Crisp Bytes SC - 11th Sept 13 - Page 7

It also compelled me to go on StarPlayer and have my darshan of this Iconic "Gopi Vahu" that everyone talks about... And, I am left certain of two things now... Our blind and cloying SD is more dangerous and terrifying than Kokila... Because with SD appearances are decieving as are her sickly sweet talks... And second, there are two contenders for the coveted title of Gopi Vahu here... Both somebody-show-her-a-goddamn-mirror/keep-her-the-hell-away-from-pen-and-paper Kumud and our kya cheez, one piece/Kabhi Rambo, Kabhi Dumbo Mr. Saras err, Navinchandra. Our male lead has been utterly emasculated... Bas chudiyan pahene ki derr hai. Ghar mein, rasoi mein, sab ke kamre mein toh woh hamesha ghumta rehta tha, aaj kal curtains ke pichhhe bhi chup kar, Kalika ko gazzab ka takkar dene laga hai. Teej ke din, sab auraton ke beech mein, woh ghar mein kya kar raha tha? Kalika se war of words and don't-touch-my-paper khelne ke liye ruka tha? Isn't he supposed to be BD's political advisor, W*F is Saras' role anymore? Saras' Kumud-bhakti is effing him up. Stand this man in front of a mirror and he won't recognise himself, let alone his principles. Dare to immerse him in Saraswati river and his mother will drag him down with her to give him the thrashing of his life.

My words come back to haunt me now... When I said, "no man can walk out on his own story" never in my darkest nightmares did I ever think we would be witnessing this... When a MIL asks everyone for privacy so that she can have few words with her DIL, that SARASWATICHANDRA would stand on an elevated plane (where the hell was Saras placed, I could not figure out), undeterred and listen on unapologetically in a strictly private conversation like it was his godforsaken entitlement! Kumud ke saaye se woh, Kumud ka pooch bann gaya hai. Today he insulted the intelligence and courtesy of all graduates. Sach mein Arshi ji, Harvard nahi woh 'jhumri tallaiya' se hi hai... Where ever that might be. I am left mortified for GR today. We know the frickin' magnificient heights that man is capable of, and we see the dirt he is reduced to. And it frickin' hurts 💔

Pramad... Seems to have become the new 'golden boy' of Saraswatichandra. His 'woe is me' tale has apparently made inroads into a lot of hearts... His near-rape-attempt is being passed off as a 'test', an instance of him calling Kumud's 'bluff'... I wonder, had Kumud not pushed him away in abject terror and threatened him with waking the whole household, how far would have Pramad taken this 'test' to prove his point? All the way to a forced consummation maybe... Or would he have suddenly displayed conscience and backed off from Kumud? An enraged (who knows what talk he and BD had before he came into room), fully inebriated drunkard, always used to forcing women, would he have even remembered that he was 'testing' Kumud? There are no lines, ties and binds for Pramad (he said it, not me)... In his world, maryada does not even exist so why would he spare a thought to whether he erased a line or brutally crossed it? Another raging comparison is that of Alcohol vs Milk... I have been forced to drink milk many many times... As kids we all have. But being a teetotaler, if I was forced to drink Alcohol just because I compelled someone to drink milk... I would report that demented bas***d to the authorities and ensure he was locked up in a psychiatric facility for a good period of his sorry existence. How can that even classify as 'tit for tat'?

What intrigues me particularly is the Pramad and Kalika equation. He forces her, he never regards her with affection, he degrades her just as he does all others. He asserts his masculinity and superiority over her, time and time again. Fulfils his carnal urges with her whenever he is so inclined. Theirs is an equation based on need. Kalika needs Pramad because he is her promise of a stable future, perhaps. More so, he represents her 'hard work'. Kalika has cultivated Pramad, but not to the point where Pramad is her ghulam. She incites him and pours poison into him yes, but Kalika pays for it as well, in her own way. Pramad treats her like shit, not like the Queen of his heart. But Pramad needs her, because she is the only one who calls him 'chote seth' with some semblance of a true regard. She runs to tend to his mundane chores. She bolsters his ego, and the megalomanic Pramad thrives on that. He is so insecure that he needs propping up every damn minute that he breathes. And Kalika does that, so what if she has her own agenda in all of this. She uses him, knowing that she is being used. It is a mutual arrangement they got going on.

