{MS Episode} Lag Jaa Gale...

Yes, another post! I can't believe it has come down to this, but I have a feeling I will need the space. The Making of Lag Jaa Gale and the other behind the scenes footage videos of this maha-merger episode are too fun to ignore, so I am planning to have a good time revisiting those scenes and the offscreen footage from the episode in this write-up. Like the previous part, this one is also going to contain a mixture of observations, comments, and reactions to things that were in the episode. Still trying to find the bits of silver lining that I glimpsed in this Mahasangam episode...It is like a never-ending journey through a dark tunnel, and I'm following a flicker of light that will hopefully get stronger as we get closer to Tuesday!

Before I follow Yash and Aarti through their holiday in Mangalpur, a few things need to be said.

I am going to be putting forth some important assumptions to try and make sense of these scenarios, the key word being try. There are many performance-related, character consistency points that need to be given to Kratika and Gurmeet for their portrayals during this portion of the Mahasangam with the QH lead pair. I mentioned an attempt to establish equilibrium in my previous post. The A-Mangalpur scenes hint at that effort more than anything else, I feel.

I write about Kratika and Gurmeet a lot in my write-ups; implicit praise always extends to the writers and to the directorial team who "put soul into the characters," as Kratika said in one of her PV interviews. Our lead actors have imbibed that soul and live their characters' journey exceptionally, with their team supporting them and capturing every detail along the way. Here, though, in this set-up, it is a bit like flying solo...Except there is one important distinction. Gurmeet and Kratika have each other to fall back on. But they don't do that. They step forward together, taking their understanding of their individual characters and the relationship that Yash and Aarti share with each other as well as those around them - along with all those delicate nuances that they are so good at conveying - and they enhance each other's portrayals with that mutual understanding. This is something they always do, but it shows so much more clearly in this part of the Mahasangam episode. I am so impressed, so very impressed.

- I'm sure I don't need to write out the first thing that popped into my head when I saw Asad and Zoya being handcuffed together. I am still amused by the length of their handcuff chains, which, despite being much longer than Yash-Aarti's handcuffs (probably to allow for much greater mobility), still ended up getting them into "awkward situations" that were intended to be humorous - and they were, because I was wondering what they would have done if they had been in Yash-Aarti's place with those Cafe Delight handcuffs - but jokes aside, the very obvious placement of the "Pyaar Ki Hathkadi" song made me laugh. The "Disco Station" bit took me completely by surprise and just made me laugh harder. I am so happy with the songs that we got for our own previously-handcuffed couple. Situational songs...and their expressive silences.

- The QH PH is quite experienced with creating comedic situations, especially when there is awkwardness and "I don't like you, but I'm stuck with you" sentiments on both sides of the equation. At least Zoya doesn't think her "pyaar ki hathkadi" companion is a "neeech banda" (to quote Gurmeet) like Aarti did the first time around...

[Sorry, I couldn't resist! This is still one of my favorite moments and I didn't have time to find any other avis. The interplay of expressions during this silent exchange makes me smile whenever I see it. Kratika's nuanced display of Aarti's irritation, her fire-spitting gaze, and Gurmeet's subtle portrayal of Yash's bewilderment and curiosity - loved them then, love them infinitely more now!]

Confession: I actually cheered when I saw the earlier "Coming Up" precap where Yash and Aarti turn to face the camera oh-so-dramatically. I was just so, so happy to see them! 😆 Like the first rains after a drought!

In hot pursuit of the wedding ruiners, the Mangalpur rowdies barge into one of the rooms of the inn, guns and swords brandished angrily, only to see..."Yeh toh koi aur hai."

[Yes, very good! I'm not surprised you've never seen them before...They went to Mumbai for a holiday last time...]

The girls shuffle as close as possible to Aarti, who puts her arms around them protectively, ushering them even closer behind her. Yash answers with an affirmative and a question, regarding the group of men with a guarded gaze. Aarti is the one who notices "the other jodi" across the walkway; the man's eyes travel in her direction and he ducks, pulling the other girl down with him. Aarti's eyes reflect a quickly-dawning comprehension as she observes them crouching. Yash replies to the men, who turn to leave, but Aarti throws them off the couple's trail with a tidbit of false information as Yash listens, perplexed but silent. He then turns to his wife, who signals with her eyes, "There..." and he follows her ishaara to see what she had noticed, watching curiously as the couple dashes into their room and flings the door shut.

