Baldev's character progression, or lack of

Hi all, I'm new to this forum, and I haven't used IF in about 9 months but this shows really grown on me so I decided to make a post.

Okay, first off, the main reason my mother and I watch Veera is definitely because of Baldev. He is just ridiculously hilarious, that we can't help but love him.

But that said, this is where the problem lies. The development of Baldev's character has seemingly went out of the window. He was a bratty child who most people disliked in childhood who didn't really change all that much into adulthood, except for maybe a deeper respect for his sibling relationship.

There hasn't been much development of his character at all, like to the point where despite the fact that Veeba is my OTP, I sometimes can't fathom how the hell Veeba even came into being. Even debating his role as a comic relief is pointless because he so obviously is.

The thing that probably irritates me the most in his development, or lack of, is definitely the 180's he pulls. You get glimpses of the real Baldev every now and again - for instance, Baldev (the one who felt all the pain in the world as Veera hugged him tight when her her world collapsed in on itself), Baldev (the one who ran to the airport, desperate to stop her leaving because he understood the delicateness of her family situation), Baldev (the one that understood her deepest wish, what she has been yearning for her whole life). And then subsequently after these scenes, we get a huge slap on the face by way of an equivalent 'get-rich-scheme' of 'how to get Veera to marry me' orchestrated by the two cronies.

It's like being taken two steps forward then another step back in terms of character progression because you finally think that Baldev's made some progress - he's starting to realise what love is, what relationships are, heck, what marriage is, but then he's back to square one. And if it wasn't so darn adorable, and the fact that us as viewers knowing that somewhere there are feelings for Veera in Baldev's heart, the whole plotline comes off as harassment.

There could be so many other things they could have Baldev doing, rather than just spending the bulk of his time scheming in ways to get Veera to marry him. I don't know, maybe because I sway slightly towards feminism, but the whole concept of a guy scheming to claim a girl (it's been done on many serials on SP and other networks) is completely abhorrent. It's probably because Baldev is a village boy, where the social norms of genders being relaxed and carefree around each other doesn't exist so he has to resort to these tactics in order to 'woo the girl', but the whole idea in itself is deeply unsettling.

I'm not Indian, but it really startles me, particularly in regards to the conditions of women's rights in some places in India which have been publicised in the world media, that you can have a show where you can have undertones in which a lead female character is subject to harassment, torment, chiding, etc and then to be shown falling for her tormenter, and this is the important bit, when her tormenter hasn't changed all that much - she still is being harassed to marry him, now just in a more delicate form of 'challenges'.

What I would've wanted for Baldev was to not be a comic relief, an to actually have plot lines with substance that tie in to character development. Like at least by now, Baldev should have realised the reality of marriage - a perfect example being Veera's second challenge; he had it reiterated by not only Veera, but his possible mother-in-law and great aunt-in-law that for him to even start thinking about marriage, there needs to be some sort of financial stability. I don't like how Baldev's character is sometimes displayed as a bit of a goof, and in Veera's own words - 'duffer'. He's not a complete idiot, he does have some inkling that maybe he can't rely on becoming the village head, so why the writers write him in a way where he is completely oblivious to his own personal situation is beyond me.

As cute as the challenges are in terms of getting some really adorable Veeba scenes, the writers could've spent the time more better on actually doing some substantial development on Baldev. He can't be the village idiot/joker for the rest of his life, he can't keep going through life in such a narcissistic demeanour thinking he is God's great gift to Earth (which can be debated because Vishal so could be, but anyway); I just wish we could've seen something more from him. A better plot line would have been Baldev realising his feelings for Veera, rather than just leaving it to guess for the viewers because for all we know, he may still be deluding himself into thinking Veera is head over heals in love with him and playing hard to get rather than acknowledging his own feelings. Carrying on from that, him realising that marriage is no game and that to win Veera over, there are certain steps that he needs to take in order to better himself. (Like getting a job... He needs to be able to support himself before he can even start to think about supporting another.)