Pramad's upbringing... With a mother like SD is there any wonder, why the brute is so messed up? The only thing mommy dearest is any good at is delegating responsibilities, for life. SD is a 'user'... She first used Kalika, and now she is using Kumud, washing her hands off Pramad in the process. She is only content at throwing the book of Deity names on him... Devta khatam ho jayege, Saubhagya Devi ki koshish nahi ki Pramad ko har bhagwan ka roop banaye. Another thing about SD is that she edits and censors a lot. She is of the sweep-the-elephant-under-the-carpet-variety, and she is very calculative. She has Kumud right where she wants her, binded... And she keeps fortifying those binds with emotional blackmailing and periodic reminders of her own failure as a Mother. To prop Kumud who only needs a pet project... Then you just wind her up, and watch her go! Like we all saw during Janmamshtmi. Even today, Kumud says she did not keep fast but she hasn't eaten yet either. She will keep the fast. The very fact that she has let Mata SD down, will make Kumud go against what she knows is right and keep the fast. In coercion. And Mata SD will inflate like a balloon at that.

Best part of today: Kumud got compared to Pramad... After Saras, I knew issi ki hi baari thhi, thank you CV's for being so utterly predictably moronic and not dissapointing me. Pramad is the benchmark of humiliation, messed-up-ness and general wastrel-giri... Kumud, you made the club girl! 👏 Btw, notice Saras' expressions at that point? Like he could not believe Kumud was being allowed entry into his "special" club. Saras' hurt at not being 'exclusive' anymore was clearly palpable. Bravo 👏

I liked Kusum's lines today... The one about SD, that she is blind to the faults of her son. And not only blind but in denial. Never a truer word was spoken. I also noticed Kusum's lines to SD in tuesday's epi where she said, "Main apni didi ke liye kucch bhi kar sakti hoon"... Upon repeated watch, also found it intriguing in Danny's entry scene that the tulsi was being battered, by the toofan. Mercilessly. Coupled with all those mentions of the toofan, the tulsi being made to face the brunt of the storm, I wondered if it related to Kumud and what was happening to her then (forced encounter and all), but now, I am taking a wider optic. Tulsi ghar se bahar rakhte hai, and right now not one but two daughters are away from house, Kumud is facing the brunt already so could it be Kusum's turn next? I have a feeling SD is going to 'use' Kusum in her deceptive style. When Kusum said those lines, you could almost see SD's ancient mind gears laboriously whirring. Kusum is going to be her 'security' and Kusum will be Kumud's 'Achilles Heel' from now on, now that Kumud has dared to go against SD's sweetly-ordered decree. SD is wife of BD and Mother of Alak. Image matters. She will avenge for the slight in front of all pados ki ladies now. Picture Kumud as a timid, drenched mouse who has dared to squeak 'Ailaan-e-jung'... Unluckily for her, SD the fat-cat heard that squeak. She will be more partial to Kalika now... Because Kumud's name has started to fade away from her good books. Come on, equating Kumud to Pramad, SD couldn't have made her dissapointment less clearer. That gives Kumud, the project-queen another mission to complete... Bring Mommy ji, back on-side 🤢

