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Come Tuesday, and come the fireworks! And today the CVs didn't hold back but peppered the episode with quite a few dhamaakedaar revelations, big and small, one after the other.
Revelation #1: That although he expects Paro to shy at the fence the moment she is asked to take her place in the mandap next to him, even if she doesn't break, Rudra will go ahead with the wedding. The reason: Paro must be made to pay for her stubbornness, her silence and her support of the traitors.That was a big thing for Rudra to say, to take on himself the onus of the judge, the jury and the executioner. To pronounce her guilty, read her her sentence, and make her serve her term. And of course it will be Rudra who will enforce the sentence. What a breath-taking pronouncement! No wonder, it left his father and uncle speechless! It just doesn't occur to Rudra that he is no one to judge or punish. And talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. They had Rudra in mind when they wrote that one. Rudra has conveniently buried the fact that he too will pay while he makes Paro pay.
But, by making this significant statement, Rudra has acknowledged for the first time since he put his plan into action that Paro may not break. And secondly, that he is now resigned to being married to Paro - that's a significant distance to travel from his out-of-hand dismissal when Dilsher first asked Rudra to marry Paro because she had a handle on him and knew how to make rotis.
The wedding is beginning to look like a certainty.
Revelation #2: That was Paro revealed to Rudra in a new light from on top of the stairs. There he was sitting at the puja, looking straight ahead, when little discs of light danced across his face, distracting, signalling a summon that he could no more ignore than forget to breathe; drawing a response that, much like Paro earlier in the day, he was helpless to restrain; firing a reflex that swivelled his head towards the source of the light. He turned and was dazzled. She shimmered from a height - luminous, ethereal, like someone not of this world. A radiance that for one moment erased all the rancour. Until all that remained was recognition of her as he had once known her, before all this. Another rescue...another connect...another lifetime.
Rudra is becoming more and more receptive to Paro. And in these unguarded moments, which are now occurring with increasing frequency, Rudra is suspending reality (as he thinks it) and seeing clear through to the truth - which is that Paro is innocent, good, pure. He's having to work harder to back-track to his original opinion; run-through a mental repetition of her sins to convince him that she is as black as he has painted her. This internal strife (of his conscious with unconscious mind) will continue to see-saw and tear him apart, until he lets go of his conscious and just believes in her. But that is endgame.
Revelation #3: The family's sword, which must only ever be used to protect whom Rudra loves greater than life itself.
The unsheathing of the sword filled me with foreboding for Rudra. Because why would Major Rudra Pratap Ranawat, who is so skilled and comfortable with a gun that he can shoot a man straight between the eyes at God knows how very many paces, not use a gun to protect his loved one? The sword only makes sense if he doesn't have his gun to hand. Which would definitely be the case if he was relieved of his uniform, ribbons and official gun, i.e. kicked out of BSD. Poor Rudra! However, thinking positively, I suppose I could also conclude that Rudra just didn't have the gun to hand, for whatever reason. A bit feeble but I don't mind grasping at straws if it means that he gets to stay with the BSD.
Revelation #4: Rudra's mother's jewellery now adorns Paro.
An unwilling gift from Rudra to Paro (although it was Dilsher who handed it to her), and equally reluctantly accepted by Paro. Will Paro wearing it remind Rudra of his mother - beautiful and untrustworthy - more than she already does? After all who can forget Rudra spitting the insult "Aurat...khoobsurat Aurat..." at Paro at least twice now. And seeing his mother in Paro will undermine the PaRud relationship for ages.
Is there more to the gift, I wonder? Does it mean that the Thakurain will not know the identity of her daughter-in-law just now? Will she recognise Paro through her own jewels? Paro now has two of the Thakurain's jewellery gifts - the necklace from the first wedding, from Thakurain's current life, and the necklace from this wedding - the Thakurain's previous existence. Perhaps it was the taint of the Thakur's blood money on the first necklace that brought Paro so much tragedy. And perhaps this necklace, free of all sordidness, will bring back her happiness.
Revelation #5: The Mahashivratri Mela and Thakursa's appearance at it to indicate that all is well in his empire.
Yes this is all building towards a showdown on Mahashivratri. The wedding, the sword, the Thankur, the Thakurain and Kakisa. Yet again, Rudra is on the hunt. Yet again he has a plan in place. The difference is that this time he knows the Thakur's cunning. Will he be able to nail him now? I somehow doubt it. You can't nail a lead villain this early on. But there are other possibilities: Rudra may need to rescue Paro from the Thakur; or with this Op may actually find that modicum of proof that is needed to allow him to continue working in the BSD; or give him some leads against the Thakur that will require further investigation even outside of the BSD.
Revelation #6: The Thakurainsa is Rudra's mother.
This is not a surprise to most of us, thanks to the many loud spoilers doing the rounds. CVs please note, your biggest dhamaaka fell flat because of untimely exposure. So yes we knew that the Thakurainsa is Rudra's mother. But it is her appearance at his wedding that will put a twist in the tale. We don't know yet what the CVs have planned for her reveal to Rudra, Paro and Dilsher. But what will she do when she is caught between the Thakur and Rudra? So far she has picked the Thakur. But by attending his wedding she will have picked Rudra for that moment. Yet Rudra's path and the Thakur's are fated to cross on that very day... And what of the reveal to Paro, Dilsher and the rest of the family? Then, of course, there's the powder keg of Kakasa being in touch with Rudra's mother all along, waiting to explode. Waiting for more clues to gauge which way the cards will fall.
Revelation #7: Paro's secret is out.
What will Kakisa do with it? Will she be all the more determined to get PaRud married knowing (from overhearing only a part of the story) that Paro is being forced into the marriage, and she has sworn to destroy Paro. Or, will her desire for revenge be more comprehensive, and she will find Tejawat's men and sell Paro down the drain; arrange for Paro to be kidnapped, so that Rudra's honour is tainted by his non-marriage and she can eventually kick both him and Dilsher out of the haveli?
A packed episode today, with much to mull over and insufficient clues. At this stage, one can only predict in a general, un-informed sort of way. But, no doubt a clearer picture will emerge as the wedding, the court-martial and Mahashivratri draw closer.
In between the revelations were some lovely moments. My favourite being the Dilsher-Danveer reaction to Rudra's pronouncements against Paro. The brothers were just too cute, appalled and dumb-struck by Rudra's arrogance. Paro's appearance at the top of the stairs was breath-taking, and not just for Rudra. It was interesting to see that although Rudra was the one dazed by all that beauty, it was Paro's mouth that parted on a breath as she looked upon him. The magic is already working both ways! Paro's hand on Rudra's during the aarti was another poignant moment - a voluntary (albeit reluctant) move to touch him.
👏👏👏 to the cast and crew for delivering a power-packed episode which would have had greater impact if not for the spoilers.
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
