Friends, yesterday, I thought, was a really good episode. Not just because Hakim surprised us with his magnanimous position on the Shivani matter ... and not just because Jodha suddenly showed greater signs than ever before of having truly become more of Mughal Queen than a Rajvanshi daughter ...
... but because in the midst of all that action there were some two or three pieces of great cimenatic direction also in the episode. We have for so long been berating the Creatives for their lack of editing skills and carelessness on certain shots that had no continuity - but yesterday there were three sequences where I thought the direction was really close to laudable.
For my opening remarks today I have picked three topics that I thought deserved special mention:
One, the way Hakim showed his graciousness, his magnamity and his character in a crisis was exemplary. He ended up giving the Shahenshah lessons in love. The beauty of it all was not that he spoke from his heart - but what all he managed to say in the space of eight minutes. In fact I thought the difference in the upbringing of Hakim and Jalal showed so beautifully. All said and done, Hakim's mother was a shrew (according to history), but he at least had the familial upbringing that taught him "people values and soft feelings" such as love for his family. Contrast this with Jalal, who seemed surprised to hear a lot of what Hakim had to say on the subject of love and the forgiving of close ones. How bare Jalal's upbringing must have been of love and soft sentiments for him to show such surprise at what Hakim said!
Anyway, the purity and exaltedness of Hakim's love for Shivani was on display. It was not a possessive, selfish kind of love. Its was a selfless, unconditional love that allowed him to forgive the one he loved - and all her relatives close to her as well. This lesson seemed to come home strongly to Jalal thrice. Once when Hakim was still talking to him about love, the "Amer music" came on in the background, its strains evocative as the metaphor of the latent love in Jalal for Jodha. Later again, when Jodha was talking to Jalal - and he barely heard her for the tumult of feelings and Hakim's voice reverberating inside himself - again the "Amer music" began like a symbol of the awakening love of Jalal for Jodha. And finally in the precap, Jalal started out by being angry at Shivani, and up till that point it looked like the same precap of the previous episode - but there was a big difference. At the very end of the precap yesterday the "Amer music" began again, like a light of love beginning to burn inside Jalal's heart. His anger for Shivani has every indication of subsiding in today's episode as he starts too feel that love for Jodha that Hakim was talking about! The "Amer music", folks, has become the sanket of the hidden feelings of love for Jodha inside Jalal slowly awakening, so I think we are now going to start hearing it more often!
One more thing about Hakim. On the one side we had spoilers from history saying he would eventually turn into Jalal's enemy, but on the other hand we also had spoilers saying Hakim would help Jodha and Jalal come together and resolve all misunderstandings. ... and that Jodha would save Jalal from Ben with the help of Hakim. I know that all of us were expecting Hakim to turn negative rightaway, as a result of Shivani. But it seems history is still far away according to Ekta, so Hakim will undoubtedly now continue to be the saviour of the Jodha-Jalal relationship.
Following this idea, I now expect the Ben bite issue to take place when Jodha may save Jalal, when Hakim may even help Jodha with the messages she is getting from Sharif regarding Ben being the vishkanya from Abul Mali. And I also expect that Hakim and Rahim will perhaps piece together the Jodha paigam to Jalal - and all should be on the mend soon!
Okay, now I want to talk about one other important observation yesterday. I notice the gradual "Mughal-ification of Jodha is taking place. Its happening subtly but its happening nevertheless. A few days ago she wore the Mughal attire and showed her own Ameri family that she was more from the boy's side in the Shivani-Hakim marriage. Yesterday by berating her own father in no uncertain terms for "trying to build an alliance on a lie" and despoiling the peace of her husband, her devar and her mother-in-law, Jodha said (in as many words) that it was no longer a matter of pride to say that she was a Rajvanshi, and that as a Mughal Queen she can never forgive her father! Folks, the umbilical cord that was holding Jodha back in her identity as a Rajvanshi, and as Amer's daughter , seems well and truly severed as of yesterday. She no longer sees Jalal through the prism of her own family or by comparison with them. He now has become more important to her identity than her own birth and upbringing! What a watershed moment!
But what of Jalal? Has the "Rajvanshification of Jalal" begun yet, as I expect that also to happen? History tells us that when Jalal gets fed up of the treachery of his own near and dear ones, he will begin heavily adopting the Ameris as his closest ones - even politically - and deem them to be his real loyal family. But I suspect that is also a bit of history that is still slightly far from us as yet. So for the moment, parallel to the "Mughalification of Jodha" we may start seeing the "Jodhafication of Jalal" ... but not quite the "Rajvanshification of Jalal" as yet. Maybe time will heal the wounds between the Ameris and the Mughals but for now a "ghaav" exists!