Kumud... You said it clear and your words made the fateful crack that broke the mirror of SC for me. Kya jeet kisi ke liye itna mayne rakhta hai ki uss silsile ko barkarar rakhne ke liye koi apna wajood tak kho sakta hai? Saras was right, it is not about winning or losing. Not after that night. Kumud is used to winning but what will be the cost here... The games she is playing... The other player (Pramad) plays with no regard for rules, no sense of sportsmanship, the umpire (SD) has even decreed them private bedroom games, for husband and wife's eyes only. The next time Pramad decides to 'retaliate', whom will Kumud come running to? Saras again, Saras will take action, his brain momentarily activated by the sight of some more new bruises, maybe torn clothes this time around... After all the 'game' has to be taken to a new level... And SD will be sitting there with her fingers in her ears singing 'NA NA NA' like 1D... and our golden 'snitch' will again disclose all to BD who will again raise his hand on Pramad and then Saras will go talk sense to Kumud again, and Madam ji will turn his brains into mush once more. Saras goes into hibernation, the beta Version for TRPs will again return this time to ensure Kalika rasoi mein kuch 'pakaa' nahi rahi ho, while Kumud goes back to her notorious drawing board. Honestly, Saras seems more concerned these days over what Kalika is cooking up... No wonder Pramad feels that twinge of jealousy when Kalika mentions Navin, because frankly Saras seems obsessed with the naukrani and his favorite pasttime lately is glaring at her, scarily like Kokila ben, I just realised 😕

Ergo, Now I See You Kumud, and I don't like what I see. I don't like Saras standing there beside you. I don't like the fact that you dominate Saras, when his happiness lies in what matters to you, and your idea of happy times is rather effed up and warped. Saare fasaad ki jadd tum ho, just because tum haar nahin sakti. Mera bharm toot gaya. I'm not sticking around for this, call me back when Pramad is dead and the story of Saraswatichandra starts to again resemble even faintly its inspiration. Call me back when Kumud loses, not just this mission, but spectacularly effs up most of her life. Call me back when Saras' regrets touch the stratosphere... Call me back when Saraswatichandra dares to stand up to Kumudsundari instead of pandering to her like a devoted puppy. Call me back to welcome the Kumud who forfeited Shiv's blessings just to satiate the thirst of the poor and hungry. This Kumud who will, I'm very sure, keep the fast for mommy ji, in essence going against all her convictions, her sense of wrong and right, and insulting ritual in effect, is not what I signed up for.

Granted that sequence between GR and JW was back-to-back stellar, but most of the times now both our leads are on auto-pilot, because this farce they can put out even in their sleep. From role models, they became caricatures and now Saras and Kumud have become the butt of common jokes. The afore-mentioned sequence, was an oasis in the looming desert... The search and desire for that oasis does not lure me anymore. I never was that kind of viewer who watched it for leads 'chemistry'... And I am happy to report that even after making drastic exceptions, I still am not that kind of viewer. A product cuts it for me only when it works as a whole. GR and JW, though formidable, ain't enough to keep me glued to SC. And SC is not worth making exceptions for anymore.

Kala ki kami nahin hai iss duniya mein, aur naa hi logo ki jo sacchi kalaa ki kadar kare... So a middle-finger-salute to SphereOrigins and StarPlus. Thank you for brilliantly f**king this show up. May you continue to make the TRP aunty's happy... They must be positively reeling from today's utterly break-taking episode... All those stealth moves with the notepaper, the way Kalika tackled Saras, all edge-of-the-seat drama with Kumud partaking the 'poison apple'... They will again tune in for your next paisa vasool episode, but I won't and I'm sure so won't a lot more others. Because paisa vasooli ke chakkar mein bahut kucch aur khona padta hai, and baazigar sirf ekk hi hota hai. Aur SC toh Titanic hai, jiska muqaddar already decide ho chuka hai.

Toh Saraswatichandra ke naam pe kahaani koi bhi likh lo, viewers ki andhi chahat mein kitne bhi compromises kar lo, yeh sab kar ke, Saras-Kumud ki dastaan phir se amar kar lo... Kyunki amar hone se pehle mitti mein milana bahut zarooori hota hai, yeh baat aap logon se behtar aur kaun jaanta hai. Difference only is that characters pass on, but you commit prime-time creative manslaughter.

Final Thoughts: Alvida, SC. Khud ko iss layak bhi nahi choda ki aapko ekk aakhri salaam bhej sake. I don't believe in hollow gestures, you see.

A final 👏 for your scintillating posts on this CB forum...

P.s. I especially enjoyed your newfound Saras-Kokilaben equation, having caught a few glimpses of that matriarch here and there... Priceless, that's one i shall never be able to resist chuckling over!