Posted:
It was a nice episode. Better than yesterday.
The following has been emphasized by several members in yesterday's feedback thread. Tonight, I decided to add my own thoughts on it.
I want to ask the writers one thing: What's the damn rush? There's a leap. I get that. But it bothers me senseless that every episode seems either focused on V's drama or rushed in relation to character/relationship progression. I can't deal with neither.
The episodes in the week following the 5th of August Maha Episode were fantastic in terms of pace/editing. In the past week and a half, I've been severely disappointed with the editing team right along with the unpolished screenplays.
Though tonight's episode was better than yesterday's. Kudos. But one episode won't cut it for me. I know that the writers are capable of delivering flawless episodes -- then frigging do it. Why does every episode seem like a half-hearted attempt to deliver an average/acceptable screenplay and not the best screenplay?
>> Promo aired on Sia's injury:
The new promo was a whole lot better than the last two. Fantastic, actually. But with all of the current rushing and horrible editing, I'm worried that the actual moment/climax of Sia's injury/stabbing scene will be completely ruined because the writers will speed up not only the moment itself, but the build-up as well -- leaving us disappointed as with the hug and Jahnvi's identity revelation, etc.
Sia's stabbing is one moment that I'm looking forward to on the show. I want the build-up to be right, given time. I want the scene to be the climax, directed/shot intensely, and to capture Raghav's complete reaction along with Sia's. I want it to be a flawless episode -- in fact, I want all episodes leading up to that moment to be flawless, damn it.
But what I'm gearing up for right now is disappointment. Because the way that the writers and editing team has been going for the past week and a half has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. The only thing that I've actually enjoyed is HC/SJ's awesome chemistry. It's their chemistry and the other actors' performances that has been salvaging the episodes.
Now moving on to the episode's pros and cons. It was a well-balanced episode character wise. There was relationship growth and character consistency and flow b/w scenes. Also the first two Raghav/Sia scenes were uninterrupted/played out, which I appreciate.
>> Pros:
1) Raghav can't look at Sia
This was a very bittersweet moment. You saw how Sia twisted her fingers, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say. You saw how Raghav was in pain and could not bring himself to actually look right at her. He kept turning his head away, turning his back to her, looking anywhere but at her. Fantastic performance by HC here. I could practically feel Raghav's tension coiling within me. Sriti was brilliant the way that she reacted to that painful silence and the knowledge that Raghav was hurting.
I felt like she wanted Raghav to say something to her -- something that would make it so much easier for her to open up and tell him that she wanted to stay.
The best part was when Sia asked him how he knew that she'd decided to leave and he answered with "I know you well enough now". That was bittersweet. Loved it.
2) Sia asks if she can take his helmet with her [with right]
Gah, this lightened the mood a bit for me. It made me smile. You saw, again, how Sia has grown confident, grown strong. She dared to ask him for the helmet. What cracked me up here was the childishly happy expression on her face, like she was certain that he'd have no problem giving it up. When he refused, and she demanded it with right, it showed how well she knows him now, and how she's not afraid of demanding things from him.
I loved how Raghav perched on his bed, relaxed back on his hands, and joked on about how she was going to ride a bike in Manali. He was lightening the mood, teasing her, but you could still see the shadows in his eyes -- that he was tired of fighting his own feelings for her and maybe he thought that it'd be easier if she wasn't around him 24/7.
Maybe he's just tired, period. It's been a long fight.
3) "Aaj pehle aap" and the shared ice cream
This was a much needed scene in relation to Sia acknowledging how much Raghav had given her. She has acknowledged it before, but the way that she said it here was entirely different and held another meaning -- a deeper meaning. She told him that he had given her so much and she was taking it all with her, but what had she given him.
And then she told him to ask something of her.
I loved, absolutely loved that dialogue from her. It conveyed so much with such few words and you saw it register in Raghav's mind through his expression. What made my respect for him rise even more tonight was how he insisted on "nothing". He wanted nothing from her. And the way that he bent his head, looking down with the shadow of a sad smile...
Man, I wanted someone to just give him a big hug and tell him that God would reward him for all of his sacrifices and purity of heart and selflessness one day. Something that I fear is that all the pent-up pain and hurt in him will find a culmination point when Sia is injured. You see, his mother told him that God would reward him for his sacrifices one day -- but if anything happened to Sia, I fear that it'd destroy the foundation of his trust in God, in the fact that his sacrifices mattered and that he'd have been rewarded. He will always do the right thing, fight the good fight -- but he'd be filled with anger and bitterness. Which is self-destructive.
Anyway, Raghav needs to read Sia's actions better. I mean, when she fed him that ice cream, it was so not a friendly gesture. Still, he ignored it. Gadha -_-
4) The Window Scene
I want to praise HC/SJ for their mindblowing chemistry and the way that they can take the most intimate scenes and give them the purest tinge, the sweetest touch. Just flawless.
