Okay - because I'm supaa dupaa late - here go pumpkin spice cookziee from Nur and my personal stock *ahem* to bribe you guys to still read what I'm going to go bak bak about 😆
In the name of coming soon Halloweens -
n for gooey-caramel icing lovers
How considerate am I when bribing?! 😆
Chalo, on to the bak bak...
So I'll do the major scene we have in bits and pieces, cause its LONG (5 batches of caps in proof) and every bit IMO needs dissecting. Now sit back with tea/coffee and cookies, and pado! 🤓
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So DOP starts by taking control. The way the scene kicks off with that shadow at the door, and then the zoom in capture of the room, made me initially think like it could have been one of those Kesar walks out on 'conscious' Gulaal, only to be adat se majbur later and come back check on her when she can't catch sadu being a softie! When the camera proceeds to zoom in on her sleeping person, and further his oh-so-vulnerable and guilt ridden expression, it almost confirms the idea of time having lapsed between before and now - but after taking a guilty moment's view of his beloved, he 'attempts' to pull off the indifferent knight in shinning armor. The moment he puts down that jar of water with sound enough is, like Maz said - the surprising revelation of a different mood.
Apparently, Galool joins our surprised team - is woken from her only-begun-to-sink-back nap mode and then woken alert, at the sight of him. What does Kesar do - concentrates on pouring the water, like its rocket science for water to flow in a steady stream from jar to glass downwards gravity wise 😆 knowing she's nothing but staring at him. And proceeds to hand her 'the water' with a look that reads - haan bhai, main hi hun, koi bhoot ni 😆 Galool is not convinced. She stares at him, unblinking, like there will be a poof and he'll vanish. But seconds pass - and Gulaal's expression of incredulity, Kesar's so implied I'm cold and caring mask are such a funny sight, especially Galool 😆 She's like this far from pinching herself, or worse, pinching him - I'd have loved to watch his reaction to her pinch test 🤣
But somehow, it turns out, she does believe its him. I suppose the 'caring' Kesar in her imagination was not supposed to 'care' with so much 'attitude'?! 🤔 😆 She probably tells him apart as real from a ghost because he has that characteristic - helping cause I'm noble like that, and not cause I care look about him! How can Galool take a beating to attitude? She looks away, giving him her side, and as if to remind him that she was never the 'lesser' butthead tells him - tune kyun taqleef ki? Hah, Kesar! You thought she was going to be a ready take your help and ease your guilt and ego damsel second time?! Because, remember how readily she cast aside his frigid tantrums at the first instance of him offering her a helping hand in the aam bageecha? This is not the same thing, Gulaal makes it clear. Because in between that agreeable moment, and now, stands the high strung - isse main badlungi nahin, na hi mera pyaar - moment. Plus, let's admit, the Kesar who helped her then was definitely more showing of his humility. This one is still trying to be a jerk 😆 Lo phir, Gullu bhi to is Gullu for a reason na! 😎
Not like Kesar doesn't know. He says nothing in answer to the (very deserved if I may say) 'taqleef' retort Gulaal has tossed at him - because hello, kya bolega?!...i had to take taqleef, because i can't see you in taqleef like that...?! Yeh, right. Wisely, he keeps the answer to himself. Then Gulaal asks him to put it aside for later - and Kesar has his chance. His 'pi ley' tone - so perfectly done by NB, including the way he does his eye wriggle and sigh away exasperated - is such a sign of his frustration at being guilty and unrelenting at once. He's worried sick and refuses to 'show it' so he tries to cover his tracks by talking to her in that exasperated tone of an elder talking to a precocious 3 year old 😆
But who-oh hang on! Not like Gulaal is giving up anytime soon - you can wish Kesar! And so without playing Galool and beating around the bush, she pulls off a Kesar blunt classic - tu ye sab kyun kara hai? tujhe to meri koi parwaa nahin haina?! - Yes, the question that was hanging between his extended offering hand, and her resistance to accept this time - unlike the aam bageecha - was this. The reason he should help her, if he doesn't care. Rightly Gulaal wants to know - and not surprisingly Kesar has no answer to the question itself - or no answer he can give anyway - so what does he do?! Dhamkaoes Gullu - tu pi rahi hai ya main...?!😲 Like come ON! Help bhi karta hai, toh at gunpoint 🤣
And you know what I like so much about the next moment? As Gulaal turns to look at his 'dhamki' and Kesar sort of breathes heavy/impatient - is the emotion that Neil portrays so well here. Of still holding onto the meager effort of not projecting vulnerability, of still covering tracks of his 'concern' under the mask of impatience in getting it over with - he tries to put it out like he's getting mad at her stubborn hold up, but really, he's so troubled inside, a part of him so mad at his own self of the compulsion to hold back! And he extends the hand further towards her - so different from the anticipation and hesitance in the aam bageecha (yeh, I keep going back to compare because there's so much scope!) because Kesar was undeniably a whole lot less guilty in that moment than this - which makes him a whole lot more pretend-grouchy here. Plus, that came after the dream like sequence of watching Gulaal in a trance. This comes after an exhausting day of reading letters, asking kyun, getting no answers, and hating himself to want to hate her, hating himself to never manage it! The preceding mood in both cases sort of filters down to these residual ways of his 'offering' help. And of course, they both know - whether or not either or both deny - that Gulaal takes the water not in fear of his dhamki 😆 Not to miss the way he grabs the glass out of her hand to put it out of her reach. Almost gruffly - the kind of gruff one is, say, when one grudges and worries equally for a close one - and the 'gruff' is so contrasted by the almost soft way he puts the glass down on the bedside. A subtle but sure sign his 'attitude' is all for show - because if he really was oh so miffed and mad at her, the glass would be slammed down hard! But what I'm really thinking myself as he puts it away so out of her reach is how conveniently he assures making chance for himself to be of service again ☺️ 😆
Next comes the moment Nur likes to tag - don't try Kesar, you can't really hold back 😆 - It takes only some expressions of pain and exhaustion for Gulaal, and the momentary casting away of her gaze from Kesar, for him to relax out of the attention attitude and betray the real emotions instantly - his face screaming worry. The way his hand goes towards her, reluctantly but helpless of its own urge, then pulls back at the slightest raising of her eye, and springs right back to her forehead to check the temperature as her face contorts in pain again - is almost another sequence of the kind of moment he had outside her door - extending his hand to open it and walk in, then holding back and walking away only rush back in at the fateful sound of the crashing glass. This now, is just another instance, and same round of reactions. And yet another of Gulaal's reasonable questions - tu gaya ni sab ke saath - goes unanswered, for being yet another question that he has no convincing lie to ward off with. No reason good enough to tell her why he disobeyed MB's word, except if he was to name the real cause. The best part is, even as she asks him the question, Gulaal has the sound of at least part rhetoric. Like the answer is redundant anyway, between them.
