My first reaction/question was and I am sure that it will be the same for a long long time now- WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
First things First and I am sure that you guys will agree with me when I say that what was shown in Friday Episode, everything that happened between Paro-Rudra is easily and by far the best and most powerful love scene (In terms of acting, execution, direction, camera work, script etc) one would have come across at least in the past 10 years between the lead characters of an Indian Soap/Hindi Serial. God!!! I really wish I could carve this in Gold and hang it for the TV Industry to see because the entire team of RR who had a hand in conceptualizing, enacting and executing that scene not only managed to leave the audience breathless and in awe of what happened but also took TELEVISION ROMANCE to an altogether new and higher level. This is how the romance of a newly married couple should look like. There is always sexual tension; there is excitement, anxiety, a little fear, and loads of PASSION.
I have never seen anything like that; never experienced anything like that WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
The unplugged version of "Muskurane Ki Wajah" was pitch perfect to showcase Paro and Rudra's love, their want, desire and passion. The ambiance was magical; the setting was real and genuine. In short nothing about the scene was OTT. If I were to point out a flaw then it would be the haze, the blotches etc but my TV watching experience especially during such passionate scene has taught me to expect them so it's all cool.
This is not the first time Sanaya and Ashish have delivered such scenes effortlessly even earlier the actors had no hassles while doing such intimate scenes. The Haldi wala scene anybody? How often do you see something of that intensity and sheer brilliance on small screen? Almost Never, but Yes! This time the makers and actors have undoubtedly raised the bar of the whole romance-passion angle by leaps and bounds and have placed Sanaya and Ashish in a higher league. I don't think I have ever seen such raw passion on screen ever and touchwood I hope that this continues the way it is and keeps getting better.
While the entire foreplay set my screen ablaze what I loved about the scene was at no point, not even for a fraction of a second did it look forced or uncomfortable for the actors. Dekha jaaye toh the entire 20 mins episode baring 1 or 2 mins was totally and completely dominated by Paro and Rudra. How often does that happen on TV? How often do makers take their sweet little time to showcase love, romance and passion without any interruption? One episode takes approx. 18 hrs (Min.) of work and when it comes down to such scenes which have to be shot keeping in mind the sentiments of Indian Viewers the 18 can easily become 20-22 or even more which means these actors kept that flow, that rhythm, that feel intact for all those hours to deliver such a flawless scene... a scene that I am sure has broken all the conventional concepts of love, romance, passion, intensity, want, desire and every other textbook feeling and set a new bench mark. It speaks highly of the commitment to their craft and comfort too which is an important factor here, infact THE MOST IMPORTANT factor here. Having said that in order to show the level of intimacy Ashish and Sanaya showed on screen even if it was just foreplay (The longest one ever in fact) the actors too should be mentally prepared which is a not an easy feat and these two nailed it. So technically I would say PROFESSIONALISM at its best!!!!
I may be out of line when I say this but my respect for Sanaya and Ashish's respective partners has increased by manifolds. Not all fiancs/spouses and partners are this supportive (Touchwood) whether or not they are a part of this medium. In a indirect way they too contribute to the outcome of such scenes and so hats off to them as well.
I am in short of adjectives to describe the episode and so it's best that I don't attempt to do the same because no matter what I say it wouldn't suffice to cover it. So I'll just mention what I loved the most and what I thought was done exceptionally brilliantly.
Rudra tying the mangalsutra: The reason this moment stood out was because Rudra who tied that red-thread to hurt Par... to humiliate her, himself took it out and tied the Mangalsutra showering her not only with love, but also respect. Along with it he admits that it pained him every single day to see that thread on her neck which she wore with high regard when for him it was a reminder of all the hell he put her through. A word I would use to describe Rudra is that he is highly volatile and so far it's only Paro who knows what to tell him and how to act accordingly. Before Rudra could drown in the guilt of his actions, Paro averts it by reminding how he could never keep up with the 8 Vachans leading to the duo making just one promise "Main, Tu Hamesha".
His First Kiss: Physical proximity or relationship is not new for Rudra but LOVE most definitely is. If Rudra wanted he could very well kiss Paro forcefully, but he did not he was ready to try and comply her wishes. On getting the idea of creating snow with cotton he gives her what he wants, lets her enjoy and take in the moment, finds joy in watching her smile and only then does he make his next move of planting the kiss on her cheeks. Even then he does not rush into the act and unleash all the pent up desire and passion on to his beautiful wife, instead he enjoys every moment of their closeness before kissing Paro.
Another thing I loved about the scene was that it was actually Paro who set the ball rolling by kissing Rudra in the Wednesday episode. She had no doubts about what she was doing, it was not that easy but it wasn't that big a deal too because he was her husband. So she was pretty chilled out (Yes that's the word) about kissing the man she loves. Which is once again a first on Indian TV because usually it's the guy who takes the lead, makes the first move and if it's the girl she is usually a city born, modern woman but even then we have seen inhibitions, a peck and run, 1000's of excuses, guy all romantic and the girl trying to run etc. Paro who is a gaon ki gori who by definition should be all Sharmeeli and stuff beats them all because she took her time to kiss him, once done she was not in a hurry to run away all shy and red. She faced him gave him a small smile walked away calmly, came back to take the tray she had placed in his hands once again gives him a smile and walks away like it was not a big deal because frankly it was not. Patni apni Pati ko kiss nahi karegi toh kya padosan karegi? I have never understood what the fuzz and halla was about during such scenes that the makers just stretch it. Well a word of advice this is how it's done!!!!
