Tues 26th March
Didn't expect this one coming! I said yesterday that anti-dowry statements cannot be made often enough on telly ... didn't know this would pack such a strong punch. Actually showing that the girls lost a friend to dowry demands was a great idea ... many of us, if not most, are strongly anti-dowry in principle already but often the demands are sugar-coated with the name of 'gifts' ... but going through an experience like that would ensure that we follow the principle to the T ...
So will Chhanchhan actually stop Purvi's wedding?
Manav-Chhanchhan's arguments were quite silly ... Farhan so far is not very impressive.
Need to re-watch ... Live stream is very iffy. Don't get more than the gist of the episode.
*Edited*
Watching the episode in HD on big screen does make a difference
I liked the episode better than the first on live streaming, but when I saw it again, the impact was much greater.
First the not so good. Did not really care for the nok jhok between Chhanchhan and Manav and the way it started ... felt Chhanchhan should have been more empathic to Manav sneezing, after all, she's a dog trainer, not just a dog lover, so she should know that people can have dog allergies. Also the peeing on his shoes was not in good taste ... or rather, her reaction to it was not. Most dog owners would be apologetic. Although a toy dog doing such antics is more forgiveable ... my Maltese did it all the time, and it feels like a kid's antics, they are such babies!
Farhan's voice ... was it dubbed?
The rest of the teasing was okay ... light and fun, with no malice or nastiness. Having lived in two countries for ten years where the local word for milk was 'susu' ... really!!!
and having brought up my kids with frequent reminders to drink their susu, I laughed at the susu-sherbet teasing ...Besides, it was just teasing, done in fun. No 'intense hate' or anything ...
Now the good ... the Manav-Uma Ben scene ... Farhan was better in this scene ... is he less nervous with Supriya than with Sanaya? Mother-son interaction started to lay down the respective characters ... nice. Mother caught up in her arrogance of money and position (more and more reminds me of ASR 
... how much a person can be forgiven for being a jerk, if he is tall, dark and handsome!) ... while son, although affectionate with his mom, sets his own rules and boundaries, and will not blindly follow everything she says. Already see a difference between Manav, and Ahemji and Suraj dikra ...hope it stays.
More good ... Farhan was better in the later scenes with Sanaya ... I did see a spark in their tiny eyelock ... both are good-looking actors, if Farhan's acting improves, the chemistry will come.
What I loved ...
The Chhanchhan-Purvi scene, a typical scene between two best friends, and Purvi worrying about her father, how is he doing, she's heard him crying, he's not been well, she wants to see him one last time before her wedding ... loved that scene. The bond between father and daughter, the worry of the daughter for her father ... (does Purvi not have a mother?)
The entire dowry conversation ... Chhanchhan overhearing ... Supriya mediating the give and take. Unfortunately there are still many parents of boys who feel that they are superior to the girls' parents, and there is nothing wrong in giving 'gifts' to the boy's side ... after all, it will all go to their daughter eventually, won't it?And these are not 'vamps' who feel this way, these are many average, perfectly normal, educated women in society.
The best part ... the flashback to losing a friend to dowry demands, and the pledge made by the five to never give or take dowry. This was the most impactful scene of the episode ... well done by the writing team!
Until the youngsters themselves decide to fight the evils inherent in our society, they will never end.
It was heartening in the recent Nirbhaya protests to see so many youngsters taking part, even more heartening to see so many men. When those who are in the privileged position start to see the negatives of that position, the time for change is near.
So I was happy to see that there was a solid reason for the girls to have taken that pledge, a solid reason for them to stick to it regardless of everything. Nirbhaya impacted those who did not even know her ... how much more impact would the death of a dear friend have! Loved the way they did this part!
And loved more ... Chhanchhan goes to tell her friends, they confer between themselves, and then decide they have to tell Purvi, and leave the decision to her. After all, it is her future, and her life at stake.
Yes, they are keeping this serial very real.
Didn't expect this one coming! I said yesterday that anti-dowry statements cannot be made often enough on telly ... didn't know this would pack such a strong punch. Actually showing that the girls lost a friend to dowry demands was a great idea ... many of us, if not most, are strongly anti-dowry in principle already but often the demands are sugar-coated with the name of 'gifts' ... but going through an experience like that would ensure that we follow the principle to the T ...
So will Chhanchhan actually stop Purvi's wedding?
