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Dwelling on the Details: Unbreakable Bonds
{Episode 321}
May 15th, 2013: "Dekh ke tujhko dil ko mere chain aata hai..."
*A/N: Possible revamp/restructure in store. Will write more about the Aarti-Aayu-Paridhi interaction later. I have more to say, now that I've had time to mull things over. That means...? Yes, more detailed descriptions. To Be Continued...*
Going out of order a little bit, just to get my musings documented before I go back to other scenes and comment on the performances and storytelling.
A general note about the way the writers are wrapping up this story. I suppose there might be some cribbing about "loose ends" relating to character development and/or growth...But in reality, there are varying degrees of development that occur, if any change occurs at all. Some people never change (Ishita), some people change very, very little (this is me giving Paridhi a little bit of leeway) and some people end up unwittingly bringing about change through merely being themselves (Aarti). Not everyone changes radically in real life, so I am perfectly okay with Ishita and Paridhi's character graphs not moving very much (in my opinion). In all of this, the writers have been quite realistic, so kudos to them for that.
(Edited: Paridhi might have grown up a bit over the past year or so - she has a long way to go still, but this might just be the catalyst she needs...More on that in my additional thoughts in the 'Rishta Dilon Ka' section...)
Yash, Aarti, and Aayu: Rishta Dilon Ka
My current thoughts on Yash-Aarti-Aayu...
Aarti giving Aayu to Paridhi gave me a brief shock, but now that I am sitting here thinking about it, I'm not too surprised that she did so. She, ironically enough, is stepping forward and doing exactly what Prateek had told Paridhi to do when they were talking in their room..."If you truly love Aayu, make him happy by giving him happiness..." In other words...let him go to where he finds the most happiness. Paridhi, true to her nature, thinks about her pain, her suffering, her separation from the child...she isn't ready to give the child up at all, as evidenced by the way she extends her arms to receive the baby...she hasn't relinquished her hold that she feels is her right. She still takes it for granted that Aayu is hers...And I doubt she is thinking of how secure Aayu feels when he is with Aarti.
After a moment of silence, Aarti hands the child over to Paridhi...She lets him go physically, probably because of Paridhi's pain (Aarti saw the pain in Paridhi's eyes and once again reached out to her...which is something Paridhi would probably never do of her own accord), but Aarti will never sever that strong emotional bond that she has with her child. No one and nothing can break that bond, not even a stack of signed adoption papers. I am sure Aayu will gravitate toward his birth mother as he continues to grow up, whether he is "officially" and "legally" Prateek-Paridhi's child or not. He will be Prateek-Paridhi's child by name, but his "Badi Maa," who was so ungratefully deemed "Tai" by his legal mother, will always be the one Aayu turns to for solace. There have been quite a few hints of that. We have seen how the baby found peace in Aarti's arms every single time she embraced him...Aayu recognized his mother and I have a strong feeling that he will always have a special place in his heart that is reserved for Aarti and Yash. That dil ka rishta will only grow stronger over time. I think both Yash and Aarti know this - nothing will take their child away from them. His being safe and sound is of paramount importance to them, and sowing seeds of discord and bitterness among other family members because of Aayu is probably not what they want to do.
Paridhi seriously needs to grow up and mellow down. I understand that she felt like Aayu was being snatched from her and that hurt her...In the back of her mind, maternal rights for Aayu had become like a game of one-upmanship for her - a game that Aarti had never been playing! As long as Paridhi felt threatened by Aarti (who had been putting the child's comfort and happiness first before everything else), she was shooting caustic verbal barbs at Aarti. When Aarti gave Aayu to Paridhi, then the praises started...True words, but I personally felt that Paridhi wouldn't have reacted the same way if Aarti had kept Aayu. That was my instinctive reaction as I watched her...Million dollar question, though, is: Would Paridhi be able to take care of her beloved "Baby" all on her own? I have my doubts. It is a good thing she is not alone. Aarti is so full of love for her entire family, including Paridhi and Aayu, that Aarti's mamta will probably make up for any rashness on Paridhi's part. Hopefully the emphasis placed on Aarti hugging Paridhi towards the end of that scene is a way to foreshadow that Aarti will always be there with open arms to support Paridhi and Aayu. That is how I am viewing it.
This situation immediately brought a song to mind, which I have quoted a few times in this post...I love the way this is sung, with its rhetorical questions about the strength of the bond between a child and his parent...
