31/7 - Epi 154 ... Past and Present

Thursday 31st July

Just when I decided to watch Rangrasiya as a completely new show, and made my peace with it, the cvs decided that they weren't going to let us forget Paro after all. So an episode full of memories ... all the more poignant because they were understated ... unspoken sorrow in Rudra's eyes, and Maithili's ... unspoken longing in little Dhruv's eyes ... the conversations between Rudra and Dhruv always seem to bring in the woman who loved them both the most in the world.

... interspersed with crackling interactions between Mohini, Sumer and Shatabdi, and their little imp Koel ... Koel seems to be her grandmother's carbon copy. Shatabdi has started an achaar business in competition with her saasuma ... and Sumer is well and truly stuck between the two women. Of the two, Shatabdi seems to have the upper hand ... so Mohini is well and truly served with her just desserts. Except that she just won't give up!

Today the cvs brought in lots of memories of Paro ... Rudra, Dhruv, Maithili ... all remember her everyday, miss her deeply ... and try, in their own way, to live the way she lived, and would have liked them to live ... in the present, and with a smile.
So Paro planted a rose bush before Dhruv's birth ... and every year, Rudra and Dhruv place a rose in front of her picture on Dhruv's birthday.
Dhruv misses his mother ... Rudra tries to be the best father he can be ... but he can't quite manage it without Paro.

A nice birthday celebration for Dhruv ... for once, the cv's spent time on celebrating a happy event ... again with memories of the past ... as Dhruv makes his birthday wish, Rudra remembers what he wished for ... Paro.
And like father like son ... Dhruv wished for Paro too.
Koel asks him how that's possible ... his mother has gone to God. Poor Dhruv downcast for a moment ... but he'll make do with someone like her.
And Maithili, mother to both the kids, sits down to tell them about what a woman like Paro would be.

Interspersed with the entry of Myrah .... how does Sanaya do this ... a changeover in a single day ... to a character who is as big a contrast to Paro as one could imagine.
Where Paro was gentle and kind, Myrah is rough ... where Paro was delicate, Myrah is tough ... while Paro never raised her hand on anyone, Myrah can chase down a thug for her bag, without any help ... while Paro learned how to use a mobile phone and modern kitchen appliances only after marriage, Myrah uses laptop and phone simultaneously, and doesn't even think about it.

Myrah ... the daughter of an industrialist, the niece of a minister ... today's girl ... bright, confident, tech savvy ... in Udaipur to fix the venue for her wedding. While her parents have fixed the rishta, to a boy she knows, she didn't get the choice then ... so she will choose the wedding venue herself. But her antics of chasing down a thug alarm her uncle, so she will be provided with a 24 hour bodyguard.

Rudra has left the BSD and started a security company. No prizes for guessing who Myrah's bodyguard will be.

Today the episode pace slowed down from the frenetic pace of the last couple of weeks. It was a decent watch. Ashish was much better today than yesterday ... quiet, restrained, an emptiness in his eyes, his smile never quite reaching them ... his world is his son and his dead wife, and he loves them both equally, he has kept Paro alive in his memories and brought her alive in Dhruv's world, by telling Dhruv about her at every opportunity.
Little Dhruv misses having a mother, longs for his mother, for the woman his maasi and father talk so much about, and seem to love so much. So much does he miss her, that his birthday wish is just that ... his mother.

Precap - Myrah meets Dhruv, Dhruv meets Myrah ... mummy? 

30/7 - Epi 153 ... Farewell, Paro

Tuesday 30th July 

She came on our screens chasing a blue butterfly ... a laughing six year old girl, full of smiles and laughter. She grew into a beautiful young woman, with few words, but always a smile for everyone,  an unshakeable faith in Bholenath, and an ever-optimistic outlook on life.  A girl who believed that there was good in everyone, and refused to believe the bad, till she had no choice.

 And so firm was her belief in the good, that the bad ran away from her ... except for one last tragic time. 

She believed in her protector, her husband ... and he stood firm and tall in front of her ... except for one last tragic time. 

She asked for very little for herself ... happiness for her, was made of the small joys of life ... Orphaned at the age of six, all she ever wanted was a family of her own, a home she could call her own.

Her Bholenath gave her that ... and so grateful was she, that she wanted nothing more. Her life was complete. If her Bholenath were to call her to Himself, she would be content. 

Her Bholenath gave her that too. 

RIP, Paro ... Parvati Rudra Pratap Ranawat. You will be dearly missed ... 

By your husband ... the Jallad, the stone who melted and became human with the constant shower of your unconditional all-encompassing love.

By your son, your Dhruv ... who received a lifetime's worth of love from you in one short month, and the gift of a second mother, a Maasi ... from you.

By Maithili ... your jeeja, your sister of the heart ... who loved you as much as you loved her, supported her ... and with whom you generously shared the right to call your child 'mother'. 

By the rest of the Ranawat family, whom you united from a dysfunctional group, into a united family ... all except Mohini 

And last but not least ... by viewers of a show Rangrasiya ... who loved you for your smile, your faith, your belief, your obstinacy, and the love in your heart. For us, you will live forever in your own private heaven with your husband and child ... PaRud forever. 

Quick episode overview ... 

Rudra arrives home ... but too late ... a crazed Shantanu has taken his revenge. Rudra wastes precious minutes in figuring out what he has done ... all the while I was mentally urging Rudra ...stop talking, shoot the guy, and go find Paro!!! 

And when Rudra does find Paro ... lying in a pool of blood .. it's too late. She dies in his arms ... after extracting a promise from him, that he will be a good father and will raise their child with love. And one more thing ... 

But she's gone before she can say it. 

Paro cremated ... and she's gone forever.  To the tune of a very beautiful, very soulful song ... Abhi mujh mein kahin, thodi baaki si hai zindagi ... a living corpse Rudra, living only for his son. 

Back home, Rudra cries ... thankfully a short scene ... but the arrival of his crying son gives him the strength to carry on ... to keep living ... for his son.

So that's why the rushed pregnancy.  

And in the next scene, 7 years later ... cvs continuing on their jet plane.  

