Gunjan character development

Gunjan character development – in the Wednesday episode, there was more Gunjan development (and now I’m sure someone is reading our discussions – Gunjan is going exactly the way we want her to!). First, her statement to Samrat – I can have friends other than you – the Gunjan at the start of the show didn’t talk to anyone apart from her sister, and was alarmingly prone to burst into tears if anyone spoke to her ;) … to have her reach here really shows how she has developed from a timid shy small town girl to becoming confident in her own self. And her experiences over the course of the show – the talent parade, the RJ hunt, becoming Valentine princess, being in charge of the music for the play – she took up all these roles slowly and very quietly and unobtrusively and they have all helped her grow. If you don’t follow her story, you might wonder how she reached here, but look at all the events in her life over the last year and how she has handled them, and you find the explanation. And of course, the biggest factor has been her love life – even the Sheena phase showed some growth – she went through heartbreak not once but thrice – first on Rose day, then when Samrat first started liking Sheena and confided every detail to Gunjan, then when she confessed during the play and he didn’t get it, Sheena proclaimed Gunjan loves you, he still didn’t get it … all those heartbreaks also didn’t shatter her … she cried, then picked herself up and continued with her friendship, reasoning that something is better than nothing – that itself takes some doing. And the final major contribution to her growth has been again Samrat and the fact that he loves her so much – that has over a few short weeks given her so much confidence in herself and so much growth in her character – she has become bright, smiling, confident, able to stand up for what she believes is right, confident enough to disagree with the gang and even Samrat, without going into major histrionics over it.

Samrat and Gunjan – how she handled the disagreement with Samrat (can’t even call it a fight). If you look at the characters of Samrat and Gunjan, they are polar opposites – he has a confident, almost arrogant exterior which hides a very vulnerable and lonely interior and she is the opposite, shy and underconfident with other people, but inwardly strong, sure of herself, her values and ideals, what she believes is right and wrong. So they are not just opposites - they are complementary to each other - his weakness is her strength and hers is his. He helps her to deal with the world, and she helps him to deal with himself. That's why they make such a beautiful couple.

Also she has always been sensitive to other people’s feelings – except maybe when she was in the weeping willow phase – and here she is very sensitive to Samrat, especially now that she has started learning about his childhood and his insecurities. The way she spoke to him was an unspoken reassurance – I don’t mind if you’re angry with me, you have the right to be – reassuring him that I won’t leave you regardless of anything that happens between us – for Samrat, with his history, that itself is all he needs. He’ll apologise to Nupur2/Suhani – hell, he’ll even stand on his head if required, because Gunjan is still with him. Not only does it show their bond, it also shows how dependent he is on her. And he reiterates it to Suhani – if you don’t forgive me, Gunjan won’t forgive me.