- If Aarti is shown as exceptionally observant in this episode, as well as quick-witted, which took me back to Aarti's little "money trail" tactic, there is yet another instance of the silent understanding that Yash and Aarti share. Yash does not question Aarti when she speaks to the men - he simply waits, confused but trusting - and she tells him immediately, without a word, why she spoke up and said those things...

Abrupt cut! Yash and Aarti are now speaking to the "runaway couple," Asad and Zoya, whose names are probably unknown to Yash and Aarti still. Yash asks why those people were running after them; Asad evades the question.

- I like how Asad calls Yash "Sir" when addressing him. I don't know how old Asad and Zoya are supposed to be, but I like this sense of respect and formality for some reason. It's also different from the "Ji" that we are so accustomed to hearing in our show...Also, interesting detail: when Asad talks about the problem that they're in, in very vague terms, Yash and Aarti turn to look at each other, as if puzzle pieces are slowly falling into place even with those vague answers. (Aside: Some of Gurmeet's lines got cut from the beginning of the scene, probably in the interest of time. I am curious about how much was actually sacrificed because of the time constraints 😒)

- When Karan says "Galat waqt pe, galat jagah par pahunch gaya," Gurmeet shifts and sits up, as if Yash understands the situation...And I immediately thought of Yash's Cafe Delight encounters with Aarti. Alas, the secret of the handcuffs remains a secret, even when Ansh notices, since he is as observant as his Mumma but he also is clever enough to figure out when someone wants to keep a secret.

- Aha, and Aarti's randomness begins! Poor Kratika - whenever I watch this part now, I think back to the offscreen footage of the rehearsals, where she seemed to be asking questions about her lines. Something like, "Can I also do something, because I don't have that many lines..." The video got cut off at this point, unfortunately, but from what I saw, she and Gurmeet might have also been talking amongst themselves about their portions, too...Kudos to Kratika for trying to do something more substantial than just saying those random lines. I am going to assume that the sole purpose of that randomness was to initiate the "Make Asad-Zoya feel awkward because they are at the beginning of our show's hate-love transition phase." As a result, Yash and Aarti temporarily become the sorts of side characters that I grew all too familiar with from previous shows with similar storylines. And yet, because of Kratika and Gurmeet's rapport and how that translates into the dynamics of the Yash-Aarti relationship, this randomness is not as bad as it could have been. Their dialogue delivery and vocal inflection is so soothing on the ears and it's quite enjoyable watching them interact in a more light-hearted manner.

"Aap dono mein kitna pyaar hai..."

- Aarti's Random Line #2. This is a cute Yash-Aarti moment only because of Kratika's "Yashji...?" and her head tilt, along with Gurmeet's expression as Yash says, "Kuch zyaada hi pyaar hai!" with a smile that she reflects back at him.

- Even Yash and Aarti are amused...This is rather funny to me because of the irony - Yash and Aarti are supposed to be the madly-in-love couple, which we know they are...But they are not demonstrative to an excessive degree, as they assume Asad-Zoya to be, I'm thinking...Gurmeet was asking, "Humein maloom bhi nahi hai, na?" in reference to the handcuff situation. Unfortunately, the answer to that was "Correct," and so I am left to lament the interesting parallels that could have come up there if the secret had come out. If not discussions, then at least a shared moment of remembrance between Yash and Aarti could have been possible, and they could have helped the other couple. Nope, not today. Not now, at least. The Lag Jaa Gale sequence hasn't come up yet. Can't reveal this secret just yet!

"Inhone khaane se pehle haath nahi dhoya..."

- The interaction between Karan and Divyam as Asad and Ansh is one of the highlights of this scene! How nice it would have been to see more of the kiddos with the other cast members! I also really love the tiny reactions from Yash and Aarti here: Yash looks up at Asad, surprised, and then turns, after which he and Aarti both let out a breathy chuckle at the same time, smiling at each other, as if to say, "Yeh Ansh bhi na...This child is just too much!"

