kinky stuff. Like making out with a man in deep sleep? Irrespective of their past, Armaan has clarified to Ruhi that he cannot and will not take their relationship further. He has shown undue care for her feelings at times and given her unnecessary and unwanted perspective into his relationship with Abhira. However, save the dance which was semi-erotic and seeming like a mating ritual, Armaan has not initiated any physical intimacy with Ruhi. He has clearly displayed his discomfort. Given this, Ruhi touching a sleeping Armaan would have to be considered non-consensual. However the mood music says otherwise. Now either the writers and the music department are not in sync or the writers want to go the kinky route. Which one is it ? Because the music places Ruhi and Armaan as the OTP while the writing and making give the feel that Ruhi is lusting after her brother-in-law. For those who are not into kinky romance, Ruhi feels like a borderline molester, taking advantage of a sleeping man. If they are watching the scene on mute that is, since the music gives another perspective altogether. If the makers are not pushing for kinky romance, do they want to project Ruhi as someone who will take advantage of a sleeping man and touch him inappropriately? It does not matter that it is happening in public. Most times, sexual harassment actually happens in public under the guise of you name it. If this is the case, then how do they hope to redeem her and unite her with his brother and develop a sisterly bond with Abhira? I have not watched Season 3 but from what I have read, I do not think the parallel lead ever tried to be touchy feely with the male lead. So it might have been possible to redeem her and give her a positive arc but how do you redeem someone who is seemingly sexually obsessed even with her husband’s brother, who she will eventually realise is also her sister’s husband. Rishta has never justified extra-marital relations, the standing example being the Shaurya - Varsha track in Season 1. So how do they even intend to normalise relations within the family after showing Ruhi being a borderline abuser?

That Armaan is sending Ruhi conflicting signals and refusing to put an end to her delusion in no uncertain terms is a given. He does not want to say NO loud and clear when touched. Agree it not easy for a victim to push away the abuser for a variety of reasons but then, victims also work on putting distance between them and their abusers. Armaan is not doing that and instead, actively seeks her presence even sometimes. So sadly, he does not have my sympathy as a viewer. Or is Armaan uncontrollably attracted to Ruhi and is unable to say no even when he wants to. It happens, sometimes we know something is wrong but we are helpless in the face of wanting it. So what is going on here ? Is this kinky love, sexual harassment or some kind of weird Freudian condition that Armaan suffers from that causes him to be enthralled by Ruhi, even while sending mixed signals verbally?

Originally posted by: sharadrocks

Is Rishta turning into a show about kinky romance ? Given the kind of background score and songs used, it seems that the makers want to project what is going on between Armaan and Ruhi as romance. In today’s context, where Ruhi is shown almost pawing at Armaan, I just want to understand if the makers are hinting at kinky stuff. Like making out with a man in deep sleep? Irrespective of their past, Armaan has clarified to Ruhi that he cannot and will not take their relationship further. He has shown undue care for her feelings at times and given her unnecessary and unwanted perspective into his relationship with Abhira. However, save the dance which was semi-erotic and seeming like a mating ritual, Armaan has not initiated any physical intimacy with Ruhi. He has clearly displayed his discomfort. Given this, Ruhi touching a sleeping Armaan would have to be considered non-consensual. However the mood music says otherwise. Now either the writers and the music department are not in sync or the writers want to go the kinky route. Which one is it ? Because the music places Ruhi and Armaan as the OTP while the writing and making give the feel that Ruhi is lusting after her brother-in-law. For those who are not into kinky romance, Ruhi feels like a borderline molester, taking advantage of a sleeping man. If they are watching the scene on mute that is, since the music gives another perspective altogether. If the makers are not pushing for kinky romance, do they want to project Ruhi as someone who will take advantage of a sleeping man and touch him inappropriately? It does not matter that it is happening in public. Most times, sexual harassment actually happens in public under the guise of you name it. If this is the case, then how do they hope to redeem her and unite her with his brother and develop a sisterly bond with Abhira? I have not watched Season 3 but from what I have read, I do not think the parallel lead ever tried to be touchy feely with the male lead. So it might have been possible to redeem her and give her a positive arc but how do you redeem someone who is seemingly sexually obsessed even with her husband’s brother, who she will eventually realise is also her sister’s husband. Rishta has never justified extra-marital relations, the standing example being the Shaurya - Varsha track in Season 1. So how do they even intend to normalise relations within the family after showing Ruhi being a borderline abuser?

That Armaan is sending Ruhi conflicting signals and refusing to put an end to her delusion in no uncertain terms is a given. He does not want to say NO loud and clear when touched. Agree it not easy for a victim to push away the abuser for a variety of reasons but then, victims also work on putting distance between them and their abusers. Armaan is not doing that and instead, actively seeks her presence even sometimes. So sadly, he does not have my sympathy as a viewer. Or is Armaan uncontrollably attracted to Ruhi and is unable to say no even when he wants to. It happens, sometimes we know something is wrong but we are helpless in the face of wanting it. So what is going on here ? Is this kinky love, sexual harassment or some kind of weird Freudian condition that Armaan suffers from that causes him to be enthralled by Ruhi, even while sending mixed signals verbally?

