saraswatichandra- my take

I am new to this forum and just caught up with all the episodes of SC. I may have missed out some points while watching so many episodes all together, so pardon me if I miss out on a point. Feel free to comment and share your views.

disclaimer - I haven't read the original novel ( though my mom has) and I haven't watched the movie either. So my take is simply based on what I saw on the show.

I think SLB has done a great job with finding an actor that suits this role to the T. Even though the set-up of the show is in the present time period and not the era of the book, to find someone who looks like a Saraswatichandra ( a name that is archaic for a young man in today's times) and with characteristics that are so unique and not like the typical 20's male from an urban city. Gautam Rode does a splendid job portraying the multi-layered emotions of Saras. He was a bit stiff in the beginning but has gone on to do a marvelous job of emoting every scene in a most realistic way.

As for the character SC, one of the nicely sketched out characters, with a great mix of complexities that I find very interesting to watch. His start on the show was handled very well, with a man who was strong, independent and steady headed, in spite of all the anguish and pain inside. With time, they developed his character on all the issues of his past haunting him, to his turmoil at accepting love, and his inner helplessness at the relationship of his step mom and dad, as well as the sadness + anger of his distant relationship with his father. His falling in love with Kumud was shown realistically to an extent. However, they did stretch that whole chaar kadam aage peeche nonsense for a long time. Finally, when he did fall in love, they did tear away from his initial personality to show the usual madly in love lover boy that every show has. From the roaming behind Kumud like a puppy, to trying to catch a glimpse of her every now and then, losing focus of everything around, forgetting "maryaada" and " sanskaars" ( I am only saying this as this was shown as a major trait in Saras). It did not match his character, but I guess shows try to cash in on a romantic jodi with such sequences that raise TRP's, so I give it to them. It can also be that being in love brought out a childish side in him, a liberated freedom to do as his heart says without thinking too much. although, even for that, Saras's character was stretched a little too far from his initial persona.

Post his returning to Dubai, and the whole finding out about his mom's letter, Saras was shown brilliantly by making him flawed and helpless once again, drowning in the depths of his despair. His dialogue to Sunny about being unworthy of relationships and enveloping himself in the darkness alone was insight into his trapped feelings since childhood and the trauma of watching his mother die and living an unloved life after that. You felt his pain and you understood why he was so afraid of committment ot Kumud. His life took a 180 that night finding out that his father's extra-marital affair was what triggered his mom's suicide. And a childhood that was spent with the same traumatic memories without anyone to put balm on them or soothe his anxieties or nightmares. One can only imagine what a child of his age would have gone through and how hardened and lost he might have grown up to be. I expected him to break off his marriage to Kumud somehow. He was back to being lost, helpless and alone. Out of his love for Kumud, did not want to subject her to his hardened stance on life once again. He saw no hope to re-suscitate happiness inside him again. There was so much pent up inside him from the time his mom died, to his father's indifference nad Gumaan's wickedness. How would anyone understand? The only thing that changed his mind was when Sunny said that he would be doing the same to Kumud that his dad did with his mom. That was what triggered a sudden shake to reality and the present. That is when he ran to apologize and marry her. Although, when she was crying on the phone and telling him that she would die without him and pleaded with him through heart-wrenching cries, It was difficult for me to grasp his unshaken indifference. All he kept saying was about himself, how he can't do this and can't do that. In that one moment, even with my sympathy, I felt angry and thought he was being so selfish. But saras's character is made such that you are always in two feelings about him. One that sympathizes with a boy who has grown up with this trauma, and one angry and disappointed with a grown man who refuses to get out of his past with the help of people who so love him.

Here, I would like to mention, that his relationship with Dugba is shown beautifully but they do not draw upon this completely as they should have. She could have been very intrumental in his overcoming all of the past. But when situations arose, they simply did not show this bond between them when it was needed most. Their scenes were very worth watching esp for the acting and content of the scene.

saras in that sense is majorly flawed, but with good reason. Hence for me SC is a very very interesting character to watch. He is afraid to accept love, he is afraid of committment, he is impulsive and drowns easily in his past, he takes time to get out of it and embrace reality. all of these are very natural and realistic traits in a person. Saras meditating and being spiritual was thought by some to be OTT, but it blends with his personality as shown here. He needed both of them to calm his mind from memories and nightmares. His focus also stems from here.