Manav-Chhanchhan's arguments were quite silly ... Farhan so far is not very impressive.
Need to re-watch ... Live stream is very iffy. Don't get more than the gist of the episode.
*Edited*
Watching the episode in HD on big screen does make a difference
I liked the episode better than the first on live streaming, but when I saw it again, the impact was much greater.First the not so good. Did not really care for the nok jhok between Chhanchhan and Manav and the way it started ... felt Chhanchhan should have been more empathic to Manav sneezing, after all, she's a dog trainer, not just a dog lover, so she should know that people can have dog allergies. Also the peeing on his shoes was not in good taste ... or rather, her reaction to it was not. Most dog owners would be apologetic. Although a toy dog doing such antics is more forgiveable ... my Maltese did it all the time, and it feels like a kid's antics, they are such babies!
Farhan's voice ... was it dubbed?
The rest of the teasing was okay ... light and fun, with no malice or nastiness. Having lived in two countries for ten years where the local word for milk was 'susu' ... really!!!
and having brought up my kids with frequent reminders to drink their susu, I laughed at the susu-sherbet teasing ...Besides, it was just teasing, done in fun. No 'intense hate' or anything ... Now the good ... the Manav-Uma Ben scene ... Farhan was better in this scene ... is he less nervous with Supriya than with Sanaya?
Mother-son interaction started to lay down the respective characters ... nice. Mother caught up in her arrogance of money and position (more and more reminds me of ASR ... how much a person can be forgiven for being a jerk, if he is tall, dark and handsome!) ... while son, although affectionate with his mom, sets his own rules and boundaries, and will not blindly follow everything she says. Already see a difference between Manav, and Ahemji and Suraj dikra ...hope it stays. More good ... Farhan was better in the later scenes with Sanaya ... I did see a spark in their tiny eyelock ... both are good-looking actors, if Farhan's acting improves, the chemistry will come.
What I loved ...
The Chhanchhan-Purvi scene, a typical scene between two best friends, and Purvi worrying about her father, how is he doing, she's heard him crying, he's not been well, she wants to see him one last time before her wedding ... loved that scene. The bond between father and daughter, the worry of the daughter for her father ... (does Purvi not have a mother?)
The entire dowry conversation ... Chhanchhan overhearing ... Supriya mediating the give and take. Unfortunately there are still many parents of boys who feel that they are superior to the girls' parents, and there is nothing wrong in giving 'gifts' to the boy's side ... after all, it will all go to their daughter eventually, won't it?And these are not 'vamps' who feel this way, these are many average, perfectly normal, educated women in society.
The best part ... the flashback to losing a friend to dowry demands, and the pledge made by the five to never give or take dowry. This was the most impactful scene of the episode ... well done by the writing team!
Until the youngsters themselves decide to fight the evils inherent in our society, they will never end.It was heartening in the recent Nirbhaya protests to see so many youngsters taking part, even more heartening to see so many men. When those who are in the privileged position start to see the negatives of that position, the time for change is near.
So I was happy to see that there was a solid reason for the girls to have taken that pledge, a solid reason for them to stick to it regardless of everything. Nirbhaya impacted those who did not even know her ... how much more impact would the death of a dear friend have! Loved the way they did this part!
And loved more ... Chhanchhan goes to tell her friends, they confer between themselves, and then decide they have to tell Purvi, and leave the decision to her. After all, it is her future, and her life at stake.
Yes, they are keeping this serial very real.
gripping episode... :) had a little serious touch than yesterday's... farhan isn't extraordinary, but fits his character to T...much better than Mohit was as Samrat anyway...he has that boyish grin and the expressive eyes to pull off Maanav.. :)) liked him... Maanav-Chanchan fights and arguments were extremely silly, not to mention juvenile with endless 'susu'..but I am hoping they will change in the future...ofcourse her best friend and his best friend HAVE to fall in love and they come closer in the process of getting them both together.. :)
ReplyDeleteliked the way chanchan shared the dahej talks with all her friends so that they could decide together what is to be done ... such a sharp contrast from khushi who found it upto herself to make all the decisions and rectify everything that is going wrong whatsoever... liked the maturity in chancha...she made me cry in that 2 min flashback..so that's the reason they are so strongly against dahej and very rightfully so.. if this tale was being shown in mumbai, that flashback scene would have been slightly unbelievable, but against the backdrop of ahmedabad, which is yet not modernized to the extent of mumbai it is very much plausible..and educated people do that... with the very strong belief that umaben very shrewdly and diplomatically explained to tushar bhai.. I felt the "laalchi" touch given to the family was slightly dramatic, but then, how will the next Chanchan-Umaben faceoff take place? :)
liked it even more how quietly she told purvi abt the dahej talks..not taking her decision for her and letting her decide..