The Pillar foreplay and passion in all its entity was the best. Paro has accepted Rudra as her savior, her husband and now the love of her life and it's been quite some time since she did this but even if she knew that Rudra cared for her, wanted her in his life she still did not know if he loved her or not. Paro's kiss to thank Rudra, came out of the simple truth that she loved him and was touched by his gesture to help her. When Rudra kissed Paro it was a conformation for her that there is love in his heart for her too but before she could complete the sentence he starts to tease her because he knew what it would do to her. Firstly because he has seen her melt to his touch...his gaze, secondly because Paro herself confessed that she couldn't move or work or think rightly when he was close to her, looked at her etc and thirdly he enjoyed the effect he had on her because all this was new for him just like for her. Paro finds it hard to form words and complete her sentence, but who in their right mind would be able to do so while being taunted and teased in a way that it tingled every inch of your body? I for once loved how Paro did not push Rudra right away which is impossible to see when it comes to small screen foreplays. But when she finally pushes him she does to let him know what she found out and mainly so that she could feel and relish what she had just learned on saying it out loud that HE LOVED HER TOO!!!!
You can see that after saying it out loud she looks at him for some sort of confirmation. When Rudra does not say anything but advances towards her and keeps gazing her in a way that it set her body on fire to kiss her on her lips we can see how nervous she is and I loved, simply loved the way he put her to ease by kissing her eyes. If they were going to share their first kiss which like all knows is pretty special he did not want to rush her through anything. A kiss on the eyes symbolizes assurance; it means she is the world to him. And also in an indirect way that he will kiss away all her tears and place only love and happiness in them. You can clearly see the difference in Paro's demeanor once he kisses her eyes and slightly moves back. It's only then that she takes a step forward to show him how much in love she is with him. She cups his face in her hand, lets him feel that love lifts herself and kisses his forehead. A Kiss on the forehead symbolizes comfort, respect and love. She not only conveyed her love but also told him through actions that he was her pride. It's a very protective way saying "We'll be together forever".
What followed was the the the most amazing scene and according to me the highlight of all the foreplay and kisses and that classical music "Dheem thana" just took the passion shown in the scene to a newer level. The camera does not show Rudra kissing Paro's neck or nuzzling as such; we see that he blows away the cotton lock which was resting on her collar bone and I found it way more sensual than actually kissing it. Paro standing on Rudra's feet has kinda become their signature style and when it sets your screen on fire every time it's done I say bring it on!!! Unable to bear the way he was making her go weak she climbs upon his feet, holds the collar of his kurta tightly and simply enjoys the moment.
Daadi chubti hai: CLASSIC and very Original. That one line simply added to making the whole hubby-wife angle more realistic. So Kudos!!! Even Rudra smiled when she said that probably for the innocent way she said ya because he was reminded of how he teased her with his beard just that morning Paro complained about the same thinking that he was asleep. That followed by the almost liplock...Oh Yes!! I would call that an almost liplock because the scene was too intense and the proximity freaking unbelievable; was like the perfect way to end it.
The Actors: I expect Ashish to go out of his way and deliver his best, his 200% in such scenes which he did or if you ask me he did more than what I expected him to. But simply put he is an amazing actor and one who knows to use his strengths like eyes, expression and body language to adapt to that particular scene really well. It was not much surprising for me at when he delivered Rudra flawlessly.
Coming to Sanaya- Now she literally took me by surprise because honestly I did not expect Sanz to deliver what was expected of her with equal fervor.
** Disclaimer** I am a fan of Sanaya but never shy away from criticizing her if she flails and to tell the truth I have never been impressed with her in romantic scenes. She nails emotional scenes, comedy, anger etc but I could never connect with her when it came to romance. However Firday episode changed that for me entirely!!!
Sanaya is very comfortable with flaunting her midriff and waist and why not when she has a good one. Even in her last show there was a kamarbandh sequence which she did with utmost east. So I was quite cool with the field day Rudra was having by playing with his fingers on her midriff and waist...it did not essentially make me go all ga-ga but the way she enacted the whole forehead kissing scene, the standing on top of Rudra's feet, held him by his collar, gave that choked voice because she was effected by him, with the right expressions, the perfect body language and feel...I literally said the words "Sanz you are on fire" out loud. There isn't one thing I would change about the way Sanaya enacted Paro. She was amazing and gave equal takkar to Ashish.
Kudos to the makers for thinking out of the box because Hindi shows mein 98% of the time it's about foreplay and mostly it's seen and been there done that types. This means that, beyond a point there is nothing that we can expect which is new. But this here they completely nailed it!!!!
@ jyoti06 Jyo 🤗...you were right, ever since I saw the episode I have been itching to write this one.
Cheers Vij :-)
Anupamaa
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
