Hi guys, long post!
I have mentioned it briefly in another post but one of the reasons I find this slow burn of a love story done thru small gestures and subtle nuances quite enjoyable is the dichotomy between Mukhi and Aru. On the surface you have two totally opposite people, not only in terms of age but lifestyle, interests, everything, yet here we have two polar opposite beings still finding enough commonality in between them to foster a burgeoning love story. One of the things that draws me into their relationship is how Mukhi being age/experience wise older than Aru yet in some ways she is more experienced than him.
What I mean is this. Mukhi is a teacher to Aru in showing her not to be too impetuous in her actions, to slow down, to think a bit more plus other things he will share about human nature that he has experience with but he only knows duty and sacrifice. In a lot of ways, he has no sense of self, he has no self-interests, no personal goals or desires, it is always family and the village and in this regard Aru is more experienced than him, she is the teacher and he is the student.
Even at her age she has developed a sense of self, her passion for life, her zest for experiencing new things, she has personal goals/ambitions, so you can see how they both will be both teacher and student despite the age difference and help each other grow. She will teach him how to be a well-rounded man, someone who knows a balance between life, duty and personal enjoyment, she will teach him how to "live not just survive and he will teach her the lessons learned thru governing and managing so many different people's expectations, ideas, and the village lifestyle.
For example, the water scene where Aru thought you could just call the water supply company to buy water from, Mukhi can teach her how to value resources and use what you have on hand, to be self-sufficient so they both have lots they can teach other and also learn from each other, a perfect bond.
This is why the age difference seems to disappear for me, because in some situations she is the older wiser one, like when he had problems going to the Haldi ceremony and she made him see things differently, and then when Aru acts her age and dances in the rain like a kid even though Mukhi told her this wasn't the type of rain to dance in, lol, so at times both display their age and then they switch ages so it's created a wonderful dance of a slow love story.
It will be entertaining to see Aru have to seduce Mukhi when you would think it's the other way around, we all know if he could barely touch her stomach to save her life from drowning, then there's no way he is making the first move into that department lol, so once again, it's a perfect contrast between two opposites. You would think the older man would be the one in charge of that department but not in this case ;)
It is this dichotomy/duality that makes their relationship and the story so compelling, at times it is frustrating because we just want to grab him and tell him to blurt out his feelings and we want Aru to actually start realizing her feelings for him but this slow burn is building the anticipation nicely.
One of the crucial aspects of a successful relationship is when both people are helping each other grow, evolve and change, to remain stagnant is to be dying and to me the interesting thing as this story unfolds is to finally see Mukhi start living. Do you remember when they were going to the prayer thing and he was listening to Mishri's message to him and then he heard Aru imitating him, he said to her, is that really how I talk and sound...it was almost like a new awareness of himself, he has nobody ever make him feel alive, to enjoy life, it is like he is looking at himself for the first time.
It is easy to lose a sense of yourself when you are alone, it's like one half of you grows up, your sense of duty, honor, obligations etc develops yet there's a void in you, a space where your sense of self, your own desires, pleasures, interests, hobbies develop but in Mukhi's case, those things never had a chance to grow and with Aru by his side, it can finally begin.
I think a small tangible way that it can be shown is actually thru his clothing and style! To show how his new wife is slowly influencing him, in a subtle way that goes along with how they are patiently unfolding this love story would be to get him out of that damn dhoti! It would be a nice added element to the start of their next phase in this relationship if he blends his style with a bit of a new modern twist, just a little touch. Keep the traditional kurta or top he wears with the embroidery but instead of the dhoti, wear jeans and get him a new pair of boots lol J It's a combo of traditional and modern, a fusion of new and old, like Aru when she wears a long Indian top but with jeans.
This is a small way to go going against the saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks, a change even just in clothing reflects a bigger concept, that he is starting to think of what he can do to please his partner, it shows he is starting to not just think of things in practical terms but in other aspects of life. Although it may seem trivial, the dhoti represents a direct tie to an older generation. We all know that what you wear, how you appear is the first impression you convey, you can be 25 yrs old or 40 yrs old but if you wear a dhoti, you make yourself look older and older fashioned.
To get Aru to shift from seeing Mukhi as "muche wala uncle to "muche wale man, it has to be done thru small changes, to a 40 yr old man who has lived life one way, any change is big so even a small wardrobe change is significant. It is a sign of his transition into the next phase of his new married life, it creates a visible signal to Aru and the world that he has entered into a union that is helping him become more than he always was. Everybody knows Mukhi is always sacrificing himself, as is evidenced by his dirty worn out shoes to old clothing he wears, so to show him learning that he too deserves to be personally happy like Sanvi told him, when will he live for himself.
This small change in his style can even led to a potential bit of a jealousy scene, not a track or something drawn out, just one small scene with some nameless character, it is more just to create that awareness in Aru that hey, am I feeling jealous and if so, why am I feeling jealous if I have no romantic feelings for Mukhi, it is like a kick-start to get her to start thinking of the word "love and Mukhi, so just a quick scene to get her mind to start seeing Mukhi a different way.
For example, have both Aru and Mukhi do errands in the village, she is at one stall, he is at the other and some woman from a neighboring village starts talking to Mukhi, flirting but we know Mukhi is too innocent and nave to understand it so he will just be polite and smile but to have Aru see it and feel a twinge of jealousy would be the best way to plant a small seed in her mind that her feelings for Mukhi may be more than just respect and friendship. That is it, no further jealousy tracks or scenes are needed, just a small nudge to get her to think...
Also it wouldn't be just for looks that he would change his style a bit, jeans were originally designed for hard work, such as mining, or herding cattle so it's not really only for fashion but have a functional use as well so it would make sense for him to wear them, not just to look good, that is an angle that Aru can use to convince him plus they come in black, brown, grey so it doesn't have to be "blue jeans 😆
To me it would be a small delicate gesture for people to see that Mukhi is indeed starting to change and evolve a bit, and it would also raise Aru's value in everyone's eyes as to how much he respects her to adopt a change in style already. It's like a vote of confidence in his new Mukhiani, especially as he has made fun of her in front of the village a few times, like when she fell from the bike trying to find a phone signal, he needs to show people he respects his wife as well and listens to her.
Anyways this is a complex subject, the dynamics of this mature love story is something I am thoroughly enjoying, I have enjoyed how the CV's have laid it out so far but i hope they slow down and develop scenes where they have more ArMu interactions that showcase their feeling out process so that it doesn't seem rushed.
