Director's Cut July 30th, 2012

main aur meri tanhayi aksar yeh baatein kiya karte hai...

So if my boss misses a meeting and I have the badkismati to attend the meeting and let give a recap to my boss, my boss says "Beena tell me what happened today at the meeting along with both the conversations and specifically the one going on in your mind"... now you are going to ask what has this got to do with IPK... Gh ki language mein shanth gadha dhari bheem...to suno dhyan se...

Today I had to got for a job interview and these are the things that happened...and I had already seen the episode so the episode is on a replay mode in my brain... This is how the whole scenario went..

Beena (B) - get ready... 2 hours mein interview hai... Blue color suit is perfect for this.. you would look fabulous..

B - *while driving sees a white SUV* nice car
M - ASR aajkal SUV nahi chalata.. Choti si car chala raha hai...hmmm inbestigation kareke padi

B- Interview site... Nice office...not bad atall. Oh this is huge
M - Arey AR designs is not that big.. but you never know...

Me met with the interviewers and after some pleastaries questions bombardment starts...I am not giving my answers just what my mind spoke to me...

Question - Please say something about yourself
M - Do not forget to say you are fan of IPK and ASR...

Question - Why did you leave your last job?
M - Couldn't watch IPK properly... beens think think.. you need to set your priorities right... but chaddo koi nai... Anji just realized that she is pregnant?? Kuch jiyada late nahi ho gaya...

Question - Why do you want to work for this organization?
M - it is just 2 miles from home.. you can watch the episode in the morning and then come to work...

Question - Tell us a sitution you have to make hard choices...
M - what time should the interview be.. morning mein rakha to episode miss ho jayega... afternoon is the best time...

Question - What costing and budgeting did you do for the project
M - Well they are talking numbers... today did doods reserve a spot in redux... I luv her posts.. she will talking about all the numbers that the clock showed.. 12 something, 3 something... and the significance of the pickle jars... she will have her analysis for that.. Need to check on redux today...

Question - Tell us a situation where you were in a tight spot...
M - No situation can be compared to khushi under ASR on the bed and ASR shirtless... oohhh now that is a tight spot...

Question - What are your strength and weakness
M - Streghth is the Wi-fi signal strength for watching IPK and weakess is the fact that I have to watch every episode...

Question - Tell us something that your dream job should have
M - Dreams.. don't even go there... I was dreaming that ASR finally planted that kiss... ooohhh hmmm *long sighs* *thandi saans*

Question - Do you have any questions for me...
M - If hired can I come in at 9 AM... after I watch IPK and is this interview over.. I need to go home and watch the episode aagin...

Let me know how entertaining was the conversation between me and my mind.. Like to press kareke padi... comment bhi likh (M- is ghatiya cheez ke liye tujhe comment bhi chahiye... dhat..)

Heart and Mind and Body and Soul

Sitting at the airport I finally caught today's episode on my laptop. The high,quality audio on my headphones highlighted the BAM! as they fell to the ground, it highlighted every single dhak-dhak of Khushi's heart , really sounds like heartbeats, you know! Every husky tone of ASR was enhanced in my ears! The telephone bell made me jump, as did the ding-dong of the door. I never realized how much difference audio makes in an episode! So a special mention for the people that work the sound in this episode. Beautiful job, especially the 'dhak dhak'.

Have I mentioned that I was laughing so hard, people around me were giving me strange looks! I had ASR bare chested and full screen on my lappy , and I couldn't give a hoot who was peering over my shoulder! I had to depend on the airport's wireless , the streaming quality was poor, as was the video, but the audio was awesome! So bear with me, while I unscramble my head and try to remember all what I heard and saw. (I will focus only on the standouts for me!)

Ruby, thanks for reserving this space for me.

I am so glad I wrote that after-thought on Friday. Mind and Heart and Body and Soul. This is something I have been harping on for a long time. ASR doesn't do things half-heartedly. He does it with all of his Mind and Heart and Body and Soul. I did say that it's time for his body to come out and play, and today's episode was all about that.

It's still D,Day ,12.

Arnav and Khushi have fallen, and understandably Buaji and Garima have rushed out with the usual clucking that mother hens do. Garima, not surprisingly. is tuned into the real reason her son,in,law is here! She quickly negates Buaji's offer of massage and instead makes the offer on Khushi's behalf. Buaji takes a little while to understand, but the light comes on. They leave the husband and wife alone.