Dhruv's birthday ... he celebrates by cooking breakfast for his father. Like his mother, he makes no demands ... Maithili had to observe him carefully to figure out what he might like as a birthday present. He celebrates in the midst of a loving family ... Rudra, Maithili, Samrat, Danveer ...  Dilsher and Mala have died. 

And Rudra smiles for his son ... but misses Paro every day ... how he wishes she was there to help him raise their son together. 

29/7 - Epi 152 ... Home Alone

Tuesday 29th July


Breakneck speed as usual ... nine months of Paro's pregnancy, Shatabdi's pregnancy ... all the happy times gone like the wind. One of the biggest failings of the show has been the failure to dwell on happy moments, and today was no exception. Why the makers feel that drama and villainy will get them TRPs beats me.

Mohini remains in character ... upset and angry that Paro and Rudra have stolen a march over her, and she will be left grandchild-less .. so she urges Sumer to do the needful. Sumer sulks in the presence of Shatabdi, who is only too willing ... marriage is marriage, and husband is husband ... MIL can be tolerated, and taken care of.

So nine months pass ... Rudra and Paro await the birth of their baby with happy anticipation ... while Shantanu in jail gets the news of their upcoming happiness, and plots and plans ...

Paro's baby boy is born ... to the joy of the entire family ... and PaRud settle into happy domesticity.

Till the day Shatabdi's baby is to arrive ... the entire family in hospital, awaiting the delivery ... Paro at home alone ...

And Shantanu breaks out of jail to complete his unfinished business ... revenge ...

And this time he succeeds ...as Paro is home alone, without her protector ... alone with her son, her Dhruv ...

Shantanu confronts her ... she runs from him, cradling her baby Dhruv in her arms ... but where to run ... she is alone.

To protect her child, she gives him one last hug, and places him in the cupboard ... and places her rudraksha on his chest for protection ... telling him his father will be there soon. Dhruv is protected, but she is unprotected ...

Shatabdi gives birth to a baby girl ... much to everyone's happiness ... everyone except Mohin, of course ... she wanted only a boy. But Sumer is breaking the chains of maternal love ... he likes his baby girl very much indeed.

Rudra hears from Aman that Shantanu has escaped ... and rushes home  ... will he be too late?

A difficult episode to watch ... was hoping the cvs would give us at least one happy episode before they rushed into the tragedy ... but it seems that was too much to hope for.

In the precap ... Paro shot, barely breathing ... Rudra bursts into the room ... was he too late? 

No RR today

Monday 28th July

No RR today because of Jashn-E Eid ... enjoyed the PaRud dance and the miniscule Paro-Aaliya scene ... ignored Aaliya completely, and just watched Paro ... even in that miniscule appearance, Sanaya was all sweet, gentle Paro. And the PaRud dance was very cute ... nice to see them both smiling. They were the best dancers on the floor for sure!

Am in a foul mood with the latest SBS segments today ... still hoping against hope that the cvs won't kill Paro ... but the hope is dying. Just hope that they do more justice to the new character Sanaya plays, and don't make it again all about Rudra and his angst. Cannot sit through more of Rudra crying about his tragic past.

This time I want a Paro/new girl centered story ... Rudra should be a reformed man, who smiles for his son, because Paro wanted him to live with a smile ... and the new girl should be the one with a sad past. If Colors is the one dictating the story, they need to make sure the heroine is strong ... all their other shows have strong female leads, and if that's what gets the TRPs, so be it. 

25/7 - Epi 151 ... One Chapter Ends, A New One To Start

Friday 25th July

The best scene today was the scene between Paro and Maithili ... it brought tears to my eyes.

The rest of the episode was surprisingly good ... speed still an issue, but the individual scenes were quite well done ...

Paro's worry, tension at the sight of the picture ... she doesn't realise the relationship, all she knows is that Shantanu is also Tejawat's man, so dangerous ... goes to find Rudra ... who is missing (as usual) ... tries, but can't quite keep the worry out of her eyes, and raises Shantanu's suspicions ...
We fortunately had no spoilers about the actual confrontation, so it came as a surprise ... a pleasant one.

So Paro realises that just a picture of Shantanu and Varun together at the wedding may not be enough to prove anything ... she takes the chance to go search Shantanu's room, thinking he will be busy in his own engagement, and unlikely to interrupt.
Mistake ... as Shantanu has his antennae up ... and corners Paro in the bedroom just as she finds the picture of Varun ... where, like all Rangrasiya villains, he tells her all his secrets, including the fact that Varun is his brother. And that he's here to kill Paro for revenge.

Rudra returns in time ... fortunately Paro told Mala she was looking for Rudra ... message actually conveyed (a first in Indian soaps!) ... Rudra goes looking for Paro ... and hears her scream ...
Rudra to the rescue .. fight between hero and villain, cut short by ad break.
And after the break, we have the BSD force holding Shantanu, while he has verbal diarrhea about how he will be back, Rudra had best shoot him now, because he won't rest till he gets his revenge.

So a foreshadowing of what is going to happen ...

Shantanu actually looked quite mad, the psycho that he was meant to be ...
And he pulls a gun from one BSD man and shoots at Paro. Thankfully he is a terrible shot ... the bullet hits the wall ... but Paro faints anyway ... much to Rudra's shock and horror.

Doctor called ... and she confirms the happy news.

The Paro Rudra Mala scene was cute ... breaking the news to an expectant father is always cute ... the women are always so much more in control of the situation ... and this was no exception. Mala all smiles, Paro equally so, Rudra tense and worried, looking from one to the other ... Mala leaves them alone and Paro smilingly breaks the news ... Rudra gobsmacked, doesn't know how to react ... obviously eight years of 'har raat' never prepared him for this :)

Family scene ... while they are happy with the news, Mohini is annoyed ... but of course, her dreams vanished in smoke ... the eldest grandchild will be Rudra's child, not either of her sons'.
Sunehri will be sent off to her uncle's house to recover from her broken heart ...

PaRud again ... Rudra tries to come to terms with the news ... Paro is blooming, happy, delighted ...