And a final word about the direction of three fabulous shots. One was the Bharmal-Jalal scene. I expected a hundred thousand angry words, but instead we had the sedate and stately arrival of two opposing kings when nothing needed to be said at once. Bharmal has private flashbacks of his anger with Shivani's choice of husband and Bhagwan Das was shown as party to this anger. Without needing to know more, or say more, Jalal asked Bharmal (in very few words) "Why?" to which Bharmal knelt down and said "Punish me as I deserve". Jalal knelt down himself, brought himself to Bharmal's level, and then made his pronouncement sending him to jail without much ado - and Bharmal accepted the indictment and punishment. Only Hakim asked for explanations to which Jalal said "If I can punish Sharif, my brother-in-law, why not Bharmal, my father-in-law?" The scene was so spare and clean and free of unnecessary words that I must bow to the Director for making it so. The absence of melodrama was its powerfulness!
Another great piece of direction was when Jodha in the garden was trying to apologize to Jalal on behalf of her family, but all he heard were Hakim's words reverberating in his mind, followed by the "Amer music". The message of the scene was clear. No other words were needed to be heard because the love between them was awakening and it was drowning out the words of Jodha,. Again the eloquence was in the muting of Jodha's words and in the strains of the slowly rising "Amer music."
And finally in the precap, Jalal starts talking angrily about Shivani, but his own words fade as the rising strains of the "Amer music" begin. I doubt his anger for Shivani would be able to withstand the growing power of his love for Jodha.
For my detailed analysis I want to take the two scenes below just for the beauty of their dialogues:
Hakim teaches Jalal about selfless love
I won't go into every single piece of action on this scene, but I just want to list the way Hakim brought out his dialogue in a sequence of hammering points:
1. Please, Jalal, let go of Raja Bharmal. Religion teaches us that the sins of fathers should not be put at their children's feet, just as the sins of children can't be brought down upon their parents' heads. What is Jodha's mistake in this that she has to suffer seeing her father in pain?
2. How could you expect Shivani to tell of her love in open court? Her tehzeeb stopped her. She was so in love, can't you see, that she sacrificed her own family, her prestige, our prestige, all protocol and ceremony, everything, for that love? That is what love does to a person.
3. Mohabbat is this one thing that sees no difference between people or religions. Look at me, how I fell for a girl of another religion? Ultimately mohabbat also gives no one pain. If you look at it, Shivani saved three souls from future pain - me, herself and Tejwant. I would have been broken, condemned to see no love in her eyes for me and only for Tejwant if I had lived my life with her! She helped me ...
4. I have a heart so I know what mohabbat is - and soon you too will see that! Then you'll understand what is love, and why Shivani did what she did. Mohabbat makes even fakirs stand up fearless while it cripples kings into submission. Its sees no difference where it strikes.
5. I love Shivani even now ... that's why I can't bear it if you hurt her near ones. That is mohabbat where even if you wish to you cannot hurt the loves of those you love! If they suffer, you suffer too!
6. Bharmal has got his punishment. As a King he has got his humuuiliation in being jailed. But as his guneghar its my right to decide his fate (as Ruq had the right to forgive Adham). I therefore forgive Bharmal. For me, you have to release him. I ask only that of you!
Wow! What a dialogue! How well written and sequenced! And what an effect it had on Jalal! When Jodha later spoke to him in mute he saw her tears and heard Hakim's words again "That is mohabbat where even if you wish to you cannot hurt the loves of those you love! If they suffer, you suffer too!". He could not watch Jodha suffer any more so away he went without a word to release her father!
Jodha becomes the Mughal Queen to the Ameris
Again here I don't want to decribe the scenes ... but I do want to focus on the fabulous dialogues.
Moti tries first telling Jodha not to blame herself, it was all due to unforeseen circumstances. Later the Ameris meet with Hamida and ask forgiveness for their poor upbringing of Shivani as against the great upbringing of Hakim. But Hamida says "The same upbringing has produced a gem like Jodha. Some children do go astray through their naadani!". She tries to make the Bharmals stay back for Sivaratri but they are too embarassed to linger further.
Jodha comes through with her sterling stance - first to Moti and then to her own father:
1. Moti, my father has insulted Hakim, Hamida (who treats me as her own daughter) an my husband Jalal - and the whole Mughal sultanate.
2. There is no more any pride in saying I am a Rajvanshi.
3. If my father had only told me, I could have tried to stop Shivani. But he has knowingly tried to build an alliance on a lie, which is not in anyway the tenet of the kul we all belong to!
4. If I had only known I would never have carried Hakim's rishta to Jalal, nor gone with Shivani to the mandir. I would have tried to save everyone's maryada.
5. See how generous Jalal is to release my father. I am proud of him.
6. Jalal forgave you all, Bapusa, and so did Hamida, but I will never forgive what you have done.
7. You should have told me about Shivani and Tejwant. You could told me before or written to me, or even after arriving here, you could have put me in the picture.
8. You have hurt the Mughal family no end. As your santaan I could perhaps be expected to bear it, but why my Mughal family?
9. Its my husband, my devar, my mother-in-law you have hurt. They are my own family. As the Mughal khandaan ki Jodha Begum I can never forgive you all!
This was all not "Jodha the Ameri" at all. It was all now about the Sultanate, Jalal, Hamida and her "own family". I think I have never before seen a change in identity so beautifully etched with a few chosen words that showed which way the winds were now blowing in Jodha's mind!
Cricket
Pati Patni Aur Panga
365