27/8 - Epi 328 ... Double Date

Monday 27th August

I love you just the way you are ... you may not be perfect, but I'm not perfect either ... and that makes us perfect for each other.

I want my perfect world, with my perfect husband and my perfect family ... so what if they don't really exist.

Nice idea, something got lost in the execution ... and can they stop playing comedy music during Arshi scenes?!!! Loved Sanaya's hair and makeup, especially her eyes, reminded me of the heroines of yesteryears ... liked her outfit, except for the big gold band at the bottom ... should have been just black and silver, why the gold?!!! *head desk* do they actually TRY to ruin all her outfits? Maybe they do, actually ... how else can they show Khushi's jhalliness changing to sophistication ... the moment they give Sanaya anything halfway decent, like the red or green saris, she looks far too stunning to pass off as remotely unsophisticated.

Something seemed to change in Anjali with that narrow escape ...

*edited*

Had an early night for once, so had time to write an episode update :)

Arnav offers without even thinking much about it, to drop Di … and Dadi too … no problem. And at any time in the past, probably Anjali would have taken him up without thinking on his offer, it’s completely natural on his part, and what he would do always … after all, her is her Chotey, he takes care of her always, he would never dream of letting her go alone at night … 

But when dil mein chor ho, when she is hiding things from him, it’s the last thing she wants. And Anjali being Anjali, she can’t confront, can’t refuse outright, she can only prevaricate and pretend she’s saving him the trouble, not that she doesn’t want him to drop her … and Dadi joins in the pretence. Both women lying to him, both so certain that he is in the wrong about what he has done, that they don’t see the very obvious truth in front of them, the truth evident in his every gesture, in the unthinking care and concern for Di … the truth that he would never do anything to hurt Di.

But of course they know he wouldn’t, it’s just that he has misunderstood things … and instead of trying to make him understand, they have to resort to lying and deceiving him. It’s all because of Khushi, he’s under her spell, so he will not listen to the truth about Shyam … 

How exactly meeting Shyam on the sly will convince him about Shyam’s truth is not explained. How has Shyam managed to convince both women that he is innocent, but he still needs to hide and skulk and lie … that he cannot simply come straight out and tell the Raizadas that I’m sorry if you think I was lying, but I love my wife very much, Khushi has got it all wrong, and I cannot live without my wife, so I want to take her away with me. 

But no, both women are gullible and easy prey to Shyam … one because she can’t bear to see her perfect world crumble, she needs the support of her husband’s sweet nothings as well as the more practical solid money support of her brother, she needs to feel the love and need from both … and the other, set in her rigid thinking, sure that Arnav was wrong to blame his father so many years ago, when father was caught in the love of an undeserving woman, and now the son is repeating the same mistake, caught in the love of a worthless woman, and blaming the wrong man. Of the two, Dadi is the more to be censured … and pitied … her blind faith in a son-in-law she has apparently never met earlier, overrides her belief in her childhood friend and her own grandson. Which is why I feel sure that by the end of the past revelation, Dadi will come to realize her own mistake in the past … from the mistake she is making in the present. 

Anjali is lost in her blind love … but can Dadi not see from the very fact that she has to tell lies about Anjali meeting Shyam, that she is doing something wrong? Why should she, or indeed, anyone, have to lie about a husband and wife meeting each other? Why should anyone have to abet that lie? Dadi is a very stupid woman! 

And felt sorry for Arnav … he does try to do his best for his Di … the only mistake he made was not telling her the complete truth about her KP … It’s time he learnt that hiding bitter truths from Anjali is a mistake. But then again, maybe she will just conveniently faint again.

Arnav-Khushi date … Arnav waiting at the restaurant for Khushi, alerted by the sound of her payal, looks around to see a new Khushi … all in black, hair tied back, an attempt to look like the glamorous sophisticated ASR-type lady she isn’t … but Arnav is spell-bound nevertheless … Khushi looks beautiful. More make up than she normally wears, eyes darkened, long earrings, and no other jewelry than her MS, an epitome of grace and elegance … even the slightly loud gold border of her dress can’t take that away completely.

Is this the first time that someone wanted to do something for ASR? In his way? The way they thought he would like? A reservation at his favourite restaurant, even though she doesn’t like Italian food, doesn’t know the first thing about it … dressing the way she thinks he would like, in his favorite color … even wanting to pull out the chair for him because he once did the same for her … his own family, including Anjali loves him a lot, but they stay the way they are, they don’t try to do things the way he likes … he’s on his own in his world, and he joins them in theirs … but now Khushi wants to join him in his world too.

And she does it all, deals with all the mishaps in true Khushi style, without getting fazed … wrong date for the dinner? No problem … sweet-talk the waiter into getting her a table, while Arnav looks on indulgently with a ‘can’t believe she can get away with this’ look – similar to his look in the kerosene-for-water switch … only Khushi can do this! 

Doesn’t understand the menu? No problem … order by number … living so many years in the Far East, we still order from pictures in Chinese menu cards :) and by number too.:)

A contrast with Payal, who ran away at first mishap … Khushi will not give up. 