And more rhetoric statements follow. Kesar feels and discovers her high fever, and when he asks her - tune vaid ki wo dawa ni khai na? - it just melts my heart to a gooey marshmellow, sigh! The way these two know and recognize these trivial traits about each other - to imagine this is the Kesar who bears so much grudge in his heart over her dubious intentions to have saved Dushyant, and just this second he knows without telling how typical of Gulaal it is to neglect her own health even in such suffering. If only he would sit down and ask himself how instinctive this statement was, how he spoke not in question but in reproachful rhetort - he would embark upon unraveling the mystery of his kyun! But naturally as ever, these two slip in and out of this so well known yet so alien ground between themselves! Gulaal doesn't answer him, no, actually shuts her eyes to not answer, nothing.
And then as he rummages through her drawers - another natural intimacy, the way these two just assume access (and remember this is the guy who told her aise duro ki cheezon ko haath nahin lagate ...😆 ) I love love love the expression on Gulaal's face. The tentative, studying look, undecided on what she should make of these actions and gestures, especially the concern that is evident whatever he tries to pretend! And when he asks her where the medicine is, Gulaal is actually quiet for a moment, looking at him - still attempting to make sense and come to a conclusion. Again, the interesting touch is Kesar holding her gauging eye - because even as he struggles to exercise caution in how much he lets her on, he's not going to let her brush this off. Neil's extra nuance of continuing to breathe in a difficult manner, continues to be reflective of the whole undertone of his worry vs his ego upholding, as emphasized by his stiff words. 👏
But again, as Gulaal gives in and tells him where, there is reason to believe she can tell this stiff apart from the usual frigid vibes he gives off. She's skeptical about the 'why now' of his concern, but not the concern itself! And how natural is it for these two, to be trusting like that? Even after showdowns like the one preceding this, where Kesar all but tells her she's just another nobody, or worse, an enemy, and that she should not mistake his gesture for concern! It stings her, and she hurts him back - but how beautiful is the irony of their bond? While in the usual world, trust is fragile, the easy component of a bond to shake and break - between GK, it is doubt and distrust that is so easy to sway! Their trust has stood not just the test of time, but even the brunt of their own, conscious wariness, and come through. The 'logical' distrust on the other hand finds itself challenged time and again instead!
The bit to follow is awe-freak-somely plain C.U.T.E. ☺️ How many people thought Kesar was going to rummage through the wardrobe and find something interesting? *raises hand* I did, but honestly, I didn't have the time to be disappointed by the 'cliche' not happening - haww, did I just say that?! - because Kesar is keeping up his patronizing the precocious 3 year old Galool mode 😆 additionally, even more gentle now, aww! And how cute is Gulaal?! 😆 The way she peeks at Kesar setting up her medicine and water, and then closes her eyes reminds you of a little kid pretending to be asleep or just throwing a tantrum to avoid that awful cough syrup 😆 I LOVE LOVE LOVE (yes in bold!) Kesar's uth jaaa! in reaction to her antics 😆 [OMG I FREAKING LOVE THIS scene ❤️] Add the little nuances to this, Kesar promptly fixing the pillow behind her, telling her to open her mouth and getting the meds in place - its patronizing and adorable all at once. Gulaal giving in partly sheepish, partly (I'm so telling you) pleased, and partly just the mildly grumpy sick kid - aah my endless love for these two crazy people!!! 😍 Amazing little bit - undertones, sheer luvre ☺️ I swear it takes a butt head and a half on the part of each of them to be so blind to facts and take some many more months before the akal knocking into their heads happens! 😆
And sigh - we're not even half way through the scene, look at my essay... *te he*
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ps: Nur, I left an extra jar on our workdesk for you, after yous long exhausting session with the 5 batches, and gharwalo ki reprimand for staying up late 😆 Now you have all the motivation in the world to do the new one qu-ee-ckie, when I post the thread later today!
Edited by JZephyr - 13 years ago
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