Paro Maithili ... a simply beautiful scene ... the best scene tonight. The bond between the two women, both daughters-in-law of the house, who have become sisters of the heart. Paro, sensitive as always to the feelings of others, especially those she loves, can sense the turmoil in Maithili ... the mixture of emotions ... happiness for Paro battling with sorrow that this joy will never be hers ... And Paro sees that turmoil ... and asks Maithili, can my child call you Maasi? Maasi is maa jaisi ... and you are my sister, aren't you? Our child will be lucky ... it will have two mothers.

And Maithili smiles through her tears, and nods ...

Another foreshadowing of the upcoming track ... damn, I'm going to miss Paro. Such a beautiful character!

PaRud again (Ashish obviously took the day off JDJ) ... Rudra asks Paro how she always knows the right thing to say ... and wonders if he is ready to be a father ... with his background, his upbringing. Paro reassures him ... his happiest days are around the corner ... and their child will get a wonderful upbringing.

Lots happened in the episode ... but it wasn't as rushed as some of the earlier ones have been. The tension and action in the first half balanced by the emotions in the second half. Enjoyed it .. even though the thought of the upcoming track is making me really sad.

24/7 - Epi 150 ... Elopement Off, Engagement On

Thursday 24th July

Elopement off, engagement on ... and that, in a nutshell, was the episode.

The first half of the episode was paced well ... Shatabdi strolling into Mohini's room ... ah, Mohini wants her 31 lakhs, I knew she wouldn't let go if it so easily. Shatabdi wants her munh dikhayi gift ... and Mohini discovers Sunehri's theft.

Just as Paro comes running to tell everyone that Sunehri is missing ... and so is Shantanu ... money gone too, so she comes to the instant conclusion that they have run away together.
Since it is Paro's turn to have brains, obviously she is right. Plus of course, she's the only one who knows about the grand SuSha love story.

Shantanu and Sunehri ... drive ... then Shantanu stops ... his work is done.

Family drama starts ... Mohini of course blames Paro for everything ... first for putting ideas of love marriage into Sunehri's head ... then encouraging her to elope ... Paro denies it ... then for everything that has happened in the house.
Mohini seems to be echoing Sanaya bashers ... they would like to blame Sanaya for everything in the world too ... including global warming!

Paro drags away Rudra to tell him about the SuSha love story ... Rudra most unfairly gets angry with her for not telling him earlier ... Rudra banna, when Paro told you she had something to say, you first went off to office, then off to sleep ... shouldn't you have made more of an effort to ask her too? Instead of growling that she should have made more of an effort to tell you?
Did not like Rudra in that conversation ... although I could sympathise with his very natural concern for a younger sister.

As expected, Shantanu returns ... with hangdog look and apologies ... and Sunehri in tow ... he will nobly sacrifice his love, because he cannot see her parted from her family ... poor orphan soul ... yada yada ...
Paro gets in a slap to Shantanu ... Sumer and Samrat beat him up ... Rudra stands behind the curtain (or rather, his BD does) ... and tells them to go ahead.

Shantanu's noble sacrifice and sorrowful speech doesn't find many takers ... for once, Paro is unimpressed ... so are Sumer and the rest ... so the CVs picked another character to sacrifice ... Danveer's turn ... the fond father decides that an orphan BSD junior officer with no known family, is the best possible choice for his only daughter ... and the engagement will be ... tomorrow. No need to ask anybody from the boy's side, after all, he is an orphan.

Why do all soaps have engagements and weddings at 2-4 days notice, and how do they still manage the grandest and most fancy decorations and arrangements for them? Would love borrow their decorators!

Paro is suspicious and unhappy ... and tries to tell Rudra so ... only for him to growl at her again ... first when he suspected Shantanu, she told him he was wrong, now she herself is suspecting Shantanu.
I did NOT like that conversation, nor did I like Rudra in it. His tone was way too rude and harsh ... and his words were quite surprising. So has he really given up all suspicion of Shantanu and accepted him completely as what he says he is? I would have thought he would be happy that Paro shared his suspicions.
Rudra's character is being totally mauled and massacred here.

Paro speaks to her Kaushalya masi ... who repeats she has seen the boy somewhere ... line cut.

Cut to next day and the engagement preparations ... Paro distracted, waiting for the phone ... masi calls ... and the wonders of modern technology, she sends Paro the photograph of Shantanu over the phone ... a photo with Varun at his wedding with Paro.
Liked that last scene ... as Paro stares in shock at the picture, memories of her wedding day flooding back ... interspersed with memories of masi, Mala saying they had seen Shantanu before ...

In the middle, the SuSha love story starts ... that's Sumer-Shatabdi :)))

And in the precap ... Shantanu shoots Paro ...

Do the cv's have a train to catch?? Why are they rushing tracks so much?!

23/7 - Epi 149 ... Express Love Story

Wednesday 23rd July

Or should I call it ... Shantanu ki Sunehri Dastaan? Or Sunehri ki Stupidity?

Paro and Rudra develop amnesia about last night ... goes to show that I was right, they have been a normal couple for ages, yesterday was no big deal, except for the gifts and the barn. Today they're back to discussing more important things, like how many bullets were fired, from which gun ... Rudra justifies his title as hero and BSD man, by asking Shantanu two questions ... and then goes off to bed, without waiting for beloved biwi, who stayed back to talk to Shantanu. He wasn't interested in what his wife had to say to Shantanu, and vice versa? Must say he has developed remarkable level of trust in the man after his initial reservations.

Shantanu and Sunehri's love story takes off at express speed, derails at Paro roadblock, takes off again ... derails again ... takes off again ... and ultimately takes off, fuelled by Sunehri's stupidity, for what might be the final station.

Sumer Shatabdi's love story, on the other hand, is spluttering along ... starting off with the typical kiddish nok jhoks beloved of certain writers ... who finds it funny to see grown men and women behaving like five year old kids? If the show lasts long enough, I can see them becoming comfortably married very soon, and continuing to bicker about who gets which side of the bed, and who gets to shower first, etc., etc ... while Mohini continues to glower, and Sumer cheerfully ignores her.

Paro wants to tell Rudra about Sunehri ... Rudra fast asleep ... all that dancing during the day must be so tiring!!! So Rudra does not know about Sunehri's love story ... not till the next day, when Paro finds Sunehri missing.