And Arnav goes along with her … lets her order for both of them (I vaguely remember a dinner with La where he ordered for both of them without consulting La) … he knows she won’t like the bland Italian food, so he spices it up to her taste. 

Sniper couple enter, get a table in an alcove, and can be safely ignored for the time being. :))

 

And he finally asks her what she’s up to … and she tells him … she’s trying to become like him. 

Trying to be a part of his world, a world which is so different from hers. But if he can set his beliefs aside to do things that make her happy, if he can enter temples, and take part in all the wedding rasams which are so important to her, then she can do the same, she can do things foreign to her nature, because they’re what he likes, what he’s used to. If he can reach out to her, she wants to reach out to him.

Sniper couple … Anjali the non-confrontationist … wants Shyam to come for the godh-bharayi, but will Arnav be there? Because it’s Khushi’s mehndi as well. And Dadi promised Shyam would come, but how? Anjali as usual, happy that someone is there to fight her battles for her, because she can’t fight. She can only cry and cling and moan, she can’t take a stand. Not alone.

When Arnav wanted La in the house, Nani opposed, Anjali had support, so she could voice her opposition. But when Arnav insisted, Anjali found middle ground between Nani and Arnav, because she didn’t want him to leave the house, and allowed La into the house. Again when Arnav married Khushi, Nani opposed vehemently, Anjali had support … but when Arnav threatened to leave with Khushi, Anjali found middle ground and repeated some of the rasams to allow Arnav Khushi into the house. Now Anjali wants Shyam, Arnav will oppose, but this time, so will Nani, Anjali’s solid support … so Anjali was quiet till now. Now she has Dadi. But will she threaten to walk out? Don’t think she has the guts … but she might do that, and that might be what forces Arnav to allow Shyam back into the house … 

Dream Couple again :) - Arnav-Khushi continue their date happily, Arnav has to explain that the food portions here are small, Khushi is dismayed because she doesn’t like the food, he spices it up for her and she’s upset that he did more for her, whereas today she wanted to do everything for him the way he liked it …

And Arnav makes his point … he asks her to drink wine. Khushi is dismayed again, but he wants her to … so she bites the bullet and drinks. As he watches … she will really do anything for him …

Didn’t get why Khushi acted drunk when she wasn’t … that was stupid direction …:(

But the nicest part of the episode … as she realizes this wasn’t wine at all, and Arnav tells her that he doesn’t want her to change into ASR.

Khushi wanted to do it for him … because he was doing so much for her …

And he asks her … do you want me to change?

She shakes her head … no. she already told him that once … she loves him as he is, she doesn’t want him to change, she’s there for him as he is.

And he’s the same … he’s going through all the rituals, not because he believes in them, but because even though he personally doesn’t, he has no problem with them per se, and so he happily does them all for her. After all, he sees the rituals in his family all the time, they are not unfamiliar for him. But for her, his way of life is different, she has no idea about it … she did it only for him, even though she had no idea about it all. 

And that’s what he loved … he loves her the way she is too … he doesn’t want to change her either.

I would love a follow up to this later, maybe after marriage, when she tells him, I know this is your world, and I want to be a part of it for you … so I want to learn. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your friends and colleagues, and there is no harm in learning new ways, as long as you keep your traditions and values intact. So I want to learn … try different foods, learn how to eat with knife and fork, even dress in modern clothes, while staying within my boundaries.

That would truly be Nayi Soch !

The last champagne part was superfluous … absolutely did NOT like the comic music at the start … although I completely empathized with the champagne popping … from personal experience :) And I did like Arnav cheering up Khushi when she felt bad that everything went wrong … although the teasing was totally BS! Wish they had lingered on that, and gone into some more small talk and sweet moments, rather than switch to Sniper couple. So Dream Couple wind up their date happily, with Arnav paying the bill, and both leaving together in perfect accord with each other … an evening well spent … a mental tuning … further acceptance and strengthening of their bond.

While Sniper Couple on the other hand go through mental trauma at danger of being found out, Shyam hiding under table, and Anjali turning her back quickly and getting all heran pareshan at the thought of being seen with her hubby by her brother … and their evening winds up quickly as she insists she has to leave before her brother finds her out. Even though Shyam tries to calm her down, but Anjali is too upset and panicky.

Anjali cannot afford to antagonize Arnav … nor does she want to. Not even for Shyam. Or maybe - especially not for Shyam. Maybe Anjali does know in her heart of hearts that estrangement from Arnav will not be good for her … she is attractive to Shyam only as long as she has Arnav’s support, and more importantly, his money. 

Find it interesting that Shyam gives gift to Anjali for his own daughter, and Anjali needs to thank him. Shyam has to always keep making gestures of love, because the feelings are absent, he has to over-compensate. And Anjali has to over-compensate in her turn … her appreciation, her gratitude, her joy … that he is thinking of their child. As though each needs to constantly prove to the other how much they love and are loved … 

Precap - Garima enters RM … has she finally plucked up the courage to meet Dadi?

Anjal looked like a Christmas tree … and an over-loaded, extremely gaudy one at that. So did Manorama.

