Posted:
Umm actually I've been wanting to make this post for a loooong time, but never found the time or the effort to do so...
I see a HUGE disparity in MayUr's characters then and their characters now. I mean look at Mayank - from an A class sarcastic nerd who frowns upon all this idea of filmy romance to a lover who mouths lines as 'pyaar mein koi paani level nahin dikhta hai' and then Nupur who actually IS just the same when in love as she was before love... The way she treated Mayank for the locket ka drama is very reminiscent of how she treated Mayank when they were staunch rivals.... There is hardly ANY growth to her character at all! Besides the hug and the lowey-dovey stares of her, does she really look like she is in love? She treats Mayank as her servant... Heck she gives more respect to Samrat other than Mayank 😕
This is mainly where I think the creatives have failed.. There is something called moderation... But over here, its either full-change or NO change at all.... None of the strategies are sensible or realistic... Mayank's character has been changed (and IMO butchered) so much that he's hardly recognizable... Noone changes their entire personality so quickly without any MAJOR development... We were never shown the transition from Mayank's original personality to this bhondu-ish version of Mayank properly or even at all... Its just like one day he woke up, and voila he turned to Mappu-man... This is NOT proper development of the character, THIS is a personality-transplant!!! Sure people change when they fall in lowe, thats true... But no-one changes this MUCH and that too so quickly... I mean this mayank is so unrecognizable and unlike the original Mayank that the original Mayank would be LAUGHING his head off at this mayank's antics... This in my opinion is a complete cop-out from the creative's side... Instead of dwelling into Mayank's motivations, what makes him tick, why he is the nerd that he is today, how he copes up with having no father figure in his life, why is he so ambitious?, why he is so cynical, why is he so averse to the idea of romance, why he has fallen in lowe with Nupur and then proceeding from that set-point... They've given us a complete personality transplant into a guy who cannot stop thinking about lowe, and revolves his entire life around Nupur! Ambitions, studies, his values/principles, all the cynicism and aloofness, sab bhaad mein gaye! ....
And then there's Nupur... Now with Nupur, I find the problem with her character to be entirely opposite... Where Mayanks character has undergone a 360 degrees change from his original personality to the current one... Nupur's character hasn't budged at all... Infact she is the same now, that she is in lowe with Mayank, like she was before, when Mayank was her staunch rival... Like everyone over here says, love changes ppl, but WHERE is the change in Nupur's character? Or is this rule only applicable to the male gender? 😛... Again, aside from the first two-three months, creatives have completely failed to dwelve properly into Nupur's character and her motivation... When I first saw Nupur, I marvelled at her character... I thought here is one character who is undeniably complex... She is human and has her own flaws.... One thing I find absolutely remarkable about Nupur is her childlike optimism and faith in the good in the world around her... She puts herself out there constantly, expecting to succeed... This makes her very naive for sure, but also so childlike, endearing and vulnerable in all of that (as evidenced by her constant need to fit in, and the pre-beach scenes, the beach scene, also evidenced in the first MN hug and the barn scene)... But after that, the creatives have completely failed to dwelve into that childlike 'vulnerability' aspect of Nupur which in my opinion is a MAJOR transgression from the creatives side because that childlike 'vulnerability' FORMS the VERY ESSENCE of Nupur's character... This is precisely why I feel that Nupur's character hasn't grown at alll... Had she have grown, we would've seen a softer, more serious, happier, funnier and a much more loving Nupur who was much more in touch with her vulnerability than the version we see now...
Okay, leaving aside the poor job the creatives have done with MayUr's character, I feel they've done an even more mediocre job with regards to MN's storyline, and the growth and development of their feelings and their couple... During my first story-writing class, my english teacher told me that a cardinal rule of novel-writing, or story-writing is that to NEVER move the plot at the expense of the characters... And the creatives have broken this VERY cardinal rule... Mayank and Nupur and their original complex characters have been reduced to mere comic-reliefs just for a few laughs and to move forward the episodes ... For instance, Nupur's continuous inability to say the words 'I love you' to Mayank even when logically this is the SAME Nupur who went and hugged Mayank when they were not on proper speaking terms because she was so scared in the jungle... The SAME Nupur who when drunk openly compliments Mayank in the barn scene... The SAME Nupur who just couldn't resist hugging Mayank (in the Fanaa dance I mean)... The SAME Nupur who is in love with the idea of love... The extrovert person who is very affectionate by nature... The SAME Nupur can't say the three measly words to Mayank? If this is not furthering the plot at the character's expense, then what is??? 😕😆 This is not the only time the creatives have furthered MN's plot at MN's expense... This whole locket ka drama is another example... made up and written just so ultimately we get some incriminating evidence against Sheena... Did the creatives even put any thought as to whether these scenes were even understandable and consistent with the characters of Mayank and Nupur? Any thought as to whether these scenes fit in with the basic character sketches of Mayank and Nupur? Nahin... they just had to further the plot naa, who cares about Mayank and Nupur and their characters?