- Oh, oh! Is Aarti serving Yash food? Or helping him with his plate? I think so! So there was a little more for Aarti to do, after all! The most natural little gestures, not emphasized but not clearly shown, either. Oh well. Character consistency points are in order, I think.

- Ansh's watch falls and breaks...Like the diamonds, this is also a question mark right now. Does this play into Prashant's involvement in Ansh's life? Prashant's watch that is related to Ansh (before Aarti threw it and it broke); Ansh's watch that is connected to Yash and possibly Prashant? No idea. Time to wait and watch... [EDIT, Jan. 21, 2013: Got the answer to this in the episode today. Love the detail links, love the PV Team! 😃]

- Random Line #3: the "family planning" line that Gurmeet and Kratika were laughing about.

Yash mentions Bhopal in his little conversation with his wife, which elicits no reaction from either of the people sitting opposite them, and then Aarti tries to include the others in a chat, under the assumption that the runaway couple is married. Considerate of her, I guess, but rather odd for our Aarti to say such a thing out of the blue. She is friendly, yes. Maybe there was some compulsion to bring up the show's point of "remarriage for the children's sakes" but was there no other way to do so? And from the interview on location, it sounded like they also divulge that their "fourth one is on the way," unless that was a shared joke between the two actors. Well, it didn't happen in the episode, so I am choosing instead to mention the way Yash looks at Aarti right after she breaches the topic of family planning and looks to him for his views on the matter again. There's a tiny, tiny moment when he is looking at her before Zoya's "What the..." expression is shown, and I was wondering if he was thinking of how much their relationship has developed since their decision to remarry...And then, of course, he has to lean over even more in Aarti's direction, drawing out her name as he replies. More family planning on your mind, Yashji? Aarti's "yahan koi nahi aayega" seems like it is part of Random Line #4 for Kratika, but after a while I started focusing more on Gurmeet. What is that look on Yash's face just as Aarti finishes speaking? A sort of barely perceptible smile...Maybe it is nothing at all except for relief that they'll finally be able to relax together...Or maybe that line was put in to hint at the night's unexpected romance. No interruptions from unwanted people? More irony will arrive later, in the form of at least one person I do not want to talk about. Anyway, I think Yash puts his arm around Aarti's shoulder again as they walk away together. How sweet is he? Aww.

Finally. The beauty of this sequence is not just limited to what was presented in the episode...Having seen the Making of Lag Jaa Gale, with Gul explaining the sequence to Gurmeet and Kratika, my observations about it are permanently linked to the final sequence that we got to see.

The song is lovely and so is the romantic ambience, the cinematography is stunning...But the lyrics just don't fit with Yash-Aarti as we know them. Snippets of stanzas might fit, but overall, it doesn't align. Most of the song sequences in PV, especially the ones that are romantic in tone, are situational. If music is playing, either the source is given or it is implied that the lyrics apply to the situation. In this scene, it is unclear. I first assumed that this was a situational song sequence, but the choreography, especially the middle portion, just didn't feel right. So I am now assuming that unless this song was used in an attempt at foreshadowing to hint at the possibility of Aarti and Yash being separated from each other due to Prashant's plan, then it was being played somewhere within the dhaba or inn. Or I could just disregard the lyrics altogether and focus on the interplay between Yash and Aarti, so that is how I will proceed now...The song seems to have been chosen and conceptualized for the benefit of moving the Asad-Zoya relationship further toward the tension-attraction phase that is common in the romantic stories of this type; to that extent, maybe the song was more appropriate for them. I will leave that for others to decide.

All of that said and done, I would like to go through the episode's sequence and the corresponding offscreen footage together, because after seeing how our two lead actors work under another production team's guidance, I am infinitely grateful to the Mittals and their team for bringing Gurmeet and Kratika together in this show. They are perfectly-matched in so many ways, and that is a large part of their beauty as an onscreen pair.

It is now nighttime. We see a lantern first, and then the focus shifts to Yash, who is sitting on one of the benches, busy, as I later learned, with his phone. In the background, brief flashes of a light color reveal someone approaching him...She lingers at the edge of the steps, then moves forward...