Paro goes to question Shantanu ... another near miss with another photograph ... how many photographs of Varun is Shantanu carrying with him anyway? And if he has so many, why doesn't he put them in an album? And why a photograph of the Varun-Paro wedding?

Next morning ... Paro goes to make up with Sunehri ... only to find her missing.

And precap ... Shantanu says Sunehri has served his purpose. Now what?
Will he actually kill her? Or will he allow Paro to find them and agree for the wedding?

22/7 - Epi 148 ... Consummation, Connivance and Complications

Tuesday 22nd July

It's official now ... Rudra is officially item number in Rangrasiya. Today he came in for a hot scene, performed it, in chamki clothes, no less ... and disappeared for the rest of the episode. 

No build up at all to the consummation scene ... what saved it was the actors. Sanaya was awesome, this was probably the most intimate and mature consummation scene she has done. The soft voiced off key singing, the catching of breath ... the shyness, but lack of any hesitation ... her expressions, the shy smiles ... Paro was shy, but ready and willing ...
Ashish's expressions were good ... Rudra in fully romantic mode, lost and totally fida over his beautiful biwi ... wanting the smile back on her face any which way.
Love both the songs they used ... the instrumental Kuch kuch hota hai, very appropriate for PaRud, it's been their song ever since Rudra first sang it for Paro in the courtyard, and then again, and again ... it's a beautiful tune, and the piano instrumental is so sensuous ... a beautiful accompaniment to PaRud's foreplay.
And Rangrez  ... beautiful lyrics ...

Morning after scene was cute ... Paro back to teasing, Rudra fast asleep, back to grumpy mode ... and swift jump to some teasing of his own ... a husband wife deeply in love, comfortable with it, and not afraid to show their feelings physically.

A rather abrupt shift to Sumer and Shatabdi ... did Sumer develop some brain cells overnight? Did he really think of that juvenile itching powder trick on his own? He really is a nasty piece of work.
This round to Sumer ... as Shatabdi gets a rash just before her munh dikhayi. No problem ... hopefully she will get back at him soon. Mohini is as nasty as her son ... delighted that Sumer's plan worked. There's nothing much else she can do ... but the woman has lost her brains ... pr the writers have lost their memory ... doesn't she want to wait for the promised money?
Sweet jethanis Maithili and Paro to the rescue ... with haldi chandan lep ... and explanations for the neighbours. Maithili asks Paro why she looks so happy and glowing ... aww 

Shantanu starts Plan B ... flirting deliberately with Sunehri under Paro's eye ...
Paro meets some old friends ... neighbours from Birpur ... who seem to recognise Shantanu. Paro is already wary of Shantanu with his flirting ... pricks up her ears, and later ... direct as ever, asks Shantanu if he has ever visited the area. He denies it ... Paro wisely does not probe further. But she remembers Mala saying that she also felt Shantanu was familiar.
Shantanu asks Sunehri to meet him on the terrace.
Precap - Paro investigates again ... as he meant her to do.

The episode was very disjointed ... the scenes seemed put together in a rush ... Rudra's appearance was like an item number. No build up, no follow up ... he came, spent the night with Paro, and disappeared. They had a dialogue explaining why Dilsher and Mala were missing for the munh dikhayi ... they could have put in one for Rudra.

21/7 - Epi 147 ... Misfired Bullets, Misfired Plans

Monday 21st July

Well balanced episode today ... two parallel tracks starting to take shape.
Paro Rudra Shantanu ... with Sunehri as catalyst ... or catalyst number 1. Don't know how many more Shantanu will use in his attempts to destroy PaRud.
Mohini- Shatabdi- Maithili- rest of Ranawat family ... which will go parallel with the first one, crisscross for light moments, intersect to give push when required. As in the munh dikhayi rasam.

Paro Rudra Shantanu ... so Rudra wasn't jealous, he wasn't worried, he wasn't tense ... he was just grateful to Shantanu for helping Paro and rescuing her. So he goes and thanks Shantanu.
Hmmm ... Rudra losing his sharp edge here, in his worry for Paro. This seems to be the JDJ effect.
So is there a role reversal coming up here? Rudra trusting Shantanu and Paro suspecting? If it happens, I will be happy. Even happier if they both work in tandem.

Shantanu very happy ... his happiness loses its edge when he sees PaRud in perfect cohesion and collusion ... if she stumbles, he holds ... Shantanu vows again to destroy them.
And who can be a better medium that Rudra's sister ... that foolish starry eyed girl? Easy as pie ...

Not so easy, as Shantanu finds out the next day. Sunehri might be dumb and starry eyed, but not so starry eyed that she will agree to run away with him without trying at least once for parental permission. Which Shantanu has no intention of doing.
So plan A down the drain ... along with the very nice flowers he brought for Sunehri ... neither worked. And he was almost caught by Paro.

In the middle, a small dining table scene ... I really don't understand the cvs ... the smallest, most insignificant scene of the episode used as precap for the next week? Paro tries to persuade Samrat and Maithili to accept Shatabdi ... they hved very understandable reservations ... Paro as usual, seeing the other side of the picture ... Shatabdi's side ... with some justification. Shatabdi makes kheer with Mala's help ... this girl is not bad, she's doing all the rasams a new bride does, with no hesitation, but without the usual coy 'sharmana' of a new bride.
Maithili agreed to taste it ... Mohini and Sumer of course refused ... so the family gets divided again, again with Mohini and Sumer on one side, and the rest on the other side.

Paro works on persuading Maithili for the next thing ... munh dikhayi for the new bride ... in the privacy of her bedroom. And almost stumbles on the bullet Shantanu fired into the wall in the mock fight. Another near miss ... Shantanu sees the bullet and realises it can cook his goose ... so he tries to retrieve it. And fails. But Paro is confused at his repeated appearance in her room, and asks some searching questions ... which he manages to duck.

But no near miss this time ... Paro finds the bullet.