let's see what happens tomo...I hope purvi speaks up a bit more and not let chanchan be the spokesperson for her... interesting that maanav isn't here to watch all this...wonder what his reaction would be? its too hard to tell now though..right now he comes across as a guy who has the slight arrogance of his mother, but a sharp contrast in that he he doesn't believe in social inequality.. loves his mother dearly, but has the courage to stand upto his own beliefs... thank god!
Right now the simple-chanchan-maanav and his friend scenario is reminding me bigtime of ishq - my all time fav movie.. :))
http://i.minus.com/iOZgltF72QgZb.gif
ReplyDeleteI think this is going to be signature 'maanav-chanchan'.. do they have a name yet btw?? :P
the more I watch the epi, the more this guy grows on me... :) I think I'll be liking the love story too.. :))
I think the voice in the promo scene was dubbed here..or something was majorly wrong with it...I realised it after watching it the second time.. so it didn't appeal to me as much as it did in the promo.. but in the scenes later on, they both looked quite natural.. esp in the I am watching u parts, he has good expressions.. :))
Mads,
DeleteYep, he's not bad, he's growing on me too ... and this is just the second episode, and his first proper one. There was something wrong with his voice, I too felt that. I felt the voice today was dubbed ... his way of talking in the SBB segments was more fluent and natural.
Epi 2:
ReplyDeleteI spoke too soon! This one disappointed me, actually.
IMHO, this dowry thing- it is too HEAVY DUTY and too EARLY in the show. I feel, for the first two weeks or so, it is essential to build up your audience, with a light track. Dowry is a clichéd track and has been dealt with better by others- so, when that came up, I was like, ‘please, NO!’
Two shows on Sony that had me hooked on for weeks: BALH and KTLK. All writers should study these two shows to know what makes a show click. Build up your fan base with light hearted tracks and then throw this serious stuff at them. As a dog trainer, there are so many scenes to be exploited. They should show father- daughter going for walks- highlight of BALH- and probably some cute takrars between the leads. That ‘I am watching you like a hawk’ was cute, but I felt they dragged the soo- soo thing with the sherbet.
This wedding idea was good as an intro for Farhan- but I feel they did not build him up after that. A guy who loiters around, with that buffoon friend of his- not my idea of a hero. I really hope CC instils some senses of responsibility in this rich spoilt guy and he grows up. Seriously, the hero needs to mature a bit, I felt. Farhan has to go a looooong way! His character as such, I guess we’ll love him more when they show his whole family- CC’s sasuraal. They should have used the second epi to introduce his family, with CC and him busy at this wedding- that’d have been so good!
Uma- again, they should build her up slowly. So far I get the impression that she is rich and powerful and loves to show off both. And she is not evil- actually with the dowry thing, it looked like she played a mediator to cut down the demands by half- only prob is she thinks she can control the guys’ side.
I liked the way she cut off the groom’s dad and suggested they get on with the wedding. But too soon- they should have shown her playing the mediator at another wedding, while CC and her friends talked against dowry here- let both the weddings end at a happy note and then got them against each other 2 or 3 weeks from now. This looks rushed now.
That whole dowry- death thing could have been avoided in the second episode. The thing is, it sends the wrong message to the viewers. I’ll watch for Sanaya, but if I didn’t know her, my response’d be- ‘here is another preachy serial’!
Will the wedding be stopped?
Unlikely! I feel the girls will bring this out and the groom will stand with the support of his friends to make a statement against dowry and ask his parents to give it back, proceed with the wedding.
ROFL ... should have known, Su! We can't agree on things for too long!
DeleteI loved the whole dowry part.
I do not think Supriya was being mediator to cut down the demands ... while I don't think she was actively encouraging them, I think she is the type of woman who actually doesn't believe there is anything wrong in taking dowry. There are many people like that even today unfortunately ... they will not 'demand', but will happily accept a one-sided flow of cash and gifts, all under the pretext of "oh, it's going to your daughter eventually after all."
I wouldn't call this a Vamp ... it is unfortunately very real.