This 'putting plot before the characters' is not the only grievance I have with the Mayank-Nupur track... Its also the implicit-message being sent out that I feel is highly flawed and unrealistic... The implicit message being that, in love you should just accept any verbal humiliations and do your lovers bidding whether you agree with her or not... Forget yourself, and your self-respect, your lover has asked you to jump in a deep pool to locate some unexpensive cheesy locket you should go do it... You should lose your entire individuality, forget your principles, forget your likes/dislikes, your values and turn into everything your lover wants you to become... Thats the only way you'll have a healthy relationship 😊... And on the other side of the spectrum... there is an implicit message being sent out that its OK and infact even applaudable to make your boyfriend follow your every command... Thats its OK to not talk to your boyfriend just because he disagrees with you... Thats its OK to make your boyfriend run through hoops and jump in pools and possibly risk his life so that he can recover the cheesy unexpensive locket you gifted him, because as we know, lockets are much more important than your boyfriend itself! 😳 ..
Sarcasm aside, is this really a healthy applaudable idea of love? THIS is what we're expected to SWOON over? 😕 The words 'I love you' aren't possible if there's no I (in case of Mayank) and if there's no you (in case of Nupur)... It takes TWO people to make a relationship work not just one... But over here tho, I see a completely unequal relationship... This would be fine had it been before Nupur fell in love and both of them not confessed their feelings, but even AFTER Nupur fell in love and they confessed their feelings, there's this same inequality in their relationship? 😕 Why does it have to be two extremes? Mayank, on one hand, completely loses his sense of identity and becomes a puppet to Nupur's whims and Nupur, on the other hand, is so uncompromising and unforgiving that she can't even excuse her boyfriend for losing a do-kaudi ka locket, and has to make him pay back by humiliating him? 😕 WHERE is the love over here? All I see is just obsession, infatuation and lust... Love contains elements of passion too, but its also compassionate... Kahaan hai woh compassion, woh generosity? 😕 A healthy relationship is one where BOTH characters give and take... Par here tho, its just the opposite, two bloody extremes... Seriously am I supposed to swoon and faint at THIS stuff? 😕
In conclusion, I've to say the creatives have really done NO justice with the characters of Mayank and Nupur at all, be it with regards to their growth and development, their consistency, their plot or their couple dynamics... Which is a pity really, because they really had the potential to hit a sixer with this couple, being how unique and brilliantly sketched Mayank and Nupur's original characters and couple were.
PS. Please excuse my lack of coherency over here... I wrote this like in one-go, typing down whatever came into my head at the moment and so did not properly proof-read it....
I see a HUGE disparity in MayUr's characters then and their characters now. I mean look at Mayank - from an A class sarcastic nerd who frowns upon all this idea of filmy romance to a lover who mouths lines as 'pyaar mein koi paani level nahin dikhta hai' and then Nupur who actually IS just the same when in love as she was before love... The way she treated Mayank for the locket ka drama is very reminiscent of how she treated Mayank when they were staunch rivals.... There is hardly ANY growth to her character at all! Besides the hug and the lowey-dovey stares of her, does she really look like she is in love? She treats Mayank as her servant... Heck she gives more respect to Samrat other than Mayank 😕
This is mainly where I think the creatives have failed.. There is something called moderation... But over here, its either full-change or NO change at all.... None of the strategies are sensible or realistic... Mayank's character has been changed (and IMO butchered) so much that he's hardly recognizable... Noone changes their entire personality so quickly without any MAJOR development... We were never shown the transition from Mayank's original personality to this bhondu-ish version of Mayank properly or even at all... Its just like one day he woke up, and voila he turned to Mappu-man... This is NOT proper development of the character, THIS is a personality-transplant!!! Sure people change when they fall in lowe, thats true... But no-one changes this MUCH and that too so quickly... I mean this mayank is so unrecognizable and unlike the original Mayank that the original Mayank would be LAUGHING his head off at this mayank's antics... This in my opinion is a complete cop-out from the creative's side... Instead of dwelling into Mayank's motivations, what makes him tick, why he is the nerd that he is today, how he copes up with having no father figure in his life, why is he so ambitious?, why he is so cynical, why is he so averse to the idea of romance, why he has fallen in lowe with Nupur and then proceeding from that set-point... They've given us a complete personality transplant into a guy who cannot stop thinking about lowe, and revolves his entire life around Nupur! Ambitions, studies, his values/principles, all the cynicism and aloofness, sab bhaad mein gaye! ....