- I had no idea what Gurmeet was doing while he was sitting on the bench until I watched the Making..."Main phone pe hoon?" he asks, to which Gul responds, "Just, aise hi..." He was so concerned about what Yash should be doing with his phone, LOL. True to character! The man is often busy with his phone.

The scene fades, and Aarti's face is illuminated softly in the light. She steps forward, her eyes on him, hair blowing lightly in the night wind. Yash senses her behind him, but does not turn...An almost dazed, intoxicated look passes over his face as he looks up from his phone and smiles a little...He turns his head just a bit to see that she is there, standing silently, serenely. He gets up from the bench and turns to face her...He sees her face entirely now - her calm gaze, her soft smile - and he is lost for a long moment, looking at her...

- A bit of director/actor interaction:

GK: So, Gurmeet, as usual, you will...feel...that she is behind you...

[I love Gurmeet's "Ahaa..." and the "I know how this goes" grin that he gives Gul when she says that. I would love to know exactly what he was saying in response! And the way Gul says "feel!" makes me laugh, too. *sigh* Deja vu, deja vu. So very familiar.]

Kratika comes up behind Gurmeet and he is supposed to do a half-turn, while sitting, and see her standing there...which he obviously can't do. Kratika takes the opportunity to help him out by moving and doing a little nonverbal "Peek a boo!" which makes both of them laugh just as Gul says, "romance..." Haha, there's no need to tell them to be romantic...They definitely got the job done in the end.

- The dazed look on Gurmeet's face is not like the one I associate with Yash...Yash, even when intoxicated, is somehow focused and intent even when his expression is rather glazed. Gurmeet does recover immediately after the "sensing the heroine" moment is over, and the calm intensity in his demeanor is much more familiar. Much more comforting, to me, as a viewer.

As Yash looks at Aarti...There is one moment when she lowers her head just a little bit, with her lips pursed ever so slightly...Her eyes seem to sparkle differently, a little more mischievously. It's almost like she's challenging him by doing that...teasing him with her eyes and lips.

- This, to me, seems like something Aarti might do...And only because Kratika is so good with those tiny changes in facial expression. Her expression is not laced with as much playful humor as we've seen in our show's romantic scenes, but there is that glint in her eyes...and the twitch of the lips...Her subtlety is what makes this moment shine, when there could have been other, more obvious ways to convey the "teasing" that the sequence demanded.

- The chase around the table begins, and with it comes some adorable interaction that is not our Yash-Aarti's trademark. I see it almost like a game between the actors, where Gurmeet and Kratika are half-acting, half-playing...Pretend-romancing, in character, yet in jest...Trying to keep their Yash and Aarti restrained and true to their essences while enacting this scenario that is required of them...A difficult balance to achieve...But they try, and they try hard.

- "Catch me if you can!" LOL, it is so much fun watching them try to rehearse. Kratika rushes away from Gurmeet, bumping into an amused Gul along the way...The two co-actors are always slipping in and out of character and into masti mode to liven things up. And they know the difference, even when others may not.

- Kratika was told to never break eye contact - "Eye contact! You're teasing him..." - and so she doesn't...Gurmeet as "Yash" is calm, with his characteristic intensity still present, while Kratika as "Aarti" is so radiantly happy that the contrast is actually quite sweet if we think of this as a standalone sequence. Such beauty and brightness. The cinematography is breathtaking, and I love watching this part for the way that both actors' expressions are captured, if nothing else. The way Kratika's eyes twinkle as brightly as her smile as she beams at Gurmeet, whose lips twitch into a smile in spite of himself...They are stunning.

With a smile, Aarti turns to walk away from Yash, but he grabs her dupatta...Slowly, she turns to face him as he carefully folds the cloth...(And if we weren't supposed to see Yash holding the dupatta before he pulled on it, oops...)