The music is from Ruhi's PoV and what armaan is facing is borderline emotional and physical harassment from ruhi. I think armaan's victim of Stockholm syndrome. No matter how much ruhi harasses him physically or mentally he will still behave nicely with her because he holds himself responsible for destroying ruhi's life. Armaan clearly told her a week ago or so that there won't be any relation between them in clear terms and he will always see her as Rohit's wife. But what happened? Ruhi almost revealed the truth of their past to abhira in the kitchen and harassed him in public by forcefully holding his hand. He will stay like this till the truth is out before abhira and poddars. Truth will set him free

Originally posted by: Sawri67

The music is from Ruhi's PoV and what armaan is facing is borderline emotional and physical harassment from ruhi. I think armaan's victim of Stockholm syndrome. No matter how much ruhi harasses him physically or mentally he will still behave nicely with her because he holds himself responsible for destroying ruhi's life. Armaan clearly told her a week ago or so that there won't be any relation between them in clear terms and he will always see her as Rohit's wife. But what happened? Ruhi almost revealed the truth of their past to abhira in the kitchen and harassed him in public by forcefully holding his hand. He will stay like this till the truth is out before abhira and poddars. Truth will set him free

Originally posted by: sharadrocks

So how will they redeem Ruhi? If the music is from Ruhi’s pov, then they are establishing her relationship with Armaan as one of the greatest love stories ever. Then why turn her into someone who’s actively seeking physical intimacy in some form or the other even after being turned down by Armaan. It is like she is seeking validation for her behaviour/ love and Armaan is offering her just that by his inability to take a strong stand. I don’t know, I am not able to sympathise with Armaan because the entire mess is of his own making. Ruhi might have called off the wedding after he turned down her request to approach their families. By pushing her to marry Rohit, he fuelled her desire to take this route to enjoy proximity with him lifelong. Ruhi’s behaviour is indefensible but Armaan is not doing himself any favours either by his stance of not taking a stance. Like you said, the problem is Armaan doesn’t have the guts to face the consequences of the truth. And a gutless male lead is not a very attractive commodity.

I'm not defending armaan. He's the main reason Rohit's life got destroyed and he will face consequences for that in future. But I sympathize with his current position. Ruhi has nothing to lose- She has goenkas as backup but armaan has everything to lose- poddars and abhira both and he is scared of this. Ruhi's using this an excuse to harass him mentally and physically. She once revealed the truth of deal marriage to abhira. She can easily reveal the truth of their past to abhira and poddars and this is what armaan's scared of. I can totally understand why you can't sympathize with armaan though

I think it is just lousy writing. They are in the loop of anEMA story and every day they are just changing the background, music and circumstances to show the same EMA in the setting of three people. They are not even capable of thinking the angles you are talking about and damages they are showing to audience pretending this is normal.

They appointed three actors with good salaries and they are maximizing their screen space by showing the crap and filling prime time slot.

Suddenly when they have some extra time to write something new or will be under some pressure due to trp/ channel they will just whitewash the character in one episode giving another lousy excuse and the crap festival goes on…….

What Ruhi did today was wrong and indeed molesting her brother-in-law. She has crossed boundaries. I have no idea how they'll redeem her and more than that expect us to accept her whitewash but yes, today's scene was every bit disturbing when she was all clingy with him while he wasn't even aware.

To maintain distance from your harasser, you must first realise and accept that you're being harrassed and trust me, it really is not that straightforward and simple. He feels guilty for ruining her life by forcing her to marry Rohit (he did not force her, it was her decision) augmented by both Ruhi and her Badi Maa accusing him. He also believes that she is depressed and under therapy and does not know her pov except the beech ka rishta thing which he clearly refused and all her loneliness is because of him forcing her. So in all this, which decent man will assume the woman in front of him aims to legit molest him? For a girl, it is more easier to come to that conclusion, not for a guy. And he actually believes her to be good. Troubled but good.

And seriously, Ruhi had decided to marry Rohit before she even knew he was Armaan's brother. When he came to know, he obviously chose his family and she could have broken off the thing. It was her decision to marry Rohit to be close to Armaan. That was Ruhi's thought and decision as clearly told by herself to her Badi Maa. So why is he accused of forcing her??

And every time he actually takes a firm stand, she leaves the house upsetting his family, guilt tripping him or acts such that people in the family get him to apologize to her, like she is on the morally high ground. Ruhi is clearly more accepted in the house than he himself is coz she is Rohit's wife and that's really clear since the beginning.