I thought showing PMS was very out of character for Saras and Kumud both. More so Saras, who clutched on to sanskaars and maryaada as a token from his late mother. The scene was very confusing and totally out of sync and very unconvincing. It was also total lack of chemistry from the actress's side that made it so unfathomable. In my mind, they ruined Saras a little by showing him to weak in the face of physical needs. It was contradictory to his firm and unflinching morals. For me the whole running behind Kumud was also a bit OTT and unlike his character. I would have liked them to continue showing depth in their love like drawing on their immense understanding of each other, him opening up to Kumud about past wounds, etc. Instead they focused on romantic sequences and no real maturation of their love. But now with the post marriage drama, I think the old saras is back.

He is going to stay on and be an invisible support for Kumud. This is his love for her and also his prayashchit to cause her this fate. It is a beautiful track acc to me and this only makes their tragedy so much more cruel for viewer's. I wish they hadn't shown the PMS, because I think with characters Like Saras and Kumud, one does not need physical manifestation of love, they should have shown love in it's pure and simple form. This would have strengthened their characters for me even more and the love story too. Kumud got herself into this mess called Pramad ( I absolutely sympathize with her, but for her haste desicion), thanks to her pain and loss and subsequent anger and pride. She knows this too, and hence she has lost all her earlier strength of character. She is suffering because :

5) She prefers this torture from her husband, instead of him being a decent guy because she knows it would not be easy for her to accept a loving husband, after so much pain caused by the man she loves so much. It would have been agonizing to give in to a good husband;s advances and to try and love him back. This suffering is easier for her than to fight the feelings for Saras.

This is just my take. I personally find SC more interesting as a character than Kumud, and ofcourse this is his story, so it makes sense. There are a lot of inconsistencies in the show like all other soaps. I had higher expectations from SLB. My mom thinks the show is nothing like the original classic she read in her college years. However, the show works for me, because of the superlative acting and a great star cast. I have been a fan of Ragini Shah since her theatre days and even characters like Kumud's mom, Monica Bedi, etc are doing a good job, and not OTT like other shows.

Gautam Rode is fantastic and Jennifer Winget is good. She did a great job on the night Saras broke the marriage. He shines on his scenes with his nightmares about his mom's suicide and the time he sees Kumud across the havan.

Sorry for the long rant! Just wanted to drop in and put a word on the form, but went overboard. :(

Agree with you in a way, but still the pms was rushed to my view, it is a big step to take for a girl who has lived in the type of environment like Kumud. I also believe that it was not natural the way it was shot, Kumud was too awkward and thus Gautam also looked not comfy.

U sually when you are at this stage, you are always touching each other, holding hands, finding excuses to be near each other, and we saw this only on the part of Saras, not Kumud.

Shana,

I have no issue with PMS being shown. IT goes against his character only because of how he was shown. Was on his way to being a brahmachari, always talking about sanskaars of his mom, and his resistance to love. He kept so stoic on Kumud's chaar kadam peeche, so firm on his No to kumud, and so stable minded on not falling in love. Then, they show him to totally lose control. Although, I wuld agree that Saras and Kumud both are shown so impulsive in their decisions that PMS was a natural thing between them to show.

What I do feel is, that this kind of physical intimacy comes after a lot of comfort level and understanding of each other. So if they were showing this, they should have shown a little maturation between them. Especially with regards to Saras opening up about his childhood wounds to the woman who he claims is the only one to understand him. To talk about issues, past, Kumud's rationale and thinking. They did not show that, which is why you can see the mis-communication between them today. If they had shown this aspect to their growing relationship, PMS would have felt as the natural next step to it.

Also, the scene was so abrupt and out of nowhere. The scene looked awkward too. Kumud did not have to initiate anything, but at least she should look like in love with the man. She looked too out of it and uncomfortable. But it's fine. I mean they can't show a certain level of intimacy on national TV, but emotion wise there was definitely a lot lacking. Plus the next two episodes that Kumud cried were so OTT. THey did not match the scene at all.

And post PMS, the couple should have grown closer because now they were completely aware of one another and completely with each other. Yet, the CV's lacked in showing that intimacy in their verbal dialogues or their scenes. They had to become closer and instead we saw random scenes where it looked like Saras took a step forward but Kumud took one back. That is why the whole thing came off so unconvincing to me.

THe PMS angle reflects relationships today, but it had to come with a progressive understanding between them too, which was not shown. That is why I thought it was out of line!