Contrast this to the Raizada women. Naniji is always encouraging her grandsons to spend time with their wives, but both Akash and Arnav give first priority to the 'other' woman in their lives. Mamiji considers it offensive for Payal to go to Mumbai with her husband! Arnav on the other hand, is dealing with a depressive sister who basically denies his wife's very existence.

So it must be a welcome reprieve for Arnav to have women around who understand the basic bonds between a husband and wife. Some things, like a husband's body, are a wife's prerogative and right, and that's how it needs to stay.

And so on to the 'bed games'.

It is hard these days to see where Arnav stops and ASR begins , or vice versa, especially around Khushi. Arnav was always fascinated, almost mesmerized by the childlike quality that Khushi had. He used to call her 'unbelievable' and yet you could see him battling the attraction of that very quality of hers. On the other hand, he knows the immense maturity of her thought processes. He has witnessed it on numerous occasions. So while Khushi is his equal in almost everything, the one thing she is not an e43897qual is, in matters of the bedroom.

It's obvious that she knows about the birds and bees. But she doesn't know what it FEELS like. There's a world of difference between reading about it, giggling about it, talking about it and actually experiencing it. Arnav on the other hand, is an experienced man of strong passions, one who is aware of the intensity of his own feelings. He recognizes her inexperience, and slowly he is teaching her about herself, her body. He is helping her to understand her desires, and at the same time letting her know that he welcomes them , it makes him happy. He knows she will match him passion for passion when the time finally comes (BUT WHEN?? , cry the phangurls!!), he is taking it slow and this was so beautifully portrayed in this segment.

The shirt comes off , he makes sure she is aware that he needs her help with the shirt and therefore she has to take if off for him! His sarcasm helps calm her jumping nerves. Then comes the massage. For the first time Khushi is touching parts of his anatomy that have always been covered up. He has touched her innumerable times, face, belly, back, arms, feet. But he's always been fully clothed around her. (Kidnap doesn't count , they were just trying to survive at that point!) She has barely ever touched his bare skin. He doesn't show how it affects him, instead talking to her to divert her mind, at the same time keeping the topic on THEM, so she is still aware of him under her hands.

The conversation takes place on two different levels , the heart, (You must have been happy that I was hurt), mind (Your eyes tell me the truth when your mouth is shut), soul (did you ask your devi mayya for something bad to happen to me?) and body (the hug and the following proximity).

I have to bust the bubble on the hug since I watched it on Friday. If you notice, you can see ASR's abs. Oh, I know, I know, what's new? You probably saw it a few thousand times collectively. BUT, if you watch that hug in very slow motion, you will see that the only places where they are actually touching are at the shoulders, and his hand at her waist, he does not bring his body down on hers. Instead he is actually on the bed to her left, raised above her with his weight on his left arm. Whether this is because of the actor's discomfort, or the CV's desire to give the viewers some eye-candy (i.e. offering for the TRP gods), or the director's interpretation of their relationship at this point, I don't know.

I will go for the last option because it actually fits in with ASR's maqsad here. While he is pulling her close to his half-naked body, he is allowing her the space she needs to feel comfortable and at the same time making her aware of him as a man, (Remember, 'actually, Arnav is just fine'?), a man on whose body she has complete rights and he is literally laying bare that body before her. He is allowing her to understand that at some point she has the right to reach out to that body, to initiate their proximity and he won't mind. He wants her to be his equal in every measure.

It takes a real man not to be intimidated by a strong woman. ASR had never been intimidated by her strength, he welcomed it. It is also a real man that wants his woman to be his equal in the bedroom, as in all other aspects of his life. ASR will welcome it when the time comes. There lies his confidence in Khushi and their relationship.

The one shot which I wish you had gone into, Ruby … the camera does a slow pan in close up , from her eyes to his eyes to his lips to her lips. It was pure poetry.

The scene with the gift wraps is a sheer joy to watch. Khushi is hell bent on completing the task in time. He is enjoying her sheer energy and vivaciousness, her laughter and her chatter. This is the Khushi he wants back. At RM she becomes constrained and inhibited. Here she is free to be herself. I wonder how that will play out later in ASR's life. He exhibits immense maturity in giving her a task to 'earn' her money without demeaning her. And her joy is his reward. Slowly he is getting her back.

He goes back home.

