Posted:
Dwelling on the Details: Wish Upon a Star
{Episode 114}
July 26th, 2012: "Sannate mein hansi ke jaise, soone honthon pe khushi ke jaise..."
The entire team of Punar Vivaah deserves praise for this episode. The writers and director, who could have easily taken the melodramatic, heavy dialogue route, did not do that. There was a pinch of suspense and frenzy, and that necessary amount of suspense was balanced - and overtaken, in my opinion - by the understated execution of the major scenes comprising the competition.
The speeches themselves were very, very well-written. Both were written in a style that reflected the innocence of the children. Short, sweet little sentences that seemed to come straight from the heart were delivered beautifully by Divyam and Palak. Watching Kratika and Gurmeet react to the kids was what enhanced the impact of the speeches even more - especially Kratika, because this competition was critical for Aarti and Palak...
I loved 6 actors today. 6 characters...6 people. Palak, Divyam, Kratika, Gurmeet, Chetan, and Zahida, in that order.
"Dekh ke tujhko dil ko mere chain aata hai..."
- "Come on, Ansh!" "All the best!" - Ansh steps onto the stage, and the support he sees from his papa and mumma bolsters his confidence even more than before. With those few words of encouragement from his parents, he begins to tell a story...
- What I loved the most about this speech is that Ansh takes us back in time and brings us to the present, hitting all the major events of his mother's story and providing his own perspective. The familiarity of the little details was such a treat - so many "Oh, I remember that!" moments! - because those little things that Ansh wanted were filled with meaning for him. They made him feel wanted and loved by his father who, until Yash came into their lives, was only a word associated with objects and a yearning for someone to bond with emotionally.
- Aarti relives her journey with Ansh, too...The look of surprise on her face when Ansh announces his topic, followed by a glance directed towards Yash, to gauge his reaction - one of tranquil pride at his little boy's confidence - was a cute moment. A few notable reactions from Aarti...
1) Ansh mentions the letters and the race, probably reminding Aarti of her determination to give Ansh both a mother's and a father's love...Kratika's quick change in expression made me think that Aarti was reflecting on how her attempts, although filled with love, were not enough to compensate for the "father" that Ansh needed and that she wanted to deny her son. I also liked how, once again, the notion of "marriage for the children's sake" was brought up, reminding us how far Aarti has come from that day until today.
2) "Bahut handsome bhi dikhte hai mere papa." As I watched Aarti's reaction, I was suddenly reminded of one of the earlier post-marriage episodes where Ansh demanded that his mother should admit that his naye papa is handsome. Aarti's light, amused smile to herself marks one of the most subtle full-circle moments! Wow.
3) Ansh's prayer to God...Such a sweet prayer, and Aarti's emotional smile conveys a mixture of happiness and pride.
- Ansh's secret: Absolutely ADORABLE, Divyam and Kratika! The spontaneity of Ansh's secret takes Yash and Aarti by surprise, and I liked that Yash's little "What secret?" expression was captured beautifully: nice, quick, and subtle touch by Gurmeet there. The humor of the situation lies in the fact that Aarti WAS looking at Yash chupke chupke at that exact moment; Ansh catches her and the little twinkle in his eye is precious! Aarti's head jerks to the front of the auditorium in shock (priceless deer-in-headlights expression but not OTT by any means, followed naturally by Aarti's trademark self-consciousness amidst a crowd), and a feeble attempt at brushing the comment away leads to the return of one of those endearingly hilarious yet awkward moments between Yash and Aarti.
"Jaise bina matlab ka pyaara rishta ho koi..."
- The way Aarti's face instantly falls when Palak doesn't appear onstage seemed to hint at apprehension already sweeping over the mother who was ecstatic just a moment beforehand. Yash looks over at Aarti, but she is too worried to notice. As soon as Aarti leaves to check on Palak, the restlessness and worry completely envelops Yash, who can no longer sit still as he searches for any sign of Aarti or Palak as the valuable seconds tick by.
- Seeing Palak and Aarti interact with increasing ease is such a lovely sight! First the bench scene, then the scenes at the school...Palak was following Aarti in her mission to find Arpita's photograph instead of staying silent and aloof like before. Aarti's gasp of pain prompts a "Kya hua?" from the little girl, but Aarti, without thinking, wraps her bleeding hand in her husband's handkerchief and continues searching after reassuring Palak quickly.
- Palak is left alone onstage...But she is not really alone, not when her two mothers are supporting her. One is present in spirit, watching over her, while the other tells her to smile and find her reservoir of confidence again, watching from the edge of the stage. Aarti could have stepped down and returned to her seat, but she doesn't. She couldn't...Not when her daughter needs her. She sends up a silent prayer, unable to mask her worries beneath a smile any longer.
- Palak, like Ansh, takes us on a journey, but this is one that we only know bits and pieces of. The little details, like Arpita's fondness for dance, provided insight into Palak's cold reaction to Aarti's offer to help her with her dance steps a while back. It may have very well been possible that Palak somehow viewed Aarti's spontaneous offer as an attempt to take over Arpita's place in their lives...
- The timing of Palak's voice reaching a breaking point and Aarti's tears spilling down her cheeks - beautifully done! Also...Yash looks over at Aarti a few times, checking her reactions to Palak's words, but Aarti's attention is focused on one person only...
- "Main nahi aa rahi thi stage par...Lekin nayi mummy ne mujhe lekar aayi..." - I really liked the focus on Aarti's shocked, tear-stained face, then the tilt to highlight her bandaged hand along with the hand clutching Arpita's picture...and then finally, Arpita's kangan and the mangalsutra. All of that, followed immediately by a shot of Yash looking away from Aarti...Were we seeing Aarti from his perspective there? Just like during the scene where he got shot? 😲
- "Mere liye sauteli mummy - nahi! Aarti mummy ko bhej diya unhone." - I may have been watching the entire episode with an emotional smile on my face, but that one shot of Kratika capturing Aarti's reaction to Palak's words at the end of the episode brought tears to my eyes! Several beautiful nuances...
1) Palak's tone is light and happy, liberated from a weight that was lifted with Aarti's help. Her smile, and the fact that she was talking directly to Aarti at the end - Love!!!
2) Aarti's shock at being called "Aarti mummy" by the little girl who harbored so much pain and resentment in her heart until recently...
3) Yash's expression...that happiness and peace! Very, very nicely conveyed by Gurmeet!
4) The smile that brightens up Aarti's face as she half laughs, half cries as her daughter smiles at her from across the stage...That was the moment that made my tears spill over. Kratika's expressions during the entire episode were superlative, depicting a mother's pride, fear, and elation in varying degrees, but Palak's speech and that last shot showed pure, uninhibited emotion!
Asides:
- SP and Gayatri were the sweetest grandparents today! AND Gayatri's prayer that her Yash and Aarti's hard work with the kids would not go in vain...Awww, that was the most unexpected dialogue but so sweet because it was so unexpected!
- The minor characters of the principal and Ms. Komal were there, hooray! I liked their reactions when they were shown, along with how so many of the random characters were also very much a part of the scenes and had natural reactions instead of artificial or OTT ones.
- The background music!!! ❤️ LOVED all the instrumentals, especially the one that reminded me a little bit of 'Raabta.'
- Divyam and Palak have such cute, sweet voices! Their speeches were very melodious!
That's all - but seriously, Kratika, Gurmeet, and the kids were all fantastic. What I've managed to scribble down does very little justice to the beauty of the nuances!
Cricket
