Over the last 2 episodes, the habitual confusion in PR has become worse, as the different strands of the plot are getting entangled with each other, and the outcomes that we hoped would, at long last, be decisive (and happy), have become anything but. As we approach the crucial dahi handi contest tomorrow between Manav's chawl and Arjun's chawl, the one certainty is that nothing is certain.
Let us take each aspect ad seriatim.
- Archana's challenge: Even after the CVs tossed a googly at us (and at Arjun-Purvi) by bringing in an earlier unnamed Janmashtami deadline for Arjun to get the Rs.10000/- together, the boy did manage it, and in time, the last Rs.200/- being – in a nice, ironic twist - courtesy a tip from Manav. But in PR, there are always slips galore between the cup and the lip.
Here too, there is a slip, of one of Churan's chappals as he crosses the road just in front of an oncoming vehicle, and bingo, there is an accident. This is something that any self-respecting TV soap addict could have predicted a day earlier, since it is crystal clear that (1) Arjun simply cannot be allowed to get away with winning Purvi's hand in such an uncomplicated fashion, and to prevent this, (2) Arjun has to play the hero and save Churan from death or grievous injury at the very last instant and (3) the kid must still be hurt seriously enough for him to absolutely need an 'operation' which will just about empty Arjun's pockets.**
So Arjun, who has to go to the hospital for Churan's 'operation', and after that is totally kangal (bankrupt), does not turn up at the Karanjkars before midnight, as he had promised Purvi. It would have been far more responsible of him if he had phoned Purvi and told her why; it would have at least put her out of her misery. But he does not, for the overwhelming concern, in his mind, is that he should not be left malking futile excuses to a scornful Archana. We might not see things the same way, but his earlier encounters with her have probably not left him with any hope of understanding from her.
Purvi thus waits for him in vain, and it is revealing of her present state of mind vis-a-vis her aai that she makes no attempt to hide the mounting strain in her eyes. There are telling little touches at the midnight puja that highlight her acute anxiety. She stands next to Archana with the garlands of flowers for the baby Krishna's cradle, but her mind is far away and her eyes are on the clock, and she does not even hear her aai's voice or see the aarti thali that she is offering. As soon as the puja is over, unable to contact Arjun on his mobile, she rushes off to the garage and draws a blank there as well. By the time she gets back home, she is so frantic with worry that she barely reacts to Archana saying that she has to leave now (without meeting Arjun). The strong bond of empathy between Purvi and her aaji is highlighted when Sulochana, who has been trying to hold Archana back for a while longer, rushes to comfort the desolate Purvi, leaving Archana at the doorstep.
In an interesting departure from her harsh and hostile attitude to the Arjun-Purvi relationship till now, Archana makes no snide comments about Arjun's no show, otherwise mock him for not turning up and having apparently failed to meet her challenge. She probably realizes how tense and worried Purvi is about Arjun, and perhaps she is also somewhat concerned about the possiblilty of something having gone seriously wrong with him. In any case, Purvi is spared having to listen to any unpleasant comments from her aai.
Purvi in love: The old Purvi would have sat at home and cried quietly in her bedroom. Not the new Purvi. She plants herself in the corridor in front of Arjun's kholi, and when he finally returns in the wee hours of the morning, she is still there, worn out with unnamed fears. What follows in another of the lovely little Arjun-Purvi scenes that we are tantalized with daily these days.
She is frantic with worry, but all she wants is to know that he is all right; she never upbraids him for not calling her. She wants to tell her mother the truth, so as to prevent her from thinking ill of Arjun. But he, driven by a paramount concern – that Archana should not deride him for 'bahana banana" (making false excuses) – turns her down flat and insists that they should tell her nothing. "I will make another ten thousand in no time", he assures the worried Purvi, in a fit of assumed bravado that is as touching as it is unconvincing. Her tearful plea that she wants him, not this money, is countered by the unassailable fact that to win her, he needs to get this money.
"Your Arjun is stro…ong" , and he arches his brows and purses his mouth to drive home the point, " and I will do it. I will do it, if you will be with me. Will you be with me? ". "I am always with you" says poor Purvi, torn between pride in her beloved's self-assurance, and fear that he might not be able to pull it off. She adds, in a pathetic bid for reassurance, "But you must never leave me". When he pulls her into his arms, right there in the corridor, she does not hesitate or look around or protest. She rests her head on his shoulder and clings to him, as his hold on her tightens and he says, softly but firmly, "Never. Kabhi nahin". Her need to feel safe in his arms is overmastering, and it overrides everything else. She is now truly and wholly in love, and nothing else will mean more to her, now or in the future.
