Lies, Truth and Revenge - A short take

Hello! A very Happy New Year to all of you!

I am new-ish to the forum and this is my short take on the show so far.

I think for the very first time Channel V has REALLY come up with a show that should connect with its audience because it has got a sound plot, gripping characters, good actors and a number of real elements thrown in. The pace is good and so far, the writers have done well with the characters. I am personally enjoying the mystery shrouding all of them and how every episode just leads you on, without letting you rest on just one person who you would be inclined to think is the real culprit. Right now, I am making no guesses. It's too early and I want to see where this goes.

What I am really enjoying in the show is the protagonist's growth. Roshni makes for a wonderful lead. She is just the right combination of confidence and vulnerability. She has come here to avenge her sister's death and she believes she can do it, but there are also times when she just breaks down and ends up wanting to just go back home. There are times when the truth and the danger of the situation she is in, shatter her. I don't really believe she can pull this off alone. Roshni needs someone who'll stand by her and help. And help has come to her many times, be it in the form of the charming Gauti or her best friend Nikhil. But she has managed to do spectacularly on her own, too. Jumping from the terrace of a building, blind-fold is not for the faint-hearted. Lying to your father and carrying off a very dangerous task requires a lot of mental strength. And Roshni has it in truck loads. She isn't the all-perfect heroine. There are times she falters and will falter. She'll make stupid mistakes. But she also has tremendous confidence and energy to get up, not be discouraged by her own mistakes and move on.

And I love how amidst all this, Roshni is just an ordinary girl, especially in her interactions with Gauti. I know that Gauti is just a part of her plan to get to the five, but sooner or later I really see her falling for him. She already trusts him in a very naive sort of way. She believes Gauti is just NOT like his sister. It is going to cost her a lot, this trust and faith. I think Gauti is a LOT smarter than he lets her know and one day he is going to really let her down. I would like to see how it goes there. Gauti is boyishly charming, but I would be very disappointed if he is only JUST charming. There has to be a darker side to him. Otherwise, where's the fun?

Coming to the other sides of the characters, Nikhil for sure knows more and is plotting more than he is letting Roshni know. There is just NO way that he is here to take Roshni home and away from all this mess. Had he wanted that, he would have told her father. Neha's biggest mistake was not letting her father know about her sufferings. Nikhil would have known that Roshni going the same way meant danger. He would NOT have applied for a job in the college. He would have told the truth to those who should know. Nah! That's not his intention. He is here either because he knows something about Neha's death that Roshni does not and he wants to keep her away from the truth or because he wants to be a part of her plan and wants to win the confidence of the Paanch. I am hoping it's the second reason. Gauti is a stranger to Roshni. Nikhil is her best friend. If he betrays her, I don't know how she will ever come around.

As for the Paanch so central to the story, Gauri seems like the only brainer in the group. And while they are all ruthless bullies, they haven't really come across to me as too smart. They bully people mercilessly, and they particularly torture those who dare stand up against them, but they aren't very smart- except Gauri to some extent. Except Gauri, Roshni has been able to fool the others pretty easily. And that is why I think that while they had a hand in Neha's suicide, they weren't directly responsible for it. Of course, it's too early to say anything and I would be delighted if the writers throw up a googly. I am eager to see the development in their characters.

There are gaps like these but a big thumbs-up to the actors essaying these roles! I think they are all doing a spectacular job! I hope we see greater things from them this year.

And... that's about it! Chip in your thoughts, please!

Originally posted by: -Raj-

Lovely write up!!

She is dreaming of him!! Nd gauti revealed that he loved Neha!!

Paanch surely does keep the viewers hooked!

Happy new year!!

Originally posted by: tareyfan

beautifully summed up buddy..

agree by far i felt paanch is d only show dat has gripped n glued me this way to d idiot box or has made me don d Sherlock Holmes's hat to keep guessing wat will happen nxt..

Haha...I know, right? I SO love it!

n ya abt d papa thing , evn i wonder wen he calls her it would b an ISD call n so any person cn make it out...so it lays unsolved..

n abt d zara matter i feel dat she must hv done it in d dead of night..n these being influential were nvr caught n d graffiti was jst roughly painted..

True that. It just seemed a little odd to me that it went unnoticed by the college authorities. I hope they address it later.

Originally posted by: Jhinka_Roy

Excellent post! You have raised many points which I agree with, especially about how well Roshni's character development has been portrayed so far.

Thank you! :)

I think Nikhil is behaving too suspiciously to be considered only a well-wisher of his best friend. However I do not want him to let down Roshni, so let's see how his story further unfolds.