I get the feeling that the writers are going to keep going down this track where Veera will start to fall for Baldev during these challenges, where it can be debated how far deep these changes in Baldev actually reach (I personally would argue that they're slightly cosmetic changes - the 100 rupees, he still is seemingly oblivious to the necessity of earning for himself rather than relying on daddy's wallet, and even what little bit of the third challenge we've seen is quite disappointing - he suspects the girl is being harassed but his first reaction is to help her out so he can win the challenge.)

I don't know, it frustrates me immensely when I see my favourite character not being used to his full potential. There's so much more that could be done, but we have to settle for cute but mediocre scenes (apart from the hug and the after anniversary questions). Anyway, this wasn't me bashing Baldev, but my disappointment at what he could have been and what they've made him in to; and I'm prone to ranting my plot/character frustrations which those that know me on here can testify to.

(On a slight tangent - exactly how do Billa and Jaggi even afford to spend all their time being unpaid minions of Baldev's?)

Agree with you. This character has a potential for a strong story still writers aren't justifying it. It has many layers but cvs have made him a clown and mostly using for fillers.
Like,you even i watch this show for Baldev nd VeeBa.
I am waiting for the day when Baldev will get justice and required screen space.

Exactly what we have been saying since months.. But the CVs just donot care 😒
So much can be done with this particular character..
Maybe they are too scared that this character will overshadow all the other characters in the show and hence he is being given such below par tracks 🤔 But Vishal is such an amazing actor that he makes even ordinary scenes look amazing !!
I hope the CVs wake up soon.. They need to realise they have such an awesome character (and an amazing actor playing that character) in their kitty that can make this show so much more interesting!! 😔

I agree with almost all your points here except for Baldev being just a comic relief Post leap he started off as a gray hero yet different from the rest of the angry young men. Bratty, witty, smart but not a cartoon. But he completely transformed into a comical eye candy courtesy the writers.
His character progression has been a complete disappointment. He is shown from other's perspective but not his. You have perfectly outlined my concern about Baldev's feelings for Veera. I expected him to be a flirt and a guy who wouldn't shy away from confessing his love or wooing his girl. But only after he fell in love and fought with the idea of being in love with his enemy. We still can't be sure whether it is love. I am expecting a track for Baldev falling in love/realizing his feelings and fighting with them. That can happen only if he gets out of this 'marriage obsession'.🤔
I am also watching this show only for Veeba and Baldev's character progression. And needless to Vishal is perfect as Baldev.

I kinda agree on the fact that the writers could have done a better work with the progression of Baldev's character. However I am still not disappointed. This is what I think...

As a kid, Baldev was more of a spoilt brat. As he grew up, his nature remained the same but he understood the importance and depth of some things, like you said, having a better bonding with his sister as well as being dedicated to his pind and respecting everyone. He became a man of principles who always stays in a certain limit in everything, even in enmity.

His sensitive side came in focus when Veera shared the biggest sorrow of her life. From that moment, something changed in him. He started experiencing a completely new feeling - something he never was known of. Yet, being true to his character, he could not accept that he was falling for Veera but made himself believe that she loved him and he was just protecting her heart from breaking. Thus we see his caring heart. I felt at this point of story, he was more of a mixture of innocence and ego, where his ego would not let him accept his newly developed feelings and his innocence would make him care for Veera and "save" her from "heartbreak".

Slowly and steadily, at both conscious and subconscious level, his feelings kept developing and eventually were on their way to turn to love. Here we see a new side of him - being lovestruck! Again being true to his character, his attitude of claiming her as his is just perfect. I don't think he's someone who would fight with his own feelings. His nature is more of like, if he wants something, he would have it by hook or by crook. This is why now we see him doing everything to make her his.

At the same time, there's a different side to him which knows how to fall in love and care for that person. This side of him is mostly subconscious since he's not a kind of person who can express love and be soft all the time. In fact I'm sure even he himself isn't even aware of the fact that he can be like this too. It just comes naturally in him, but only in different situations when he's being pushed to an extreme level due to Veera's ignorance. This is when we see him being understanding and talking sensibly and maturely.