Khushi’s choli is totally sexy … and there has been mention of fairy lights more than once recently … Payal said Khushi has this propensity to get entangled in them, and Akash and NK are making sure there are lots of fairy lights. Fortunately I don’t have too long to wait for the next episode. 

Thoughts:

What worked for me … the date – ArHi has been characterized by conflict, and for the first time in their relationship, there is no conflict whatsoever. So this is a very new, very different phase of life for them both. Differences are there in the nature of the worlds they come from,in their backgrounds, and that was highlighted in the date. But the similarities overcome those differences, because for both, their nature is now to do things for the other, to go out on a limb for the other … 

Arnav has no difficulty, or not much, in assimilating into Khushi’s world, because he has seen where she comes from, and his own world has similarities … the emphasis on family, on values, on traditions. Khushi has not till now, seen much of Arnav’s world, but she is very confident, sure of herself, comfortable in her own skin … unlike Payal, she doesn’t get fazed by her circumstances but tries her best to adapt, to assimilate, to learn. And now she’s doing it for Arnav, whom she loves more than anyone else in the world, Arnav, who has done so much for her, who has faced all the opposition from his own family and hers for her, who has made it clear to everyone that she comes first for him. So she will do anything for him … even go against her own ideals, like drinking, just because he wants her to … because she trusts that he will be there for her if she makes a fool of herself, he will be there to sort things out. Finally she has accepted that she doesn’t have to do everything alone, that she has someone of her own. And she’s ready to adapt to her new world … to his world … for him.

They could have made the date mushy and cheesy, but that would be very un-Arhi like. So they made it comic. Things going wrong – very Khushi-like … Arnav sorting things out … very Arnav-like, he has always been there for her, after all. Situations were pretty true to life … a champagne cork popping in the wrong place is so typical! 

My crib :( - they could have made it less comic though, especially the music. Music bugged me big time at many points. And I absolutely did NOT see the need for Khushi to act drunk before she realized it was kala khatta she was drinking – that was a horrendous and completely brainless idea, whoever thought of that should be shot! X(

Khushi can’t become sophisticated overnight – this is just the start of her journey, and it will be nice if they actually show that journey, especially as Sanaya is actually very sophisticated in real life, and would be completely breath-taking at the end point, once she reaches it – as the true Mrs Arnav Singh Raizada.

Anjali – don’t have time to write much, agree with Su on some points, agree with Rekha, Mads, Opti and others on others … Anjali is damaged, she is NOT normal. So I don’t expect normal reactions from her, I don’t try to justify or explain them, because there IS no explanation. Anjali avoids conflicts … completely. And she cannot stand and fight for herself, she needs a crutch always. Till date most of her conflicts have been with Arnav, and she had Nani whenever there was a conflict with Arnav – be it La, be it the sudden wedding with Khushi. The only time she was alone in a conflict, it was with Mami over Payal, and she only had Akash as support … which is worse than useless, so she never fought with Mami over Payal. Never ever. Only when Arnav entered the picture, did Payash sort out, and then Nani was as happy with Payal as Anjali and Arnav, so Anjali could show her support openly. 

Now the conflict was over Shyam, with Nani and Arnav on the same side. So Anjali did not fight. She just moped and cried and did things on the sly. Because she cannot go against Nani and Arnav, especially Arnav. The way she encouraged Akash to meet Payal, but said nothing in front of Mami, swept the Payal matter under the carpet, she did the same here … she encouraged Shyam to meet her, she enjoyed the feeling of being loved and cherished, but not at the expense of her relationship with Arnav. The only time she did oppose Arnav was when the storm first broke, when she refused to call him Chotey, when she threw him out of her room.  After that, she went out of her way to win him back … the abortion drama, the plea to Chotey to restore her world … but she got no support from anyone else to bring Shyam back … not from Arnav, not from Nani … Nani avoided her question on who is right or wrong … Nani knew very well what Anjali wanted to hear, because Anjali at that point said, I want a son like his father … Nani’s silence was her answer. Even Mami, who was bitter towards Khushi, never once said to throw Khushi out and bring Shyam back. Anjali knows she is alone in this one. Hence no confrontation, avoid conflict, and her extreme fear of being caught by Arnav … she cannot stand for a minute without Arnav. But her need to be loved is too strong, her need for her perfect world is too strong, and Shyam plays her like an expert … Yet he also knows she will not go against Arnav without support … he of course is useless as support, besides, he doesn’t want conflict between brother-sister unless he’s sure sister will win. So he knows Anjali needs stronger support to fight her brother for him … and he gets Dadi as support.

But will even Dadi be enough? Because Arnav can go against Dadi also … Arnav will not give up Khushi for anything or anyone. Definitely not for Dadi, … if he did not give up Khushi for Anjali, Dadi has no chance. 

The only thing Shyam can do now is try to get back into RM somehow … and again, try to stall the ArHi wedding. Though I don’t know if that will be of any use … Arnav is so determined that the Arhi wedding will get done by hook or by crook. The only thing Shyam might do is to stall the SR. Again, what that will achieve, remains to be seen … and also whether he will be able to create a rift between ArHi at any point. Living outside RM, he cannot … hence his need to get back inside.