"Jaaoge kaise tum mujhko chhodke, janmon ka naata pal-bhar mein todke?
Apnon se aise koi door jaata hai? Dekh ke tujkho dil ko mere chain aata hai..."
(Rough translation: How will you leave me, breaking a bond of lifetimes in a moment?
Does anyone distance himself/herself from a loved one like this, in such a manner?
When I see you, my heart is at peace...")
More Thoughts on Aarti-Aayu-Paridhi: Coming Soon.
Aarti and Yash: My World Revolves Around You
"Mere pati aur mere bachche mere liye sab kuch hai...Bataao mera Aayu kahan hai."
Aarti's words are a warning. A warning of a wife and mother who has been hurt one too many times. She commands Ishita to divulge the truth about Aayu's whereabouts. No begging, no pleading, no frantic desperation. Not like she did with Prashant. With Ishita, Aarti is firm, demanding information in a way that, to me at least, reveals how strong she has become.
Yash. The tiniest changes in expression on Gurmeet's face during this scene say so much!
- One: Ishita grabs Yash's leg and begins chanting his name with apologies in the name of her "love" for him - Yash is irritated and disgusted, he turns his head away from her; Aarti looks down at Ishita with repulsion after taking a look at Yash's face.
- Two: As soon as Ishita mentions her "pyaar," it looks like Yash rolls his eyes in response and lets out a breath of exasperation. Aarti takes hold of Ishita, who is clinging to Yash like a leech, and pulls her off of Yash. I also love the way Yash is shown looking down at Ishita as Aarti speaks to her - the sudden rise in Kratika's voice as she says "Haan?!" and the quick cut to Gurmeet's face for Yash's reaction is fabulous. They're both probably thinking the same thing: This...thing...is beyond any redemption.
- Three: When Aarti declares that her husband and her children are everything to her, there is a very, very quick twitch of the lips that Gurmeet does in response. That, right there, was Yash's pride in his wife, in the mother of his children, manifested. And I was reminded of the day of Aayu's naamkaran function when Yash had wanted Aarti to say that she couldn't live without her children and her husband. He didn't have to ask her for a validation of that, even in jest. She declared it in no uncertain terms today to the person who needed to hear it most - it's a pity that said person does not have the capability to process this.
There is fire burning steadily in Aarti's eyes...simmering, on the verge of flaring up in a dangerous flame. Ishita thinks that Aarti is bluffing - how can the adarsh bahu, adarsh maa, adarsh patni actually act on a threat?
- "Bataao mera Aayu kahan hai." - Command in every syllable of the sentence...and Kratika's carefully-measured delivery of the words verbalizes the sentiments giving rise to the fire simmering in Aarti's eyes. A moment of deadly calm is captured in the pause before Aarti shouts a death threat to her child's kidnapper.
- Petulant child. Ishita, pouting and refusing to give Aarti the last word of authority, yells...and Aarti is provoked. Quick cut to Yash as his eyes snap to Aarti's face - waiting to see what she does next. He has never seen the full flare of her rage, but I think he can sense it...Kratika makes it seem like angry heat is radiating off of Aarti at this point, what with the quick exhalation and a deadly glance that says, "Oh, really?" in a split second before Ishita's face is shown (faltering?) again.
- In all of this, Gurmeet stands motionless, looking from Heena to Kratika and back again...Yash does not move an inch because, besides being partially hindered by the effects of the drug, he doesn't see the need to involve himself in this - not when Aarti's temper is more than enough after his own hard, angry slap. Yash may not have condoned raising a hand on women...but Ishita has gone too far too many times, and she has no regret, either. He lets Aarti take charge here, his inaction a gesture of silent support.
- "Bataate ho, ya...?!?!" - Ishita cowers, Yash doesn't move a muscle, and Aarti stands poised, ready to strike if she needs to. This is not an empty threat. And just like the last time Ishita was confronted by Aarti face to face, Ishita is tongue-tied. Pathetic. This is also one of my favorite moments of the entire scene for all of the reactions as well as the way Kratika's voice conveys Aarti's rage as it suddenly jumps into a shrill, high register. Fantastic!
- "Humaare ghar mein?" "Humaare ghar pe?" - The mirroring of expressions by Gurmeet and Kratika again. Such moments are just too fun, even if the context is emotional and high-intensity.