Therefore his attitude of getting what he wants and his sensitive, affectionate side are his different shades at the same time on a similar level. While one comes in front, which is mostly his attitude, the other thats his soft side remains hidden. But one fact stays the same - he loves her :)

I don't feel at all that his attitude takes him back to square one. It's just how HE IS. Being serious, matured and understanding are characteristics of him that he's still exploring which is why these aren't shown in him more often, but we do see these qualities in him as we see the intensity of his approach to Veera increasing. Earlier he had said to her that she'd be his in a funny way, but now things have definitely changed as we see him being very serious about her as the days are going.

By the way, I disagree that he's a comic relief. His antics are more humorous than comic. Yea he's a AYM and a brat, but even a brat can have some humorous situations in his life too 😆

And after writing all of these, I wonder if my rambling made sense... 🤔

Thank you for this topic post. Totally can relate to each and every word you wrote on Baldev. At this point I really cannot understand what can Veera see in him. Please do not get them married at this point as Baldev is not suitable for Veera. Please show Baldev grown as a person and also in life at least some stable income which he should realized he needs to earn and not be just on his dad's money. Long long way to go for Baldev to be suitable for Veera. Please I request CVs not to get them married or even Veera fallen for him which already it has started. Please stop it. Let Baldev realized what all life and marriage is all about and then only.

OMG why is it that only Baldev gets the long essays🤔..oh yeah bcoz cvs dnt give him long scenes😡

I agree with some of your points and disagree with others, the part I agree with his Baldev's character progression. The CVs do tend to take one step forward and then one step back in terms of his character progression and I can't stand that! Baldev is a multi layered character whose potential should be used to the fullest but at times CVs just don't seem to know what direction to take him and that is just sad

About the harassment, there is none. Veera and Baldev have been like this since childhood, its how their relationship has been built to pull each others legs, tease each other and have rights on the other. Baldev has never crossed the line with Veera nor would she ever let him because she is not that type of girl, she is more than capable of taking care of herself and wouldn't dare to have a man misbehave with her.

About the love realization, I am still holding out hope that those feelings come out during some sort of confrontation between the two. I believe that once this third challenge is complete Veera will reject Baldev which will lead to a fight of some sorts where Baldev will admit he's fallen for Veera.

You summed up pretty much what some of us have been saying all this time! Things that Baldev did were okay during the first few times because we just thought that it was his silly antics or something. There's a line between being cute and acting overly desperate. And the disappointment and frustration comes when the character crosses the line. And that sadly is the case with Baldev's character. His character needs major development and I really hope at least CVs do that correctly.

Originally posted by: sabeeha

It's like being taken two steps forward then another step back in terms of character progression because you finally think that Baldev's made some progress - he's starting to realise what love is, what relationships are, heck, what marriage is, but then he's back to square one. And if it wasn't so darn adorable, and the fact that us as viewers knowing that somewhere there are feelings for Veera in Baldev's heart, the whole plotline comes off as harassment.

What I would've wanted for Baldev was to not be a comic relief, an to actually have plot lines with substance that tie in to character development. Like at least by now, Baldev should have realised the reality of marriage - a perfect example being Veera's second challenge; he had it reiterated by not only Veera, but his possible mother-in-law and great aunt-in-law that for him to even start thinking about marriage, there needs to be some sort of financial stability. I don't like how Baldev's character is sometimes displayed as a bit of a goof, and in Veera's own words - 'duffer'. He's not a complete idiot, he does have some inkling that maybe he can't rely on becoming the village head, so why the writers write him in a way where he is completely oblivious to his own personal situation is beyond me.

As cute as the challenges are in terms of getting some really adorable Veeba scenes, the writers could've spent the time more better on actually doing some substantial development on Baldev.

👍🏼

Originally posted by: sabeeha

He can't be the village idiot/joker for the rest of his life, he can't keep going through life in such a narcissistic demeanour thinking he is God's great gift to Earth (which can be debated because Vishal so could be, but anyway); I just wish we could've seen something more from him.

😃

Originally posted by: sabeeha

(On a slight tangent - exactly how do Billa and Jaggi even afford to spend all their time being unpaid minions of Baldev's?)

😃