- Dupatta woes! This is quite possibly my favorite part of the Making because it is such a lovely example of collaboration and attention to detail. Gul explains the general situation: Gurmeet has to take the dupatta, hold it, then fold it...Business as usual for him. I love how he comes over to Kratika, saying, "Aaya, aaya, aaya..." and then "...yeh lena hoga, yeh pa-..." and then he stops, realizing that the way they're doing this will not work (I think Kratika might have been trying to make that point also). "Arrey, ya toh main aaoon, ya toh main Aarti ko jaane doon..." and Kratika immediately turns, to help him out for a second. There's that folding motion again! And then...All three of them have identical grins on their faces as the "Paas aayiye..." stanza starts up, and I think that is so adorable! Even better is the look on Kratika's face as she steps backward and is urged in one direction by the director - Kratika knows that the dupatta won't be placed correctly if she goes that way, so she turns the other way and helps Gurmeet wrap it around her. (Priceless line: "Main odh loonga dupatta! *makes a gesture of placing an imaginary dupatta over his head*)

- In the middle of all this, Kratika asks, "...like a shawl, can we wrap it?"

And I wanted to hug her for that. The others were laughing at her question...But this is a throwback. To the pre-consummation sequence. And whether she made that suggestion deliberately or not, she asked, and it happened...For that throwback alone, I am willing to overlook the artificiality of the dupatta-grabbing gesture. That is exactly why I love this.

- A quick word about the ambience and set-up. Just like the Mittals have certain trademark set elements, I suppose it's a trademark of the 4Lions team to put a lot of lights in the background for nighttime romantic scenes...I know that lots of shows use similar lighting for such scenes. But look at the contrast in the amount of lighting and the effect...I personally think the minimal lighting in the Abhi Abhi sequence lends a sweet simplicity to the scene and pulls the viewer's attention to the actors actions/reactions more...

The funny thing is...the "Paas aayiye" portion of the stanza doesn't even correspond to the dupatta part. But I do love the look on Yash's face and the softest of smiles on Aarti's...Little things like that - plus the way Gurmeet seems to always place his hand on Kratika's shoulder whenever Yash is facing Aarti or looking at her intently - make me so happy. It's like seeing glimmers of the characters we know and love.

For some reason, Yash decides to twirl Aarti under the moonlight...

- That's all fine, since it reminds me of his Ishq Wala Love moment, which I think is one of the most adorable imaginary sequences ever...But even in Yash's imagination, Aarti did not randomly fall into his arms like she does in this Lag Jaa Gale sequence. This is one thing I cannot understand. Aarti is not this clumsy. If she falls, she falls realistically because she slips on soap bubbles or trips over something. She doesn't trip over her own feet like this, while dancing. Anyway, creative license for a day. Granted, since it could have gotten worse... *whispers* But still! There does not need to be a "fall into the hero's arms randomly" moment for a woman's hair to end up falling over her face like that...Absolutely no need. But since it has been done, we move on...

The impact of the fall and the wind causes Aarti's hair to blow so that it covers much of her face...She straightens up gradually, glancing up at Yash as she does so, and he is captivated...

- His fingers, her hair. Can I take a moment to say this now, even though I say this all the time anyway? I LOVE how this is one of Yash-Aarti's defining trademarks. Aarti's hair is the one feature of hers that always, always, always, leaves him stunned. It is his weakness...because when he touches her hair, brushing her face with his fingers, she instinctively responds to him...and that mesmerizes him. Every single time. If he is able to draw his attention away from her silken tresses to meet her eyes, he holds her gaze for a while but then lets himself scan her face again even though he has done so before...There is such tenderness in the way that Yash studies Aarti's face, as if committing every feature to memory.

- I am so glad that the position that Gurmeet and Kratika are in during the next part is more or less similar to the stance that Yash and Aarti end up in when they are alone together: his hands on her shoulders, her hands on his chest. More or less...It looks odd for them to be standing there like that, but this is all for the handcuffed couple to see (from their story-development standpoint...), so I'm still assuming that Yash-Aarti are not aware that those two are even sitting on the steps outside.

- The final shot is beautiful. I could say that this might be a throwback to the jhula scene from their time in Mumbai...That's only one possibility, though. The sense of togetherness, of peace, of cherished warmth and love...that is so, so beautifully conveyed in this moment, as they sit nestled together, oblivious to their surroundings. They are two halves of a single whole, complete, perfect...because they balance each other's imperfections and love each other all the more for those blemishes that, in part, define who they are and have brought them together this far.