So now we're onto the late night phone calls! I won't dwell on this much. Late night phone calls are always a way of keeping each other close. Falling asleep while talking on the phone or waking up to hear that special someone breathing on the other end of the line is something really special. Wonder how long it will be before ASR starts making those midnight/all-night phone calls. (Note to PhanGurls: Listen to 'I need you now' by Lady Antebellum at this point!). He's made a good start with the early morning run, lol. That's one long jog!!

Coming to the Anjali / Arnav scene, I am actually quite torn here.

When there are only two siblings, who have grown up close to each other, but one gets married and the other doesn't, the dynamics become very sensitive. The married sibling is the one that has to prioritize between sibling and spouse. The expectation is that the unmarried sibling will understand and respect this priority. On the other hand, the unmarried sibling will usually make major life decisions with or without consulting the married sibling. The unmarried sibling may have occasions when they want their sibling next to them ,especially during major life events , love, heartbreak, sickness, etc. The married sibling's priority at this life event is what will set the tone of the relationship for the immediate future and perhaps until the end of their lives.

Anjali and Arnav's relation went from one extreme to the other. She was married, he was not. However, did he have any major life events? Yes he did, (falling head over heels in love is a major life event) and she was blissfully unaware of it, until it was in her face. I have said this before, Anjali could have tried to make her brother's transition to marriage smoother , at least in the face of the family. To all intents and purposes Arnav and Khushi's was a love marriage. Why did his sister not step up to the challenge? Because her unmarried sibling did not ask HER to participate in his decision. It is ultimately all about Anjali.

Now she expects Arnav to behave like the unmarried sibling once again, whereas in reality, he is prioritizing like a married sibling, because that IS the reality. He IS the married sibling, and she the 'unmarried' one. What confounds me about Anjali is that she does not "understand and respect this priority". Perhaps because she is so used to being the married one and him the unmarried one, that she behaves this way? But that theory doesn't hold water, either. Arnav had been married over three months before he was kidnapped. ENOUGH time for her to come to terms with the reality of Khushi as his wife , and she DID understand and respect those priorities , UNTIL the showdown. Remember I said that the day she walked in without knocking into her brother's celebration of his wife's birthday was the day that she crossed the boundaries of etiquette and respect and priorities.

It's as if Khushi stopped existing for her. It's as if she never heard her brother say what Khushi meant to him. She does not respect and understand this priority in his life. Nor does she make the effort to. It is ultimately all about Anjali.

Today she makes kheer for her brother and plans to show him the ultrasound of her child. He comes into her room. What follows on the face of it is, a sweet brother-sister bonding moment, but I can't help being cynical about it.

I didn't comment on her sad reaction (on Friday) when she realized that she was alone with no one share the moment with. I cannot sympathize or empathize with her.

Look at her reaction is to Chotey's presence. She is happy he came back for her kheer , emphasis on HER. She doesn't once say , you didn't have to do that , the first thing that a sibling would say.

I loved the fact that Arnav makes himself physically (body) available for her. That he knows his sister will be lonely and wished to share that moment with her (heart). They share the kheer together (soul). And through it all, he keeps the conversation focused on her (mind). They talk about the child and how she now is looking forward to it.

She never even asks him a simple 'what his day has been like', because she doesn't want to know. It is ultimately all about Anjali.

There is huge price that Arnav might end up paying because he is her biggest facilitator. Wonder how long he will keep Khushi out of conversations with his sister?

After Thoughts:

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you for the hair trim and the complete chest,wax for ASR. I HATED the stubble in the kidnapping scenes!

A word for the CVs: The insidious negativity of Anjali's character is refreshing. The sugar-coated sweetness, the sympathy factor of the single mother are sure-fire tear-jerkers. And yet, underneath is this selfish, self-centered delusional woman, who doesn't think twice about asking her brother to sacrifice his happiness for her own. I wish you would expand a bit more on the passive/aggressive nature of her character without going overboard with it as in the abortion sequence.

The mystery calls and strange conversations of Anjali were missing in this episode. But I'll take eye-candy over strange conversations any day, thank you very much!👏

my true love sent to me

AA partridge in a pear tree- partridge is not a small bird that can be easily placed in a cage in the kitchen.and the pear tree is equated with knowledge.. so what does this mean in relation to IPK.. equate Asr to the partridge and pear to the knowledge he receives about khushi's condition(financial and love) today.. so the partridge will eat the pear and get ready for feasting.. that is to bring back khushi..wonderful isnt it..?