This was a beautiful scene. From the hand-on-hand to the way that the curtain veiled him and she gazed up at him [so much better than the previous dupatta scene in the car] and throughout their eye-lock. Fantastically shot and performed. Plus the writers took a cliche and tweaked it, making it their own. I wasn't too happy with the almost-kiss yesterday as that lacked originality, but this window scene was different.
Well done.
I swear that HC/SJ chemistry ignites fires with nothing but eye-locks and gentle touches. If the writers know what's good for them, they'll cash in on Raghav/Sia TRPs wise and if they know what's really good for them, they'll do it right -- give it time and make sure the editing's awesome.
5) Raghav helps Sia pack and tells her that red looks good on her
First, I liked the manly appearance that Raghav had in this scene. The boyishness wasn't evident, though the boyish charms were still very much present in his expressions. Nicely done. Second, the scene was very sweet. Raghav struggled with his emotions again and it was so heartbreaking to see him stutter through an explanation that red looked good on her, and then realizing that it might make her feel uncomfortable he tried to rephrase it -- over and over.
I felt kind of horrible for him.
All the while, Sia just stared at him, seeing through his calm composure and to the pain hidden underneath. Loved it.
6) Komal asks Raghav to ask Sia to stay
I'm glad that Komal asked him. That was a very Komal thing to do. But what I loved about this scene was Sia's expression when he approached her. She looked so hopeful, as if he was going to ask her to stay. Except we all know that he isn't. He's stuck on not wanting to pressure her, influence her choices. And she's stuck on wanting him to ask her to stay, not wanting to take the first step herself.
Both are like stubbornly waiting for the other to make the first move. And if they keep it up, they'll have to wait forever. Gadhe -_-
>> Technical pros:
1) Camera focus on gestures
Fantastic. What I love about some of the director's camera focus is when he captures the hand gestures of Raghav/Sia. For instance, when Sia is wringing her hands while Raghav is standing with his back to her.
2) Camera spins
I loved the camera circling around V/Amrit in their scene. Why don't they use the spins in scenes with Raghav/Sia as well?
3) Raghav's new look
I'm loving the darker stubble, verging on a beard. I'm loving that his hair's pushed back as well. He's looking more like a man and less like a boy. You see that the character has, in fact, grown. It's fantastic.
>> Cons:
1) The intimacy b/w Raghav/Sia is too soon considering Sia's rape
I loved Harshad-Sriti chemistry. But the intimacy of the scene was too soon. Which made it seem out of character for me. For one thing, Raghav wouldn't allow himself to feel what attraction is b/w them, because he's insecure and hell-bound on not unsettling Sia.
Sia hasn't even reached that stage in her love for him yet -- psychologically -- due to what horrible experiences she's had with rape and a broken marriage. She's still trying to figure out how to handle her feelings for Raghav, how to channel them, how to put words on 'em and here the writers have skipped/rushed on to a stage that would've made more sense if it'd come sometime later.
It would've been intimate enough to have shown Raghav's hand on hers during this scene without her staring at his lips, or almost wiping them. The scene wasn't wrong. No, I loved it. It was beautiful. But it was wrong in context. The timing was wrong. Both are at a stage in their relationship where the depth of their emotions are strong. The attraction is there -- should be there -- but it's not in focus to them. However, the way that Sia stares at his lips or the almost-kisses is kind of rushed. A lot. Not the right time, at all.
2) The cross-over b/w SB? and Amrit Manthan
Didn't work for me. KVB and the actress who portrays Amrit have great chemistry, but that wasn't enough to intrigue me during that ten-minute self-pitying conversation b/w Amrit/V. Plus the focus was on the sexual tension between them rather than the importance of the scene -- which brings me to: What was the importance of the scene?
Seriously. Why can't V just kidnap Sia and get it over with? What's with holding Raghav's entire family hostage to get Sia?
Plus Raghav's family should've been notified about his escape first-hand. And if they had been notified first-hand, I'm sure that Raghav would've taken precautions and V wouldn't have managed to take his entire family hostage -- especially since the cops would be at the Singhs' house as that's where he'd be expected to show up at some point.
No logic. But then the scene hasn't been aired yet. I doubt that I'll be surprised though.
3) The writers are still rushing scenes
Big time. And it ruins everything. Why can't they take their time with Raghav/Sia track?
>> Technical cons:
1) Worm's view point when actors are running
Just a mental note to the director. There was running in last night's episode. When trying to capture people running, don't use a worm's view camera angle. It really just makes the runners look silly. Try another angle -- like from the side. Not that I'm an expert, but as a viewer, I do feel it'll have a less ridiculous impact.
2) Sriti's makeup
Tone down on the foundation, please. We can all see how much foundation they've used on her face. She has naturally beautiful skin. And also, stop using pink lip-stick on her as she's not a Barbie Doll. She looks better when her makeup's toned down. Natural.
3) The editing
Needs to seriously improve. What's going on with the editing team anyway?
Forgive any spelling errors, missing details, etc. It's been a long night. The feedback was delayed due to personal reasons. This is all for tonight. Nite, peeps.
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