And I don't really understand if people are not in for the journey and slow burn, why watch the show. This is not aimed at you but I just wanted to say it. He is emotionally weak and it wasn't as if people were told that he was going to be all macho and then given this.

While I respect your pov, I reserve the right to mine. As a legacy viewer, I believed that this show had certain standards. I did not expect them to dip so low.

I do not find Armaan attractive as a character. I am all for complex characters but his constant snivelliing is grating. I would say the same if it were a woman too. Sorry but I have no sympathy for people who dig their own graves.

The family is the constant excuse and it will stick only for so long.

With regard to harassment, agree it is a very complex situation. I have already said as much in my post. Armaan has very mixed feelings for Ruhi and there is a latent attraction that draws him to her. Guilt could be a factor but sorry it is not the only factor.

Lastly, I don’t think it appropriate to question why people watch the show. Even if your comment was not directed at me, I take the liberty to respond since you made it on my post. This is an open forum where people are allowed to share alternate view points. Just as you find reason to defend Armaan, I suppose those of us who don’t have other reasons to watch the show.

Thank you for your inputs.

Originally posted by: leafy2022

I think it is just lousy writing. They are in the loop of anEMA story and every day they are just changing the background, music and circumstances to show the same EMA in the setting of three people. They are not even capable of thinking the angles you are talking about and damages they are showing to audience pretending this is normal.

They appointed three actors with good salaries and they are maximizing their screen space by showing the crap and filling prime time slot.

Suddenly when they have some extra time to write something new or will be under some pressure due to trp/ channel they will just whitewash the character in one episode giving another lousy excuse and the crap festival goes on…….

Originally posted by: sharadrocks

While I respect your pov, I reserve the right to mine. As a legacy viewer, I believed that this show had certain standards. I did not expect them to dip so low.

I do not find Armaan attractive as a character. I am all for complex characters but his constant snivelliing is grating. I would say the same if it were a woman too. Sorry but I have no sympathy for people who dig their own graves.

Look ma'am, with due respect, nobody is asking you to sympathise with his character. Sympathising and comprehending are two different things. I can hate a character and still understand where he/she is coming from. My like/dislike for a character will not change how the character is built, his backstory, his core characteristics etc. You finding him snivelling and unattractive will not change that he is an emotionally weak character who has felt indebted most of his life, who never took a stand for himself or his dad but after Abhira, has slowly begun having a change. And really, how did he dig his own grave when it was Ruhi's decision to marry Rohit and her intention to do it to remain close to Armaan which he does not know of?

The family is the constant excuse and it will stick only for so long.

The family is not an excuse. It is the driving factor to most of his descisions because he is clearly a people pleaser which is again, not an inherent sin. He will always feel indebted to his family. And Ruhi is important to his family, whether he believes it or not or whether we like it or not. It's evident, is evident even in the present track.

With regard to harassment, agree it is a very complex situation. I have already said as much in my post. Armaan has very mixed feelings for Ruhi and there is a latent attraction that draws him to her. Guilt could be a factor but sorry it is not the only factor.

I would respectfully like to disagree again because while there had been infatuation at the beginning, it died when she became Rohit's wife. He has made that clear to her directly. She will always be Ruhi Rohit Poddar to him. Ruhi is the one who was all about beecha ka raasta, deewar hatana, waqt badlega etc. There is nothing but guilt and obligation in his equation with Ruhi. Infact, she is more zimmerdari than the one who is his zimmerdari, his deal waali wife. His deal waali wife is his real happiness and he never feels indebted to her. His smile falters when he sees Ruhi, he is visibly uncomfortable around her. Yesterday's episode had him literally going back in fear while she kept moving towards him. He does not move to her, drawn to her like he moves around his wife. The one time he actively ran behind Ruhi was that marriage proposal scene with that dupata stuff.

Lastly, I don’t think it appropriate to question why people watch the show.

Watching a fictional show is a choice. When I don't like the character or arc or something, I move to something I watch. It was a genuine question because this is how I function. I apologize if it was rude.

Even if your comment was not directed at me, I take the liberty to respond since you made it on my post. This is an open forum where people are allowed to share alternate view points. Just as you find reason to defend Armaan, I suppose those of us who don’t have other reasons to watch the show.

As you've said, this is an open forum. Alternate viewpoints put in an open forum are still open to be responded to, whether in accordance or disagreement. And I just responded to it based on whatever happened in today's episode.

Thank you for your inputs.

Can I just say I am not as invested in the character or the show as you are. I respect your spirited defence of a character that you clearly root for. However I am unable to connect with him. And when something bothers me, I express myself if I find myself with time on my hands. I am not going to try and explain why I don’t agree with your views in point form. Both of us are entitled to what we think and let us just accept that our opinions are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

You are absolutely entitled to share your opinions. I never questioned that nor do I expect people to concur with miy viewpoints on my post. I simply said it is not appropriate to wonder about other people’s reasons for viewing the show!

Thank you once again!