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Today's was a hot-sweet episode, with the heat of PaRud's confrontation tempered perfectly by the sweetness of Paro and Ranawat's conversation over the rotis.
First we got the face-off between PaRud. Both sides were riled and spoiling for a fight. Paro from yet another soul-crushing deception, and Rudra from the frustration of yet another ego-shattering defeat laced with the anxiety over Paro's disappearance. Both convinced that they were in the right. It was a volatile mix looking for an excuse.
It was Rudra's return to his room that struck the spark. At the sight of Paro, the girl he'd been hunting high and low for the last seven hours, sitting there as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, Rudra's temper exploded. He read her the riot act, his voice rising: "Do you think it's a joke? Why did you come back?...Look at me when I'm talking to you."
At first he couldn't make out her reply, muffled as it was by his hand. Then she yelled back: "Where would I go?" And his fingers fell away from her chin. Starved of oxygen, his rage dimmed. It didn't matter because now it was her anger that flared, "...Your BSD killed my parents...Bindi...my husband...so where would I go? Once again you've orphaned me!"
At that guilt firing his temper, he told her off yet again. Foolish girl! She was not an orphan. Why hadn't she gone to her Mamisa? He tried to bite it off but it was too late. In his turmoil he'd blurted out his part in her deception.
Now she rose to her full height and told him that she knew all about his trap. His jibe had an ugly edge to it: "So you know everything! The girl has become a woman! What have you come back to prove? That you were a step ahead? Come to fly the flag of your victory?"
That was when Paro read him the riot act. She flayed him comprehensively, telling him that when the day came that he'd come to her pleading, begging for forgiveness, she wouldn't forgive him because he'd stolen her life, her happiness, her dreams. And then she vowed to stand up to him, his harassment, his coercion, his violence, his abuse.
Incensed, Rudra pronounced her a criminal and the room her prison. Paro was not intimidated. They faced off, each mirroring the other's fury. Both ready to battle. He wound a length of rope around her wrists. "You want to fight," he bit out, "we'll fight. Let's see who wins." "Let's see," she threw back at him. So he tightened the cuffs until she winced and stormed off.
Rudra's day was about to get worse. At work, his CO raked him over the coals for his failed mission, and told him in no uncertain terms that he needn't expect any help from the BSD in the future. He'd have to handle the girl himself.
Conversely, Paro received a reprieve. Rudra's father was struggling to make rotis but refused her help. He liked burnt rotis, he said, because they warded off the evil eye. She saw through him. And, rags of her earlier defiance fluttering, she bent and turned off the stove.
He offered to undo her rope cuffs, but what was the point? The Jallad would tie her up again. Ranawat made some unthreatening small talk and put her at ease. So that she didn't defy him when he asked her to make rotis for herself. And then he slipped in under her guard and asked her why she'd returned. Was she naive or oversmart? At that her mind flashed back to Rudra's threat to destroy her village if she committed suicide. He must have read the fear and defiance in her eyes because he pronounced her "beyond ingenuous".
Then he tested her: what would she do if someone from her village came looking for her and asked her to go home? At that her head whipped around, and her eyes lit with eagerness. No, she hadn't given that question any thought, he said.
So, Paro shored up her courage to fight the Jallad. No more tears. Just faith in the Lord as she prepared for battle - if only the Lord would give her some sign that she was doing the right thing. The wish had barely formed when Ranawat came to her bearing the Lord's blessings.
Returning home that night, Rudra was surprised to see soft, perfectly cooked rotis set out for his dinner. Excellent! His father, who'd made such a fuss about returning home, had no problems eating roti cooked by that woman. He flung that one at Ranawat as he broke off a piece. "Not that woman," Ranawat said with satisfaction, "this girl makes great food, that too with her hands tied."
Appetite gone, Rudra's hand retraced its route to the plate. But the old man was on a roll. "I offered to untie her, but she didn't see the point because the Jallad would tie them when he returned." At this Rudra threw down the plate. But Ranawat carried on regardless, "See, there's someone other than me who knows you as well as I do. And she cooks well too. Marry her!"
Today's was an engaging episode, with a lot to offer. The PaRud confrontation was everything the precap hinted at and more. It's good to see Rudra affected by Paro's accusations. It's about time that he thought through the consequences of his actions. Paro has him completely off-balance now. And that's likely to continue. Rudra's fallen out of favour with his CO, and his father seems on the verge of migrating to Team Paro. The Paro-Ranawat conversation over the rotis was lovely, but thought provoking.
👏👏👏 to the CVs for a dramatic episode filled with softer and lighter moments. And for repeatedly contrasting Dilsher and Danveer's treatment of their sons and DIL/DIL-to-be. Today it was Paro-Ranawat juxtaposed with Mythili- Danveer. Some very nice lines throughout. But none more dhamaakedaar than "Marry her!" 😆 (Oh why did they stop the episode there?!!!)
Acting continued to be above par. Ashish was superb, portraying the many shades of anger in his war of words with Paro. Sanaya's defiance in the face of Rudra's temper was a welcome surprise. 👏👏👏 to both and to Kali Prasad Mukherjee for continuing to delight as Rudra's father. The supporting cast were believable.
So Paro's cover is blown!! And the Thakurain doesn't have fond memories of Chandangarh!! Monday promises to be even more interesting.
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