Parting Thoughts: As a standalone sequence, or as an "alternate universe" sort of sequence, this is very, very pretty. If I were not a regular, dedicated viewer of this show, and if I happened to accidentally come across this sequence as a "Love Scene" online on YT, I probably would have been enchanted by this scene. This is what I would have taken away at the end of it all: Gurmeet and Kratika are extremely beautiful. They have sparkling chemistry. They fit together onscreen and are well-matched co-stars. In fewer, simpler words: "They are cute. Yash and Aarti are adorable." Yes, they are, but they are also so much more than that.

*Gif credit: Ash and Allbut1

{MS Episode} [Part 1] Chaos, Randomness, and Silver Lining: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/punar-vivah/3398507/ms-episode-chaos-randomness-and-silver-lining

(Edited the post title to reflect the episode content)

But just a warning I may not be able to find the silver lining. 😆

**********************

Okay, I found the silver lining. 😃

What a beautiful read, Borna. I loved how you intertwined Yash and Aarti with Gurmeet and Kratika and all that we saw in the video with the director and her cues on how the song should be shot.

I really liked the making of the song just because it gives you an understanding about how much effort is put into these things.

Like you mentioned, for me the essence of Aartia and Yash was in that last scene of the song, where they sit side by side just enjoying the togetherness.

I absolutely adored the way referred to Asad and Zoya as the hand cuffed couple. 😆

Sunitha, I'm definitely do not think of myself as an expert analyst...I'm just a viewer trying to find a little bit of light, while sharing my reactions to certain things along the way! Glad you enjoy reading them. Naturally, I don't expect everyone to see things in the same the way I do. But still, I write when I feel the urge to jot down details from episodes and performances that stand out and move me...That happens very often, actually, but time slips away quite quickly...I marvel at the members here who have the ability to pen down such impressive analyses and insights on a daily basis!

@Kirthi: Hahaha! Thanks for the warning! You should keep that warning there even after you edit that post! Thanks for reserving...

And I said I'm trying...Still searching for that silver lining! That doesn't mean I will find anything to make the lyrics magically line up perfectly with our holidaying actors' characters' situation! 😛 😆 I doubt I will, but worst-case scenario, this post will end up being about how fun it is to watch Gurmeet and Kratika chase each other around tables! That is going to be a significant chunk of this post, just wait and watch! 😃

This one was my favorite because you talked about Gurmeet and Kratika in relation to Yash-Aarti in the Mittals PV and in relation to being part of 4 Lions QH mahasangam as slightly different versions of Yash-Aarti 😒. The striking difference is glaringly obvious and I love how you incorporated older Yash and Aarti scenes to draw comparisons between them and the mahasangam scenes.

Thank you, Nina! 😊

I was curious to know about your reactions to the PV portions of Part 1, so if these posts helped a little bit, I am happy.

@bold and the rest of the comment: I had a lot of fun (and a fair bit of difficulty, honestly) writing this portion because I could see what Gurmeet and Kratika were trying to do to stay in character as best as they could, given the sorts of things they had to do. I don't know if I misread them, but the "This isn't OUR Yash-Aarti" reaction seemed to be so widespread across our PV Forum that I'm assuming I wasn't completely off-base. How did that (the disconnect between our Y&A and their Y&A, I mean) even happen, I wonder? Some people might argue that this is an example of the growth in comfort that the two of them share...They have grown very comfortable, no doubt, but they wouldn't have needed to come outside to twirl around to show that. Well, they needed to show the other couple what "love" is, perhaps, so they were made to twirl around. I don't even have as many issues with the "catch me if you can" challenge because it reminded me of the Dog and Bone game, but the randomness of the "falling romantically into the hero's arms" is the most jarring thing for me. And "4Lions Yash" with his sensing abilities. Gurmeet looked so handsome in the entire sequence...but that brief "feel her presence" moment is one I would rather ignore.

Gurmeet and Kratika both did a very, very nice job toeing the line.

P.S. I added in a few more things in the post just now 😛

You are too sweet, Indu! 🤗

Thank you so very much for the generous praise (too generous, I feel) and for taking the time to read through all of the things I wrote in my attempt to search for a tiny bit of meaning in all that uncharacteristic randomness. If you have any more thoughts about this sequence or even this post later on, I would love to hear from you! 😳