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Kunj Sarna is a character that has been introduced from the start as being a morally good man. He is someone who will go through many adversities by forces that might internal or external in order to do the right thing.
From his entry, we saw him being chased by a mob who had considered him to be a thief. However, it was shortly revealed to us that he is not a thief and rather he was running to get the inhaler that an elderly woman had needed for her severe condition. This instance can be considered to be an essential foreshadowing of the many trials and obstacles that Kunj will have to face. He is a man who will constantly be questioned by the people around him while he attempts to be on the moral path.
This is further proved by the many times that he has tried to help Twinkle. In his attempts to save Twinkle from the abuse she was receiving, Kunj has been physically beaten up and has had his integrity be questioned. However, he has always come out as the greater man and has constantly risen in the eyes of Leela whose belief that Kunj is the right man for Twinkle, gets resolved each time.
The defining moment that solidified this notion was when Kunj climbed up the spiritual stairs on his knees. There was absolutely no need for him to do so. He could have allowed Leela to continue with her vow or have dissuaded her from doing so. He could have taken her to another equally spiritual location and got the blessings for Twinkle from there. But, he did not allow Leela's vow to be broken, but rather completed it for her. He respected the motherly love that Leela had for her daughter and honored it in the best way that he could. Through this, Kunj's piety increased and he was risen to a high platform which one could say is equivalent to being almost divine.
The reasoning behind Kunj's virtuous character is a factor of many things. One of the key elements of this however, is the abusive family that he has been raised in. Constantly viewing his mother be insulted and abused by his father has created a protective instinct in Kunj. He has an automatic respect for all women, regardless of their age, class, race etc. Being unable to do much to help his own mother out, Kunj reaches out to the other women and fulfills the duty that he is unable to at home, in the social sphere. This is why he has had a strong reaction to Twinkle's refusal to stand up to her abuser, and to Leela's strong motherly love. He is attracted to these things in an intimate level.
It is also why he hasn't ever forced Alisha to change her perspective on their relationship. Rather, he has always attempted to win her heart like a gentleman and wait for her to change her thinking. He has never tried to force his will onto hers but has rather given Alisha the space that she needs and has allowed her to be her own woman. He has never tried to change her to fit into the relationship and neither has he.
Women in general have a profound effect on Kunj. It has been shown how he has stood up for them, loved them, respected and even honored them. He understands that there are women out there who are not good at heart, but he has never surrounded himself by them. Instead he has tried to mend their wrong doings and ease out situations that could have gone horribly wrong by their taunts.
He is not a man that resorts to violence for a matter that could be dealt with in a calm and logical manner. He only succumbs to it when he is provoked hard enough and that too, only if it involves another man. But even those fights have been issued around women and the wrongs being committed on them. Other than that, Kunj is a man that sticks strongly to his principles and values.
That is, until he is betrayed.
What is shown is that Kunj's inner strength comes from the people that he loves and values the most in his life. His mother, Alisha, and now to some extent, Leela.
Alisha is the woman with whom that he had fallen in love with and had wished to spend his entire life with. Living on the values instilled by his mother, he had hoped that Alisha would one day love him for who he is and the principles that he holds dear to himself. However, when he found out that she was a materialistic woman who only loved him for his assets, he was deeply hurt. He had failed to present himself for who he truly was and couldn't get the woman that he loved to see the good qualities within him.
It is the first time that the virtuous man sways from his moral path and takes upon the life of vice. He gets seduced by alcohol to soothe his pain away and in return ends up being the victim of a heinous tragedy. His one mistake effectively ruined the life of another woman but also ruined the high reputation that he had created for himself. His moral judgment was tampered and he was unable to defend the honor of himself and his fiancee's.
It was merely the first time that he had succumbed to a vice like drinking, but yet it had such profound consequences on his life. This is in effect demonstrating that for a person to be considered morally good, they must abstain from all practices that are considered to be sinful or a vice. That in order for them to be considered virtuous and pious, they must suffer through all the hardships posed by external forces and face them continuously and persistently without falling prey towards the darkness.
Indulging in one act of vice, Kunj has tarnished his name and his moral reputation. What remains to be seen is whether he will be able to regain the status of a virtuous man or if he has lost that title for good.
Jhanak
Shiv Shakti