Gauti is cute but this characteristic of his is not exactly my favourite one. Might be my imagination, but his eyes to me appear to have a lot of suppressed anger. Not sure if he is an indirect victim of the games played by his sister's gang or is he a player by himself too? I guess this question will be a recurring part of the storyline.

That's interesting. It did not really occur to me, but why not? I missed the episode yesterday, but I heard Gauti revealed that he was in love with Neha! Quite a bit of a story twister!

Gauri. Probably the secondmost (if not the most) interesting character in this show. But wishing for more things to know about her, otherwise it seems leading this gang of bullies before graduating is her only purpose of living.

Exactly! I want to know more about her! Why is she this power freak in the first place? Makes for good discussion.

What you said about the rest of paanch, that they are not exactly that smart, was bang on. As not all types of criminals' minds work in the same way, the bullies too are not effective in the same manner. Some are imposing and intimidating by presence of mind and attitude like Gauri, some uses the help of money and power like Yudi, some are wayward like the junkie Roy, or opportunistic and self-absorbed like Nihaal, or weak-willed and constantly in need of support (be it a group of inconsiderate but popular troublemakers) like *coughpeterpettigrewcough* Zaara. At first, thanks to the promo videos and stills, I assumed all of the Paanch are inseparable friends but their attitudes towards each other differ very much making the whole equation among the paanch rather chequered beneath all that 'tude which actually made Roshni's mission a li'l less difficult.

Totally! Roshni should have had to break the bonds between them. But since they are not so united in the first place, it makes Roshni's job easier than it should have been. They don't really trust each other, which then makes me feel that if it wasn't for Gauri, there really would be no gang.

The question about Zaara not being suspected for doing the graffiti, who knows...she might have been suspected but may be Gauri and Yudi managed things in their typical fashion (power, threatening, money etc.). Also most college/ uni authority don't tend to be much bothered about such incidents if the victim lacks any connection which she/he can play in order to get the authorities on toe.

They don't? But then, how does Regent's College become the number one college in Mumbai? SUCH tall claims when student safety is obviously not a priority! Actually, you are right! The college authorities probably did not bother at all. Had they been even remotely concerned about the safety of students, the gang would not have been able to freely rag the students year after year.

And trust me, most of our parent's generation are not that efficient with mobiles phones, they can use it but the technicalities often escape them...same cannot be said about Nikhil. I find that situation fairly logical, especially for those who come from middle-class and differences in time zones and the parent not being net-savvy (or worse, over-inquisitive) lead to irregular contact. Obviously there are parents who overcome the technological challenges, but in this show, Roshni's father is definitely not one of them. The only improbable thing is, upon the elder daughter's demise a parent should have been more concerned about the only remaining child. May be Nikhil is keeping him informed (albeit false info, keeping in line with what Roshni says to her father). Hopefully her father is shown next time to manage that track in a logical way.

I differ on that point. Even if he isn't tech-savvy, he should have noticed that something was amiss. Parents may not be so adept with technology but they are not fools. It seems impossible to me that so far, he has not even had the slightest inkling that Roshni is not being truthful. I really hope the writers address this.

Whether Roshni will fall for anyone during this mission is another interesting point but not a must for me. However I won't mind if she plays any of the Paanch guys around in order to complete her mission, that would be quite a track 👍🏼- much much different (and better) from a do-gooder mahaan Bharatiya nari which apparently resides in the heart of every Indian leading female in any show. 🥱

Haha... true. That would be interesting. All the boys fighting for Roshni while she conveniently accomplishes her mission. 🤣

As I have managed to watch only the last 10 minutes of today's episode , my views are limited to the previous episodes. Whatever I have seen today has perfectly established the stepping stone for her becoming a part of the gang. Not to mention showing her torment in the end over her hatred for the gang that harassed her sister and carrying out the same kind of harassment under the instructions of the same gang on her roommate whom she knows as someone neither as strong as Neha nor as prepared as Roshni. It's like that saying- to get to the core, you have to get your hands dirty. 😔

I just missed the episode totally because of the New Year celebrations. I'll get back to this after I am done watching the episode.

Tomorrow is going to be another emotional tug o' war for Roshni; looking forward how Neha's pics getting scattered from the book is gonna be justified! *nailbiting * Waiting for a day is no less excruciating than for 6 days.

That just goes on to prove what a really cool show this is. I toh just can't wait!


Wishing you a very happy new year, and also thanks to this post, got to write something on the only show I'm following on any Indian TV channel currently! 😊

Haha... Same here. I am glad that the show gave me something to write about too!

Originally posted by: ...Rhythsy...

awesome post dear... happy new yr!! 🤗