I've been planning on writing this for a while now. So, Paakhi Shekhawat/Rathore... What sets you apart? You know what I like about Paakhi is that on the surface she appears to be a pretty straightforward character and she mostly is. What's different is that she makes that very simplicity interesting and even endearing as opposed to boring and cliched. In contrast to Anshuman, she is the purer one and Shraddha brings out that pristine touch to the character so beautifully. There is something completely untouched about this character that pulls you in and I love how there is this balance where she manages to be perfect and yet still in touch with reality.
As a character, you love her easily. She impresses you with her intelligence and resilience, amuses and even surprises you with her spunk and touches you with the way she loves Anshuman.
Her ability to play with Anshuman and actually make him more than a little bit uncomfortable by the forward nature of her love is what caught my interest first. How she manages to coax genuine praise out of her otherwise stiff husband is a delight to watch! They make for some of my favorite scenes. Especially the one where she makes dinner without telling him about it and ofcourse their deal over the divorce papers... I love this girl! That and ofcourse the relentless teasing. She's got so much spark in her, yet she manages to be grounded and sensible at the same time. It's a brilliant mix of traits in a character and doesn't make her monotonous.
Talking about that... Can I just appreciate how she is not an idiot? I love how sharp she is, nothing escapes her notice. She may be all goodness and light but she is also very intelligent. I don't know why, most characters that are 'good' are also naive and ignorant. It's not a necessity and Paakhi proves that. Be it putting Maa ha jee in her place, understanding Anshuman and coping with Lavanya's initial dislike for her, not to mention the challenges Anshuman throws her way (especially those); Paakhi is seen to be sensible throughout. She can keep a cool head. She is a very strong woman and not in the least bit backward' as one might presume. She also manages to come up with the most creative ways to meet the challenges she is set. She is the hardest person to fool, something that actually keeps Anshuman on his toes and is so terribly perceptive and emotionally intelligent. The fact that she could read just by Anshuman's body language or 'sparsh ki bhasha' =)) that he dearly wants to get something done is proof that she is a wife who knows her husband.
She also knows the difference between not the usual right and wrong but also what is necessary. It's why she decided to shed her inhibitions and prove that she could very well be a part of his world. How she manages to retain her essence in that particular situation was most impressive as well. It gives us great insight into how some changes are required in life and in marriage, but not so much that one loses who they were before they entered into the relationship. That balance is absolutely necessary and Paakhi achieves that. What I also like is that although she is intelligent, strong and Anshuman's equal in every way she is still a village girl at heart. Perhaps some would find her ideals about marriage backward but I find it realistic and completely in touch with her characterization. The first aspect that I noticed and even respect is how she gives herself completely to Anshuman. She doesn't expect a lot from him. She just loves him and takes care of him in this incredibly selfless way and is happy with a compliment or two or the occasional gesture of love that Anshuman bestows upon her. One wonders though why she trusts Anshuman so blindly and loves him like she does.
There are two reasons for this.
As someone who grew up in a village, Paakhi has this idea of marriage and I think we can respect that. She believes in giving yourself to your husband and your family and loving them and looking after them. This does not make her weak and easy to use though. We already know how strong she is. It's also that as a person, Paakhi loves fully and deeply and the fact that she did keep a photograph of theirs for so many years tells us that perhaps somewhere she did love him even then. It's not an impossible idea afterall.
The second reason as to why she trusts Anshuman so much is what I find most interesting in her character. I am ofcourse, talking about the first instance these two talked properly. Anshuman tells her there and then that he isn't looking for love. He has already tried marriage and right now he just needs a mother for his child. He is blunt and open with her, atleast as blunt and open as he could get without revealing the actual reason of his visit. Paakhi's response to this is most unexpected. She accepts his answer completely and actually trusts him for it. It's this very ability of Paakhi to be able to accept and prefer what is honest and true even if it's a tad bit unkind, insensitive and blunt over fanciful lies that shows her real strength. Not everyone is capable of it. Anshuman hopes to drive her away by breaking any dreams she might have had but his words actually propel her into deciding to go with him. What Anshuman doesn't realize is that Paakhi never wanted him to show up like Prince Charming and take her away. All Paakhi wanted was for him to grant her some answers over an 18 years long silence. Even if he were to deny their marriage or to be free of it, she just wanted him to reach out. He does exactly that and she is satisfied with the answer. She is very broad-minded and practical that way and believes in giving chances.
The second instance is ofcourse when he refuses to enter the temple to get blessings and tells her family he doesn't believe in God and that his family isn't religious. Once again, she is not completely horrified by his words, nor does she turn preachy. She doesn't force her opinions on him, instead she accepts his. The affect of his words is similar to the instance I just mentioned. The blunter Anshuman gets, the more Paakhi trusts him. She doesn't believe in illusions or lies, as beautiful as they may be. Can we really blame her now for trusting Anshuman when he is kind or nice to her later? To her, he is a man who speaks his mind. He did so in their very first interaction when he could have lied and asked for her forgiveness and it was that very lack of pretend that drew her to him. Why then would she doubt his more kinder and nicer approaches?
As far as her lack of expectations go, one must remember that she knows Anshuman does not really love her and she is very understanding that way. Like she says on their wedding night, she believes in emotional bonds much more than physical ones and while her Universe quickly starts to revolve around Anshuman, she proves to be terribly patient with regard to him reciprocating those feelings. Patient and determined to make him fall in love with her. ;) It's refreshing how, while she is romantic she is not desperate to seek his love and it is actually most amusing and endearing how completely uncomfortable and aware these two feel whenever things get a little too intimate. ;)
Another aspect I love about Paakhi is that she is not someone you want to cross. As long as you hold her respect and trust she will be the nicest person in the world. However, the moment she detects deceit and lies, we see a different shade of her character. We see how rigid and cold she is. I remember being thoroughly surprised by her reaction to the cooks being 'missing' on the day of the business dinner. Not only does she see right through their lies and catches them at it, she dismisses them almost instantly. She doesn't even bother to inform Anshuman about it which was something that particularly struck me considering the fact that all of these servants have probably been there longer than she has. This ofcourse is only a small window into how she will react once she knows the whole truth about Anshuman. *sigh* A more recent instance is ofcourse how she told off Maa ha jee over the recent jail fiasco. That was just brilliant. Both in writing and in performance.
And... That got so long! Longer than my analysis on Anshuman... err did I say she was simpler than him? Sorry for getting carried away guys. I just really wanted to do this. I love Shraddha for bringing out these aspects of Paakhi in such a beautifully subtle and underrated way. She is a wonderful actress and I would like to thank her for making so much effort with the character. Paakhi is proof that no one is completely simple and I would like to applaud the actress and the makers for putting so much thought into the writing and the portrayal of the character.
And with that... I end my ramble.
-Maham.
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