In the meantime, Maithili confronts Mohini about a munh dikhayi for Shatabdi ... and counters all her barbs with polite, quiet confidence. Mohini has cooked her own goose with her latest antic ... neither Paro nor Maithili are prepared to put up with her nonsense any more ... and they both have the full support of their husbands and the rest of the family. Mohini is increasingly isolated ... with only Sumer for support.
And judging by the way he's getting cowed by his new wife with his old belt, that might not be for too long either.

Paro ... thank the Lord the cvs finally listened and showed us Paro's feelings!!! Her fear palpable as she stares at the bullet, the remembered terror of the night mirrored in her eyes, the voices and gunshots echoing in her mind ... as always, Sanaya nailed that scene and brought in the much needed emotional connect ... could feel her fear, smell it, taste it, as she sat trembling, hunched on the floor, as though transfixed, not daring to move ... till Rudra came in and saw her ... tried to comfort her ... Again, thank god the cv's finally gave us Paro's fears as her words tumbled out ... her fear of losing Rudra, losing this perfect life they had built for themselves after so many hurdles and obstacles ... her tears falling unchecked as she clings to Rudra for dear life, and he tries to console her ...
And as usual, when called, she goes where she is needed ... wipes her tears, hides her fears ... but this time Rudra has seen what she always tries to hide ... her weakness, her worries, her fears ...

So Rudra will send the bullet for testing ... or will Shantanu waylay his plans?

Precap ... Paro gets another jhatka about Shantanu. 

18/7 - Epi 146 ... The Taming of the Shrew

Friday 18th July

And thus begins the taming of the Shrew.

Which shrew?

Mohini, of course!

Who did you think I was talking about? 

Update ... 
Mohini got it from all quarters today ... starting with samdhi ... to son ... to brand new DIL ... to husband ... and finally from hitherto polite DIL. That's what happens when you cross a line ... and today she crossed them all.

There is a saying ... there is honour among thieves ... but Mohini didn't adhere even to that one. Not only did she try to deceive, threaten and finally force Samrat into a wedding he didn't want, she also tried to deceive Sisodiya, with whom she drove the bargain for his 31 year old unmarried daughter, by giving him her older, already married son, instead of the younger, more eligible one. Probably saving Sumer for an even fatter dowry!
However seems like Mohini's tide has finally turned.
Sisodiya turned out to be far more wily than she realised ... traps Sumer into marriage, made sure he had witnesses, remind Mohini of her deceit and threatens her to keep her end of the bargain or else ...

Samrat, when he returned, is livid ... and royally ticks off Mohini ... probably the first time he has ever raised his voice at her. No more good son and dutiful DIL ... well,Maithili might try to be dutiful, but Samrat will not stand for any more nonsense at all.

Next Shatabdi starts speaking ... and boy, once she starts, she doesn't stop. If Mohini hadn't realised till now that she had bitten off more than she could chew with this one, she probably started getting an inkling when Shatabdi started talking ... and talking ... and talking ...  ... demands introductions, and a grihapravesh as well!

Which has to be performed by Paro ... as Mohini is sulking and furious. Don't know why ... she's getting the 31 lakhs, isn't she? 

So Paro and Sunehri perform the grihapravesh ... Shatabdi accepts all the traditions blithely, even asks if she needs to touch her new jethani's feet ... Paro smilingly refuses ...

Shantanu very happy with the turn of events ... more and more Brownie points ... from Samrat, Maithili and Paro ... his position consolidated.

Sumer called off by Mohini ... Shatabdi wants an indepth introduction to her new family ... along with her own running commentary ... Maithili the 'gaay', Mohini the paagal budhiya ... she's sharp, this girl!  Paro tries to rebuke her, but even Paro can't find anything good to say about Sumer ... so she leaves it at ... 'there must be something good in him, there is in everyone ...' 
Optimism, thy name is Paro!
Confidence, thy name is Shatabdi 

Seems like ... overconfidence, thy name is Mohini. Or is it more like, kutte ki dum kabhi seedhi nahin ho sakti ... nothing can straighten this crooked woman. New plots ... now to beat Shatabdi into submission.
She's chosen the wrong girl this time ... 
Sumer is beyond redemption ... he still hasn't learned a thing!

I found one good quality in him ... he's useless at everything ... including beating a wife. 

Next one to tick off both Mohini and Sumer ... Kakusa. Sumer doesn't get any sympathy there!
Paro cools down the warring factions ... what happened, happened ... now accept the situation and make the best of it. Mohini accuses her of creating the mess ... ay lo ... ulta chor kotwal ko daante ... first Mohini created the royal mess, and when her plans misfired big time, she accuses Paro. Fortunately Paro doesn't take that lying down ... sorry, I didn't create this mess, I stopped it from becoming a bigger one. Now you reap what you sow ... you wanted Shatabdi as your DIL, you got her. Deal with it.  

But Mohini isn't ready yet ... another plan already. Darn this woman, her brain never stops ticking! Mirchi in the milk? What about the color?!  And a glass for her brainless Sumer as well? That plan was bound to fail from the word go ... Shatabdi is far sharper than that! Or rather, she's not as brainless as the mother-son duo.

In the meantime Rudra gets back home at night, to scare his wife, tease her a little ... learn about the day's events ... accompanied by screams of mirchi milk from Sumer  ... and also hear praise about Shantanu.

Shantanu sa ... not Shantanu bhaisa. Hmmm ...

And in the precap, Mohini gets her next dose ... from her hitherto polite bahu, Paro.

Nope ... today was not Mohini's day. Seems that the taming of the shrew has started. 
Mohini is soon going to rue the day she planned to get Shatabdi into the family. Oh wait ... she's doing that already! 

17/7 - Epi 145 ... Dulha Bikta Hai

Thursday 17th July

Episode started with a plug for Shastri Sisters by Sunehri, Paro and Shantanu ... thought Shantanu would ask Sunehri about Paro being an orphan ... but he didn't.

Maithili spills the beans to Paro with very little prompting ... Shantanu conveniently overhears, and sees this as a golden opportunity to cement Rudra's trust, by helping the family. So true ... even more so as anything which makes Mausam kakisa annoyed, will win him major Brownie points!  
So Paro and Shantanu take off ... kidnappers were really caught napping on this one ... as they conveniently left wallet with picture of Samrat and address of delivery ... all at the kidnapping site. Giftwrapped, as it were.
Kidnappers seem to be closely related to Sumer. 
 Guess they knew Paro and Shantanu had only half an episode to manage the rescue. So they made it easy for them. 