And then there's Nupur... Now with Nupur, I find the problem with her character to be entirely opposite... Where Mayanks character has undergone a 360 degrees change from his original personality to the current one... Nupur's character hasn't budged at all... Infact she is the same now, that she is in lowe with Mayank, like she was before, when Mayank was her staunch rival... Like everyone over here says, love changes ppl, but WHERE is the change in Nupur's character? Or is this rule only applicable to the male gender? 😛... Again, aside from the first two-three months, creatives have completely failed to dwelve properly into Nupur's character and her motivation... When I first saw Nupur, I marvelled at her character... I thought here is one character who is undeniably complex... She is human and has her own flaws.... One thing I find absolutely remarkable about Nupur is her childlike optimism and faith in the good in the world around her... She puts herself out there constantly, expecting to succeed... This makes her very naive for sure, but also so childlike, endearing and vulnerable in all of that (as evidenced by her constant need to fit in, and the pre-beach scenes, the beach scene, also evidenced in the first MN hug and the barn scene)... But after that, the creatives have completely failed to dwelve into that childlike 'vulnerability' aspect of Nupur which in my opinion is a MAJOR transgression from the creatives side because that childlike 'vulnerability' FORMS the VERY ESSENCE of Nupur's character... This is precisely why I feel that Nupur's character hasn't grown at alll... Had she have grown, we would've seen a softer, more serious, happier, funnier and a much more loving Nupur who was much more in touch with her vulnerability than the version we see now...
Okay, leaving aside the poor job the creatives have done with MayUr's character, I feel they've done an even more mediocre job with regards to MN's storyline, and the growth and development of their feelings and their couple... During my first story-writing class, my english teacher told me that a cardinal rule of novel-writing, or story-writing is that to NEVER move the plot at the expense of the characters... And the creatives have broken this VERY cardinal rule... Mayank and Nupur and their original complex characters have been reduced to mere comic-reliefs just for a few laughs and to move forward the episodes ... For instance, Nupur's continuous inability to say the words 'I love you' to Mayank even when logically this is the SAME Nupur who went and hugged Mayank when they were not on proper speaking terms because she was so scared in the jungle... The SAME Nupur who when drunk openly compliments Mayank in the barn scene... The SAME Nupur who just couldn't resist hugging Mayank (in the Fanaa dance I mean)... The SAME Nupur who is in love with the idea of love... The extrovert person who is very affectionate by nature... The SAME Nupur can't say the three measly words to Mayank? If this is not furthering the plot at the character's expense, then what is??? 😕😆 This is not the only time the creatives have furthered MN's plot at MN's expense... This whole locket ka drama is another example... made up and written just so ultimately we get some incriminating evidence against Sheena... Did the creatives even put any thought as to whether these scenes were even understandable and consistent with the characters of Mayank and Nupur? Any thought as to whether these scenes fit in with the basic character sketches of Mayank and Nupur? Nahin... they just had to further the plot naa, who cares about Mayank and Nupur and their characters?
This 'putting plot before the characters' is not the only grievance I have with the Mayank-Nupur track... Its also the implicit-message being sent out that I feel is highly flawed and unrealistic... The implicit message being that, in love you should just accept any verbal humiliations and do your lovers bidding whether you agree with her or not... Forget yourself, and your self-respect, your lover has asked you to jump in a deep pool to locate some unexpensive cheesy locket you should go do it... You should lose your entire individuality, forget your principles, forget your likes/dislikes, your values and turn into everything your lover wants you to become... Thats the only way you'll have a healthy relationship 😊... And on the other side of the spectrum... there is an implicit message being sent out that its OK and infact even applaudable to make your boyfriend follow your every command... Thats its OK to not talk to your boyfriend just because he disagrees with you... Thats its OK to make your boyfriend run through hoops and jump in pools and possibly risk his life so that he can recover the cheesy unexpensive locket you gifted him, because as we know, lockets are much more important than your boyfriend itself! 😳 ..
Sarcasm aside, is this really a healthy applaudable idea of love? THIS is what we're expected to SWOON over? 😕 The words 'I love you' aren't possible if there's no I (in case of Mayank) and if there's no you (in case of Nupur)... It takes TWO people to make a relationship work not just one... But over here tho, I see a completely unequal relationship... This would be fine had it been before Nupur fell in love and both of them not confessed their feelings, but even AFTER Nupur fell in love and they confessed their feelings, there's this same inequality in their relationship? 😕 Why does it have to be two extremes? Mayank, on one hand, completely loses his sense of identity and becomes a puppet to Nupur's whims and Nupur, on the other hand, is so uncompromising and unforgiving that she can't even excuse her boyfriend for losing a do-kaudi ka locket, and has to make him pay back by humiliating him? 😕 WHERE is the love over here? All I see is just obsession, infatuation and lust... Love contains elements of passion too, but its also compassionate... Kahaan hai woh compassion, woh generosity? 😕 A healthy relationship is one where BOTH characters give and take... Par here tho, its just the opposite, two bloody extremes... Seriously am I supposed to swoon and faint at THIS stuff? 😕
In conclusion, I've to say the creatives have really done NO justice with the characters of Mayank and Nupur at all, be it with regards to their growth and development, their consistency, their plot or their couple dynamics... Which is a pity really, because they really had the potential to hit a sixer with this couple, being how unique and brilliantly sketched Mayank and Nupur's original characters and couple were.
PS. Please excuse my lack of coherency over here... I wrote this like in one-go, typing down whatever came into my head at the moment and so did not properly proof-read it....
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