On the second day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

Two turtle doves,-Doves are a common symbol for love and peace, two Christmas themes. Turtle doves are a common species of dove found in France and England and they were often kept in cages as pets during the Middle Ages and earlier. There are a number of references to doves in the Bible. Turtle doves also migrate to warmer climates in winter and their re-appearance heralds the approach of spring. The turtle dove is species that mates for life, so the giving of two turtle doves could be a way the lover is expressing his intention of love and marriage.connect this to arnav and khushi now.. two doves..our leads heralding the spring in their life .. ?is it that he will propose an intention to Remarry her.. let's wait and watch"

okay.. why did i paste the day one and the day two meanings of the Christmas celebrations here.. people must be thinking that it is still day1 in the IpK land..yes, I agree that it was day one in the IPK land..but there was a small precursor to day two in today's episode.. i will explain this as i go by..First we will go and connect the day one happenings there with the the day one celebrations of Christmas

what happened today is the continuation of the partridge trying to build its nest in the pear tree..let's see how it happened.. KKGSR is hurt in her leg .. what does arnav do here..he massages her legs..awakens her desire for him.. sugaring it with the words on her amma's payal ...but KKGSR is hell bent on not accepting this..so what does she do.. she tries escape this saying she wants to pick the clothes on the verandah.will the partridge allows its nest to be incomplete on a pear tree(khushi)?..absolutely not.. he lifts her..so the partridge is grasping the nuances in khushi's reactions to him.. takes advantage of the knowledge and continues to build his nest..only to fall together..another bout of awareness about the the feelings they hold for each other..so the partridge moves one more notch closer to his goal.. and only to aided and abetted indirectly by buaji and amma who ask her to massage hot oil on arnav's hurt back..so partridge arnav is back in action..he starts with-challenges her(about how he is aware of her feelings for him by asking her whether it was nice that they fell together)goads her(by awakening the desire in her with his bed room antics, seducing her with his touch and double edged words but does not give in to it himself ,making her restless ),puts her in a spot over the money( brings amma and buaji in the equation ..where she is not able to deny her services of massaging in front of them,and the wrapping of gifts and services with a smile) and disarming her with his sexual self(ooo!going close to here..making her aware of him as a man,making love to her with his breath,OOlala)...but the interruption comes in the form of buaji..asking if he is relieved of his pain..so the partridge is all out to complete its nest on the pear tree..but the dwarf pear tree ..will it allow it so soon..?

The pear tree tries its best to dislocate the nest(home) .. I am talking about khushi's antics..arnav asks khushi to be awake the whole night .. so that she can serve him as the 24 hr deal is not yet over.. what does she do? challenges him(that she will make him pay for all the irritants thrown at her by him by using the knowledge of what irritates him),goads him(by ringing up to his employees as he switches off his phones),put him in a spot(by making the employee ring his door bell at the wee hours of morning)and the makes him run helter skelter back to her with not a wink of sleep.. haha what a couple.. they use the same methodology to drive each other crazy ..this is the romance of IPK at its best..

now coming to the precursor to day two-where did we see this..?we saw this in the entire episode.. there are references to the "we" that is arhi as an unit ,the families termed as ours..see arnav is trying intertwining both the families as his.. arnav spends the time with his wife in GH ,with buaji and amma at ease on one side.. second he spends time with anjali which is important to her now in this depressive times.. this represents the testaments or the two doves in arnav's life.. that is the old testament being anjali and the new testament being khushi.. where old testament(anjali) being the foundation of the religion and the new testament being khushi which is his present ..so the balance between both gives the religion a peaceful existence..so what does this mean to the wooing?.. is arnav balancing both his responsibilities to provide a peaceful home to khushi.. is he proposing remarriage..?we shall deal with this tomorrow

I will leave U all with a thought on the second day of Christmas celebrations below.. read it and keep this thought till i draw parallels tomorrow between the episode and the celebrations of Christmas

The Second Day of Christmas - Two Turtle Doves - The doves represent the Old and New Testaments, the two books that comprise the Holy Bible.Doves are known to mate for life. In Christianity, they represent the holy spirit as well as the Old and New Testaments. They also represent faithfulness, marriage and long-lasting love. That is why they get released at weddings.