Paro and Shantanu land up at the wedding venue, where the guests are also wondering about the rushed wedding ... bride is getting antsy about her missing dulha, the venue, among other things ... Paro gives her phone to Shantanu to put on silent ... just as Rudra, in a five second appearance, calls ... of course Shantanu doesn't take the call. This is his chance to earn Brownie points, he's not going to lose it. 
When did Rudra present Paro with a phone? Why were we not shown this major event? 
And then they wonder why the TRPs are not rising.  

Again very conveniently, Sisodiya sahab scolds the henchmen in Paro's hearing ... so PaSha follow henchmen ... rescue Samrat ... and Paro is held at gunpoint. 

Cut to Mohini ... Sisodiya calls and tells her the wedding is accomplished ... Mohini delighted ... tells a relieved Maithili to get ready to welcome Samrat home ... Maithili dutifully prepares thaali, just as sehra-covered groom enters the doorway with dulhan ...
Mohini gleefully tells Maithili the truth ... and invites her to view the bride ... and the groom ... Bride tries to interrupt, Mohini shushes her ...
Maithili tearfully looks at the groom ... and keeps looking ... till Mohini also turns to look ...
At this point, I fell off my chair laughing. 

Flabbergasted Mohini demands an explanation ... Sumer wants his gag removed first ... he has a point. 
Sisodiya appears, and takes over the story ...
Shantanu rescued Paro from gunpoint and the three made their escape ... Sisodiya appeared and apparently he had no idea that Samrat was married already ...  of course, duffer Sumer revealed that major event by mistake ... Sisodiya decided his daughter was going to get married, come what may.  He'd paid for a bridegroom, and by God, he was going to get a bridegroom.
So Sumer got married.
Dulha bik gaya.
And Mohini has a new DIL.

Precap promises major PaRud romance ... but that's for tomorrow. Tonight I want to rewind Mohini's expressions and laugh. 

16/7 - Epi 144 ... Caught Napping

Wednesday 16th July

Caught napping ... Rudra, leaving Paro tied up, blindfolded and helpless ... if he hadn't done that, then Shantanu's game was pretty much up today!

Shantanu ... did not expect Rudra's swift chase, the windows nailed shut, and did not expect to be caught with nowhere to go. Again, if Rudra hadn't conveniently blindfolded and tied Paro, his game was up today!

Mohini and Sumer ... they didn't expect Maithili to be accompanying Samrat ... that effectively put paid to their plans for Samrat's second shaadi ... but more on that tomorrow ;)

Samrat Maithili ... thought their troubles about his second wedding were over and done with ... they didn't bargain for Mohini's stubbornness.

I did expect Shantanu to engage in a pretend fight and emerge the hero ... I did not expect him to go the whole hog and actually shoot himself.

Did he shoot himself in the foot though? Because Rudra seemed to recognise that the shot was fired at very close range. The rescue seems to have convinced him that Shantanu is genuine ... or has it? Yet he goes off to the border, even though VK Singh has not actually called him.
The cvs are messing up here with Rudra's feelings ... probably due to JDJ.

Paro gentle care for Shantanu ... will it make a difference to the man? Or is he too black .. too bent on revenge?  Loved her dialogue on fire .. it burns, yet it heals, it destroys, yet gives life.

Really did not like that Paro was found in that situation by Shantanu ... how thoroughly embarrassing for any woman. Uurrgh,  Rudra ... and cvs ... wish you would write a man being found in an embarrassing situation for once!

Most of the episode was Samrat's kidnapping ... guess Ashish is very busy with JDJ this week. Didn't really miss him too much, to be honest ... I wish they had prolonged the Paro scenes instead of spending so much time on Samrat ... but I guess they don't want Paro getting too pally with Shantanu, in the light of Rudra's suspicions.
I'm looking forward to the Paro Maithili Shantanu scenes tomorrow ... how do Paro and Shantanu manage to reach Samrat in half an hour? Obviously the kidnappers were caught napping too! 

15/7 - Epi 143 ... Rudra, control your Raudra!

Tuesday 15th July

And the precap is scary!!! Very scary!

Update later, my net is acting up :(

Net recovered ... halleluiah!!! Posting quickly before it drops again.

Today I need three posts ... for the three PaRud phases of the episode. 

First - Rudra bane raudra ... intense Rudra, scared of only one thing ... losing Paro. Loved how Paro consoled him ... he needs to control his anger, and find the real culprit ... well, he HAS found the real culprit, now all he has to do is find the right technique to expose him. So far Rudra's is failing miserably in that one. Shantanu is playing him ... and all the rest ... like puppets on a string. 

Shantanu tries to apologise to Rudra ... his fault that the saree got exchanged ... he should have been more vigilant ... you bet, he should have ... Rudra should have questioned him more closely there ... but Rudra is too angry to think straight. Shantanu playing Rudra again. 

As Mohini is trying to play Maithili and Sumer ... since she didn't succeed with vinegar, she's trying honey now ... for Maithili, that is ... lulling her into a false sense of security, while she continues with her plans.

She seems to be taking lessons from Shantanu  

Can't believe she actually plans for Samrat to be kidnapped and forced to sit at the wedding mandap. 

Sumer is hilarious in his five minutes of screen time. 

Felt very bad for Rudra in the scene with VK Singh ... didn't help that I agreed with VK Singh on almost everything ... except that he said it too late! Rudra HAS been too emotionally involved with the Tejawat case ... and he is even more emotionally involved here ... but this time it's not his judgement that is impaired, it's his execution. Since that is as important as judgement, he needs a time out ... but OMG ... leaving all the security to Shantanu? 

Much to Shantanu's delight ... everyone is playing into his hands very nicely. How sweet of Kakusa to inform VK Singh  ... wonder if Shantanu dropped a hint there. Wouldn't put it past him.

