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Yesterday, we saw two different but very similar mothers. Neglectful, taking advantage of their children but not thankful for them. One we assumed was a stepmother (which was proved to be right today) and the other? Simply an absent mother. Which is worse? To be neglected because a woman who married your father doesn't consider you her son? Or a woman who gave birth to you ignoring you because you don't fit within her perfect life role?
First up for me today was the question of fathers. The two opening scenes - Ram at the wedding and Priya at the party - really opened up a lot of questions for me. As we saw yesterday, Ram was due - or wanted to - do his sister's kanyadaan. This implies that there is no father in the picture; perhaps he died young and Ram became the backbone of the family, the father figure who provides everything yet is not your father. His situation I understand - why he did not marry. Perhaps he got so bogged down in being a father that he forgot to be a man, a husband, a lover. Hota hain.
What is the excuse in Priya's family? She has a father. Yet, in that scene where he asks her why she did not marry, and then goes on to explain in detail how she had to take care of the family, her siblings' education etc, I was sitting here thinking well, where were you?! Where was the father amongst all this? Was he sleeping? What self-respecting father would let his daughter carry the burden of the entire family to her own detriment, unless he had no choice? Doesn't seem to me that he had no choice - though Priya was unhappy about it, she agreed to have her salary for the day cut, so it doesn't seem to me that the family are in any financial trouble. It remains to be seen, however, whether they have in the past been in such dire straits that Priya had to forgo her own life to provide for her family, but to me the characterisation of her father seems weak. He seems to love her to bits, but I cannot fathom a reason why he would let her suffer like she has. He seems the typical ineffectual man in all of Ekta's serials, the foil to his loudmouth, energetic, annoying wife.
Hence that scene between Priya and her father actually annoyed me rather than making me feel sad the way it should have done. I can't help but think that they must have had this discussion many times before - it cannot be the first time. So why have it again? Just to show the audience the juxtaposition between Ram and Priya? As Anu said earlier, this is bad writing. Stop telling us through endless dialogue and exposition - show us through action instead. I don't want Priya's father to stand there and tell me the story of her entire life in an episode; I want to discover this in snippets, in whispered conversations, in frustrated actions. I can't help but think that the writers of Ekta's shows have never read a good book, or watched a good movie, or studied a single creative writing class. I could write better than this. Clichs are not good storytelling - once upon a time, they were new, and they were good. Now they are overused, and they do not tell us any more than what they are, in and of themselves. They contribute nothing to the story except wasted opportunities and a few minutes on the clock.
That then flowed into the scene between Sudhir and Shipra (?), the eternal money vs education debate. Again, nothing we haven't heard before, though there was a part of me that understood Shipra's desperation; it's not so much the issue about a "lifestyle", but in a practical world, money is paramount to doing anything. That doesn't mean that education has no value, or that you need to marry old, rich men to "sustain a lifestyle", but somewhere in the middle, between money and education lies the balanced truth - in this world, you need both. The one thing I loved about that scene was Sakshi's subtle acting; the tears swam in her eyes but didn't fall dramatically - they were just there, filling her eyes up in a weary fashion. No one has the art of acting through the eyes down to tee like Sakshi 👏
By the way, that man does not look like Priya's father 😕😆 what is with the casting of these parents?!
Yeah, and enough with the "koi toh ho jo tere liye ho" blah blah - you've said it once, no need to bash us over the head with a hammer! Subtlety, Ekta, subtlety. We're not stupid.
There seem to be absolutely no emotions in any member of Ram's family; bad acting or deliberate? And dubbing again?! My God, what is the point of having actors? You might as well have made a cartoon show with voice over actors 😆
Again, Ekta - what is the need to give us Ram's whole backstory through his stepmother? Is no one at the party listening to this vitriol?! As loudly as they are speaking, I find it hard to imagine that no one can hear them 😕
Okay, yesterday, I sort of liked Vikram. Today, he is bugging me beyond belief. What is he, Ram's marriage broker? Or his fairy godmother? 😆 ENOUGH with the "you need to find someone to love you" spiel. We get it - why don't you DO something about it instead of going on and on?
Vikram's jealous wife Neha is going to get really annoying any minute now - oh, there it is. She's annoying. That scene was simply very random. How can a man who's married to a woman like that and has about a hundred kids advocate marriage to Ram? 😆 Beats me. If that's the (stereotypical) definition of marriage, spare me the horror (camp KJo style 😆)
Kids are cute though - esp. that curly haired one in the red shirt.
And no offence, but what kind of men drink wine from a martini glass? 😕 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I had said before the show began that I did not want it to be some stereotypical clich about how marriage solves all problems and how those people who don't marry are so incredibly unfulfilled and lonely. And yet, that is exactly what this show is turning out to be. All these people shoving marriage down our throats because if you are unmarried, then - shock, horror! - you're weird! 😕 Or pitiable, or sad, or pathetic. Blah blah blah. Why can we not have a mature show that tells us that the answer to loneliness is NOT to immediately get married? The sad faces that Ram and Priya get whenever someone talks about their age or unmarried status; the pitying interference of Vikram and Priya's father. The long, boring bhaashans about how you need a soulmate to be complete. Ekta, if you hadn't done this before in 56768989654343256756787 shows, I would not have been so bored now. But since you have, why not try something new? Why not have Ram & Priya meet of their own accord, fall in love of their own choosing and marry for their own reasons rather than have an army of do-gooders and evil stepmothers battle it out for them?!
Naagin 7