Sanaya has garnered a lot of young viewers after IPK, but she has also garnered a lot of the general TRP audience. On every trip to India, I am surprised to find more and more people among my aunts and uncles who watched IPK. The older educated urban generation will love to watch this ... they already watch BV and DABH, which give exactly the same messages, but this one is better packaged. Or equally well packaged at least ... I find the acting from Sanaya and Supriya better than Bhabho and Sandhya or even Anandi ... but it takes time for the characters to sink into people's minds, so this shock treatment was a good idea. I will tune in tonight, not only for Sanaya, but to see if Purvi stops her own marriage, does the marriage go through eventually, who intervenes ... etc. So they have gotten the audience to tune in tonight to see what will happen to the wedding ...
Su, give it some time! :) All I remember is Sanaya and the makers insisting that everything that is shown in the show will be close to reality... and so far they have stuck to their words... which is why everything isn't so hunky dory and harmonious to begin with... :) because life is NOT like that..their characters will be developed THROUGHOUT the show and I guess that is the biggest USP of chanchan.. that they do not have extraordinary incidences to develop one's characters..or unnecessary family bonding and dialogues, but instead via these day to dy happenings in one person's life.. isn't that how we all live too? Not every day of our life is the best day, not every day is the worst.. life just goes on and we go on with it... one day is happy, the other is sad... even the 2 min tragedy that they showed which changed the tone of yest's epi, did not linger on for long on chanchan's mind..because its in the past and she has moved on from it, but also she has learnt a lot from that one incidence and her belief system shaped up coz of that.. glad that they are showing this..and not that her beliefs are a random set of principles.. just like us, we develop and modulate our beliefs day in and day out subconsciously, without our knowing it..
DeleteI have said this on IF and will say it here too, people tuning into this show only for Sanaya will be HUGELY disappointed because although the serial revolves around her, it has nothing to showcase her brilliant acting skills..no emotional heavy duty drama, no intense romance, no full fledged comedy, in short nothing that forms the basis of judging a person's acting.. likewise, people watching this show expecting some drama to take place and waiting for it to unfold before their eyes will be equally disappointed..if people are waiting for a storyline to unfold, they will have to keep on waiting too..the drama will happen, but the magnitude will not be as dramatic as is shown in other dramas... again I remember sanaya's words "everything will be dealt with as it is dealt with in real life" ... :))
I am sure this show won't garner as much TRPs as other shows because audience doesnt like to watch everyday stuff and this show will be a lot of that.. but I hope they keep the show on air for atleast a yr to begin with.. :))
Have u watched saas bina sasuraal? Watch it and then u'll know the USP of these makers.. its extremely light hearted and endearing to watch...I remember watching one episode where they showed nothing except the day proceding.. it would have been boring, but for the characters and their dialogues and one liners, which kept the episode moving.. and this wasn't at the beginning of the show, this was somewhere in the middle, so this wasn't just to build up the characters..
as for Maanav, he is rich, sure... arrogant? maybe..but spoilt? I don't think so...on the contrary, he is so unlike his mother, his best friend is a middle class man.. goes onto show that inspite of being raised by such a biased mother, he isn't the one to hold to her pallu..he loves her, sure...but at the same time, holds his own.. :)
as for chanchan-maanav love story..no suprises here too.. how often has one heard someone narrate their love story that begins with "that annoying guy/girl that I met at my friends's wedding"? Its soo common everywhere around us.. so this story won't be something different and exciting to watch...but if the chemistry is right, it will be heart touching for sure.. :) I definitely saw a spark between them in the "i am watching u scene" especially the very last one, where maanav already had a flirtatious smile on his face.. :))
Mads, Dia,
DeleteHmmmm....I guess we don't agree for too long. LOL.
But seriously, I think it is my expectations that ruined it 4 me. I was expecting something on the lines of BALH and KTLK- both had a wonderful start and kept me glued on for many weeks. They were both very realistically written, and I expected something on those lines here.
Yes. I have watched SBS-I used to like it- I do hope they will do better than that with CC.
On Uma- I understand the show is 'loosely' based on Khoobsoorat. I have only watched the remake of it, and not the original one. And the impression I had was of a strict matriarch, who kept her husband and children under her control. It'd have been so good if they introduced her in her daily routine- a matronly lady, rather than this dowry mediator. She is the adversary, and she deserves a grand opening too, as did the male lead. I feel sad they have neglected that.