So Rudra throws another fit ... how dare VK Singh suggest he needs a psychiatrist, he's not crazy! Again calmed by Paro ... who realises he needs that break ... and suggests a honeymoon, But Rudra's pride and ego are too badly hurt at the idea that he might not be able to solve this case, so he refuses to go. 

Pity. 

For more reasons than one.  

 Shantanu watches PaRud hug ... does this man have ESP and a special telescope, that he can see everything PaRud are doing?  And he swears ... till now, you lost your uniform and your job ... now you'll lose the one person you love madly, the person you can't live without. 

So the next attack will be directly on Paro. 

Put into action ... by sending off all the family on a trip ... leaving Rudra and Paro conveniently alone ... much to Paro's delight ... what a sweet guy Shantanu is, trying to make up for Rudra's anger. 

So she gets everything all set for a romantic evening at home ... unfortunately Rudra isn't in the mood. *head desk* 

Rudra is crazy all right  ... would any normal guy turn down his beautiful wife whom he's crazily in love with, when she's practically throwing herself at him?  

And why was he hammering random nails into windows? I hope he was sealing off all the peepholes Shantanu has found into their bedroom! 

Loved the song Sawaar Loon ... and the cute naughty Paro ... after a few near misses, finally Rudra caves in ... and becomes all caveman and carries her off ...

Ok ... she meant it as a joke ... Rudra banna is getting kinky ... blindfold and hands tied? 

And he's definitely lost his brains ... a stranger in the house, lights are off ... and he leaves Paro with blindfold and hands tied, and goes off to investigate? *HEAD DESK!!!!*  

Precap was really scary .. Shantanu facing a tied blindfolded helpless Paro with a loaded gun ... am very sure he will pretend to have saved her from a stranger, thereby deepening Paro's trust in him even further ... and worsening Rudra's confusion ... and temper. 

Sanaya was beautiful today, Paro's many moods ...  friend, wife, mother, confidante, teasing lover ... Paro played them all ... switching from mood to mood to comfort Rudra, give him confidence, try to divert his mind and control his anger. And she looked like a dream in the white and silver lehnga 

Ashish was equally good as the raging Rudra who is slowly losing his balance in his helplessness and fear for Paro's safety ... his control slipping more and more ... 

Vishal is doing surprisingly well as Shantanu ... he has the chocolate boy cute looks ... darn those dimples!  ... and he brings the menace into his expressions and his voice at the right time. Shantanu definitely has the upper hand at the moment. 

14/7 - Epi 142 ... Shatir Shantanu

Monday 14th July

Move over, Tejawat, we have the next shatir villain in the house. And he has even deeper dimples, to boot!

Episode starts with Paro upset with Rudra ... how could he be so rude to the new BSD man, especially about his dead brother? Rudra tries to tell her that she's always too quick to trust the wrong people ... Tejawat and Laila being the biggest examples ... Paro counters that Rudra is always quick to mistrust people, Paro herself being the prime example. And she doesn't like it when Rudra is rude for no reason. Rudra doesn't agree ... so she gives him the silent treatment. Night ... and morning.
Darn, that's the big C delayed again for no good reason!

Paro sulking and Rudra awkwardly trying to cajole her out of her sulks has to be one of the cutest sights on screen ... especially when Paro isn't really very good at sulking anyway. What she is good at, though, is catching her Major Saab out in his tricks ... spilt hot tea, missing scissors, nothing works. Although she's too soft hearted to actually let him sew his button himself! Can't let her precious Major Saab do so much work!

It was so good to see Rudra on the receiving end of Paro's anger for once ... even though the anger was more cute sulking than actual anger. And it forced Rudra to apologise to Shantanu ... much to Shantanu's delight. And also forced Rudra to seek Maithili's advice ... yet again ... on ways to cajole a sulking biwi.

Shantanu is very, very wily ... he's figured out the family weaknesses, and will use them unscrupulously. Which includes flirting with Sunehri ... and her mother ... reading hands ... and telling everyone exactly what they know already, or want to know ...

The burning in Paro's life part was rather well done ... the right amount of menace, dissolving just in time into laughter. So Rudra didn't get upset at Shantanu holding Paro's hand.

So far Shantanu is a few steps ahead of Rudra ... the exchanged saree for widow's clothes ... to Paro's horror ... and Rudra's rage ... again he's sure that Shantanu is up to no good ... this time he beats him up, and Shantanu stays passive ... and a well timed voice message proves Rudra wrong yet again. He's caught the wrong guy again ... as before. Much to Rudra's baffled fury.

And Shantanu gloats ... as Rudra is divested of his duty  ... first his job is gone, next in line ... the one he loves more than life itself. 

11/7 - Epi 141 ... Shantanu Settles In

Friday 11th July

So Mr Shantanu gets more comfortable with the family, and the family with him ... all except Rudra, who doesn't trust him at all. Asks Aman to do some investigation ... did neither of them think of checking his photo ID? Or checking with his previous CO in Kashmir as to whether he is the same man?

Cute Paro enjoying Major-sa's jealousy ... but quick to reassure him that he's the only one for her ... as usual, she makes the first overtures, he rejects them, she tries again, he rejects again ... she sulks ... and he promptly melts.
Now why on earth were they postponing the big C ... it really doesn't make sense. Doubt they will show it now ... these two are a couple in every which way.
And as usual, the PaRud scene was cut short.

Shantanu flirts with Sunehri.

Mohini apologises to Maithili ... putting her off the scent.

Shantanu made dinner ... insists the men serve it ... Rudra makes sure only he serves Paro, not Shantanu.
Again butchering Paro here ... a village girl getting so pally with a strange man ... when she doesn't even talk very much to Samrat, her own BIL, so freely ... Paro was definitely not in character there. And a thumbs up?!

Shantanu gets sweets from Kashmir, Sunehri takes the last piece, Shan goes to get more, Paro sent with him by Danveer ... Rudra in the meantime snooping in Shan's room. caught by Shan and Paro ... Shan gives sob story about his dead brother, everyone falls for it, including a very sympathetic Paro ... and excluding a very skeptical Rudra.
But Shantanu is confident he has covered his tracks completely.

Sunehri see the picture of Varun ... Shan blasts her.