Purvi's unquestioning faith in Arjun is again on display the next morning, when Sulochana blesses her and, with heart-warming confidence, wishes her a happy married life with him. She makes light of Arjun's no show the night before, and when Purvi voices her belief that Arjun will be able to master the dahi handi despite his inexperience and cosseted upbringing, assures her that just as Purvi has faith in Arjun, she has faith in Purvi's faith in him. Her aaji is truly a tower of strength for poor Purvi, otherwise beleagured on all sides. The pair then set off for the dahi handi event.
Chez (At) the Deshmukhs: The folks here never disappoint us. Ovi and Teju, decked out in 9 yard sarees in the traditional fashion, pointedly ignore Archana (who sports a very strange and totally unbecoming fringe across her forehead, a la Audrey Hepburn. For a 50+ lady? The CVs or whoever decides her look, have finally gone completely nuts.). Savita sneers at her, and Manav looks blank and sidles past her to the door, while Damodar, as usual, commiserates with her after the others are safely out of earshot. At the dahi handi venue, Manav, introducing his family to Tusshar Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh, comes last to Archana, who is tagging along despite the cold shouldering, and says, almost apologetically,'My wife". What a fate!!
The Dahi Handi and what lies ahead: Arjun has roped Riteish into his team, and Manav has taken a very reluctant Tusshar for his one. Yesterday, the funniest line was Manav's, about his boodhi haddiyan (old bones) still having enough strength left for him to take revenge on Arjun having 'betrayed' his daughter, by defeating him at the dahi handi. It was really side-splitting; I laughed so much that I could hardly type.
My feeling today is that Manav is not going to be allowed to exercise his 'boodhi haddiyan" after all. For if he gets up on that pyramid, whether he wins or loses, Vishnu, who is already active at the site with his unenthusiastic cohorts, and has spotted Manav, will not be able to chloroform him, as he can hardly clamber up after him to do so. Nor will Vishnu wait until after the event, there would be too many hangers on around Manav then.So they will have to spring Manav at the beginning itself, one presumes, under the cover of the crowd. The precap shows a lot of group dancing, so it is not clear when exactly the deed will be done, and how they will spirit Manav away. The getaway will be as crucial to Vishnu's plan as the kidnapping, for this is not a suicide mission, after all.They will have to carry him off and get away themselves too, and I cannot figure out how that can be done out in the open. Manav will have to be enticed to a quiet place near the temple, but how and by whom?
One thing is now clear, contrary to some speculation that the target would be Ovi, and Purvi would be kidnapped by mistake, their target is unambiguously Manav and only Manav. This also makes the most sense, if at all one can talk of sense in a TV soap. So Manav can save his boodhi haddiyan and his energy for the spell of enforced captivity that is to follow. He will have to keep his wits about him, and look sharp so that he does not fail to notice the birth mark on Vishnu's neck. Since there is no convenient locket by which Vishnu can be identified as Soham, in the time-honoured filmi tradition, the mark will have to do, and so it has to be a birthmark!
Finally, where will all this leave Arjun? He can win Archana's challenge now only if his chawl team takes Manav's presumed no show as his having given up without trying, and Arjun and his team win.He can then presumably collect the Rs.10000/- prize (would there not be shares for the other team members?).
But by then, disaster would have struck, and Arjun-Purvi and their love would be the last thing on Archana's mind. She is probably already stocking up on Vicks, for the buckets of tears to be shed over the next few episodes.
In the week or two ahead, the focus will shift inexorably from Arjun-Purvi to Vishnu/Soham, with or without Varsha. What is still open is the question of whether these two tracks will intersect, with Arjun taking a hand in rescuing Manav. As I said at the beginning, there is no shortage of questions without answers in this state of confusion worse confounded.
Shyamala B.Cowsik
**NB: The 'accident' with that vehicle is so unconvincing that it would win a Razzie for the worst scene hands down against any competition (of which there would be plenty available at any given time). Here is one of the most street smart kids one has seen in ages. It is only slightly wet on the street, and though he has one chappal on, the other has come off. All he had to do was to move to the side of the road, wait for the vehicle to pass, and then retrieve the second chappal. Even if the wheel had passed over it, it is made of rubber and would not break. So what does Churan do? He stands in the centre of the road, oblivious to the shrill horn of the oncoming vehicle, trying to slip on the second chappal till he is almost knocked down, the driver not realising that the kid would be dumb enough not to get out of the way.
Then again, the amount charged for an operation in TV soapland is always finely adjusted to use up all the disposable funds the lead character has at that moment. It is always an operation , never any simpler treatment, of course, no matter what the ailment. I have never come across any exception to this golden rule governing all soaps, it is probably one of their Ten Commandments: Thou shall not have a doctor proffer any treatment except an operation.Since Archana has pitched her challenge amount so low, the unfortunate surgeon has been severly shortchanged, and he must have roundly cursed the CVs for fobbing him off with this piddling remuneration!
Cricket
Kumkum Bhagya
Tum Se Tum Tak
Sampoorna
Jhanak