Aarti is the one who pursues Ishita and sees her escape. As she turns and collides with Yash, all she can think of is the need to protect their child and divulge Ishita's crimes before she strikes again. Yash sees her panic, but more than that, I think he sees what he could have lost. In Aarti's frenzied panic, he sees a loving mother and a wife utterly distraught...and he has never been able to see her in a troubled state. Impulsively, he hugs her, wrapping his arms around her, holding her close. She is bewildered at his suddenness when he probably would have been rushing home with her frantically otherwise...But he holds her to him, unrelenting, and the world around her halts to a stop, blurring, inconsequential. Because her world, her everything, is Yashji. Her Yashji.
"I love you, Aartiji."
Yash's eyes are squeezed shut, pain etched in every line on his face. For him, now, all he can feel is Aarti. His Aartiji. She is his world, all that matters to him. Without her, his children would not have been as happy and as resilient as they are today. Without her, his family might have fallen apart. And without her, he might have ended up in that woman's clutches some other way...He had almost lost his Aartiji - because he had almost lost himself in the worst way possible. But she had found him and pulled him out of the abyss. And he is here now, with her. Where they both should be.
- Such a beautiful scene. Gurmeet's delivery of Yash's heartfelt, impulsive declaration of love is extremely touching. In Yash's reaffirmation of their marriage vows - to stay together and support each other - and his acknowledgement that Aarti had fulfilled her vows to him, there is a sincerity, a thankfulness, and an expression of vulnerability...all of which are facets of Yash that he has made Aarti privy to at various points thus far. Here, all of that is expressed at once, and the impact of the manner in which Gurmeet does this is nothing short of overwhelming.
"Main kabhi apna munh...aapko nahi dikha paata, Aartiji...Main marr jaata."
- Throwback to Yash's guilt about "betraying Arpita" because of his inability to resist being drawn into intimacy with Aarti...Except this time, the seduction by Ishita was real, truly premeditated, lustful, inherently selfish, and Yash was not an active, willing participant in any way. When Yash and Aarti had been intoxicated, Yash had been freed from his inhibitions, so he acted on the rapidly burgeoning, pent-up desires he felt for Aarti; whatever he knew about her personality was alluring and endearing...Ishita's plan, on the other hand, only managed to get as far as it did because she drugged Yash and stripped him of his physical power to resist her...But still, Yash was aware of what Ishita's intentions were. The fact that he was there, powerless to fend her off and articulate his love for Aarti strongly in response to Ishita's unwelcome advances, was akin to betrayal of Aarti, in a way. He hadn't confided in her...and consequently, he had almost lost her by coming close to losing himself.
- I think this is my favorite part of this particular scene, in terms of reactions and actor interplay as well. So many nuances to love: Gurmeet's furrowed brow and his cracked voice as he says the words that must have choked Yash inside as he remembers what had happened only moments earlier; the way he and Kratika look at each other, their faces and eye contact clearly showing Yash and Aarti's guilt, pain, and concern for each other...The ease with which these two actors depict the physical and emotional comfort that Yash and Aarti have developed comes through yet again in the tiniest of gestures: Kratika's way of putting her hand on Gurmeet's mouth for Aarti to stop Yash from saying anything more; the way she cups his face in her palms while emphasizing her words...The parallel in comfort between actors and characters is something that I continue to be impressed by with these two, because it reminds me of how natural that growth in comfort is in real life if people are given the space to grow emotionally in a relationship, whether it is one of friendship or something more.
"Aaj...Bhagwaan ki daya se humein humaara Aayu mil gaya...aur mujhe aap. Bas. Mujhe aur kuch nahi chahiye."
- I love these lines as much as I love Gurmeet's delivery of the lines I quoted above. If that was something quintessentially "Yash," then this is characteristically "Aarti." Her faith in God and in her husband...her love for their children and her immense love for Yash...her fear that he would be lost to her forever, whether physically or emotionally, because of something that she did...In one gesture, by gathering her into his arms and telling her that he loves her, Yash erases any lingering, faint smudges of fear and doubt in Aarti's mind about her own value and worth. She had more faith in him than she had in herself...but when Yash tells her, "Agar aaj aap nahi hoti, toh pata nahi kya ho jaata..." he emphasizes how precious she is to him, because she is his wife...and because she has the courage to fight for him, their love, and their family as many times as she needs to, for everything to be calm and happy in their household.
- The instrumental version of Yeh Dil Hai: This elaborate flute version of the theme song is extremely beautiful! (And I will have to continue this later...)
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