Paro asks Rudra why he still doesn't trust Shantanu ... and he should at least sympathise over his brother. Paro ... for whom family and family ties are everything ... Rudra, who still hasn't got over his trust issues ... he trusts Paro completely, but no one else.

Precap - Shan apologises to Sunehri, and in return, she tells him about Mala and Tejawat. She just handed some serious ammunition into Shantanu's hands.
All I can say is, I'm glad the cv's did not make Paro do this!

All in all, not a bad episode ... the cvs are building the track well ... if I wasn't so interested in Paro, I would be content with the way the story is unfolding. But I do want a stronger role for Paro here. This seems like it's going the same way ... everyone else is dumb, Rudra will be ultimate hero. If only they made it Paro and Rudra together fighting this new threat ... PaRud as a unit. But no, they will make Paro fall for Shantanu's sob story, and Rudra the only smart one. And in the process, butchering Paro's character ... she has never been the type to get friendly with strange men. She doesn't even smile so widely at Aman as she did with Shantanu. 

10/7 - Epi 140 ... Santanu infiltrates the Ranawat Haveli

Thursday 10th July

Not much to update ... Shantanu introduces himself as the new BSD man posted for Paro's security ... and settles into the house.

Thankfully in the new haveli, they seem to have enough guest rooms ... he got a room of his own.

Nothing much happened, except for a nice Kishore Kumar song by Shantanu. 

9/7 - Epi 139 ... The Smiling Stalker

Wednesday 9th July

Episode was okay-okay ... too many BD's today. And too little of Paro ... whenever Sanaya doesn't have much to do in an episode, it drags.

Grihapravesh scene was nice ... Rudra's mind is completely in the gutter these days  And Paro doesn't mind at all 

Also liked the scene with Paro doing the rangoli and the stalker creeping up to the haveli ... the juxtaposition was good and actually scary ... heaved a sigh of relief at Paro's change of expression at Maithili's appearance, and the subsequent scene of the stalker viewing the locked haveli ... I was wondering how he managed to locate their new home so quickly. Was glad to see he had not ... but Sunehri's book, and then she herself gave the game away very quickly. 

Uff, how much that man smiles!!! Wide cheesy grin ... he has really deep dimples, though. Don't care much for his dialogue delivery ... seems to be trying to hard ... but then, the character is actually playing a part, so will give him some leeway.

Sunehri baisa, how can you be so dumb? The whole family has run away from home because of a mysterious stalker, and you blithely accept a lift from a stranger and lead him right to your doorstep. 

Am only glad the cv's didn't make Paro do this ... going by the way they have been butchering her character, anything was possible!

Did not completely get the VK Singh-Rudra scene ... was it to introduce the new guy, to explain his presence, or to lay the ground for Rudra's future absence, now that he's doing well in JDJ? The scene with the family was shot completely with Ashish's BD.
So the family continues to cross over to Rudra's side ... today Sunehri crossed the line from Mohini to Rudra ... have a feeling Smiling Stalker will find the weak chink in Mohini to get entrance into the haveli. Sunehri seems to have realised her foolishness, but Mohini has not. And Sumer is really bugging me these days ... the guy needs a brain transplant.

And again ... family is under threat ... so why were the gates left unlocked at night? And why is Paro going outside alone?!
Will the same precap continue for the entire week, or will we finally see the scene tomorrow night?

An okay-ish episode ... dragged a lot. 

8/7 - Epi 138 ... Moving Out

Tuesday 8th July

Cute Parud scene to start the episode ... Rudra sa in very romantic mood, and Paro equally happy ... loved the song ... enjoyed the scene.

Ek Villain makes his appearance ... he was quite funny, jumping on the car with a sledge hammer ...

Moving out ... a flimsy excuse ... since we know why it's happening, it was okay, otherwise it didn't really make much sense.

Mohini refused to leave ... Samrat-Maithili convinced her ... unknowingly ;) How on earth Mohini plans to get Samrat to the mandap, beats me.

And the distances between Rudra and Mala continue to decrease. Much to Paro's delight.

Precap ... rewind, repeat. 

7/7 - Epi 137 ... Plots and Plans

Monday 7th July

Birthday plans successfully carried out.

Revenge planning started.

And someone was in a great hurry for his honeymoon to start!

*edited - quick update*

I liked the episode ... am glad they ended the Mala track ... the scene was okay ... Rudra is happy now, and is ready to put a closure to the bitterness. Paro has changed his life, as long as she is around, nothing else is really important, not even the anger and bitterness he has carried within him for so long. So he's happy to see the entire family celebrating his birthday, but where is the most important person, without whom every celebration is incomplete? And when she emerges with his cake, he relaxes ... she didn't forget, of course she didn't, how could he have even thought she would? All this was her plan ... for which he promises her private retribution ... a retribution both of them will enjoy  
Cake cut ... he wants to give her the first slice, but she reminds him ... Bapusa and Maasa come first, the two people without whom he wouldn't be there ...
Paro is, and will always be, his conscience keeper.
And finally Rudra lets go of the bitterness ... he may never forget the wounds his mother's desertion gave him ... but at least he can understand she left for a reason ... it's over, it's in the past ... the wounds have started to heal, and he's ready to move on ... because he has found happiness in his life.
Happiness, in the shape of Paro ... to whom he turns to show the gift from his maasa ... like a boy showing his prized possession to his best friend.

The skit was unnecessary ... the only purpose it served was to serve up some light moments, and to show how far Rudra has come, that he has shed his shield of anger almost completely. For a man who used anger and fierceness as a shield to cloak his hurt, his vulnerability, whenever he was teased ... today he can smile and laugh when he is teased ... and can tease back.

Geetanjali ma'am does her job ... reminds Rudra he and Paro still haven't had their honeymoon yet ... and Rudra banna is keen to take off immediately ... not even allowing Paro to change her clothes!  So much hurry for the honeymoon?! 

The rest of the episode was devoted to the entry of the new villain ... whistle blowing brother of the dead Varun ... the CV's disclosed his identity very quickly. So yes, he has good reason for his vendetta ... his brother's widow married her husband's killer.

From the new BTS segments, the honeymoon is torpedoed ... yet again.