Now it looks like CC is out to fight the evils in society including her future MIL...what i mean is, the MIL should be someone respectable, if it is a clash of ideologies.
The old world representative does not seem to have any ideals at all here- dowry thing is OK, because that is exactly how women- even the well educated ones of that generation think. Bribing the poojari was in bad taste- I cannot respect this woman.
On Farhan's character- I did not mean spoilt in that sense. Just wondering about his profession. Is it going to be the usual business empire he inherited- I so wish they have given him an interesting profession. Any way, it does not look like he is doing anything much at all, from his introduction. I was thinking more in lines of CC inspiring him to find what he wants in life when I made that 'spoilt' statement- 'main aisa kyun hoon' inspired track. (Both of you'll kill me now. LOL. I am just exploring the possibilities. There are lots with the story,they can do much much better than SBS- I want Sanaya to get her due.)
I wanted something like this from the second epi:
Focus on the second and third main characters- epi opening in their household, intro of all the characters there, showing the tight ship Uma runs...youngest son is her favorite and therefore gets away with most things- he rushes off to his friend's wedding even as his mom tries to force him to attend another one with the family- he lands up with a not so buffoon looking friend- friction with CC.
Continue the dowry drama in both the weddings- CC highlights the evils of the system here when Uma is mediating the same in another wedding and feeling quite proud about it(Like I said, I can still respect a woman from that generation who thinks like that- it is a custom for them- and they will not give it up...)
That dowry death thing- with the five girls wearing white- totally avoidable- we don't need to have a friend dying due to dowry- related causes to take up a stance like that! It was more melodramatic than realistic for me.
And when I talk about taking things slow....CC's mother has not even been introduced properly. They should give father- daughter (where KTLK and BALH excelled) and mother- daughter moments NOW.
DeleteThere is no point rushing head on to HEAVY DUTY THINGS before you make the audience fall in love with your characters- and by that I mean, even Uma. If she is supposed to be the main opponent, and it is a clash of ideologies- there should be something to love about her too...
This MIL- I compare her with the MILs from DABH, Housewife and Kairi (These 3 are the ones that come to my mind)- Uma comes only 4th in that list! Shows how much the characterisation has suffered since it took me only 1 or 2 epis to get interested in these women.
Bhaabho- however irritatingly orthodox and dense she is, hangs on to her ideals and hence is lovable most of the times, for me. She is the most lovable antagonistic saas I have seen. And that is one of the reasons that show is so successful. They are slow, but they are thorough with their characters. It is essential to build up ALL THE CHARACTERS in the first few episodes!
That way, even if the viewers take a break for whatever reasons, they can follow the story when they get back. And they will get back, because they love the characters- the reason why I don't feel like changing the channel when I catch BALH or KTLK even if I am not actively following them any more!
I don't know about Kairi and Houswife, because I never watched either ... but Bhabho was not even INTRODUCED in the first week of DABH as far as I remember. It was all about Sandhya, her exams, and then her parents dying and their meeting with Suraj before they died, and her dad giving Suraj a pen for Sandhya. So your point about building up all the characters, Su ... DABH is not the right example at all ... in fact it negates your own argument.
DeleteAnd I think the fact that Uma Ben is fourth on your list in just two episodes also negates it ... the other three have been around for far longer, and yet you already count Uma Ben among them. And honestly, I don't think her character has been completely established yet ... so far, only Chhanchhan's character has been set ore or less firmly, which includes the first glimpse of her family ... after all, part of her character is also the family she comes from. And I can safely say that neither the MIL from Housewife or Kairi interests me in the slightest, one episode or ten, so it also about individual perception, isn't it?
I think you're making the same mistake as many others did, and still do ... developing a pre-conceived idea of what you would like to see, and then being disappointed when you don't get it. While it was fair to develop expectations during a show like IPK when we were following it for so many weeks and months, to have those kind of expectations when the show is all of two episodes old, and then say you're disappointed that the show didn't show you what you were expecting, is not really fair. It is then more about your expectations than what you're actually getting to watch.
When IPK started, it was touted as an intense love story between two mature individuals. I wanted Khushi to be mature ... because that is what was promised. She was goofy and quirky very often, it disappointed me, because it was NOT what had been promised. The story of the dark past was dealt with in under two episodes, THAT disappointed me hugely because the entire show was built up on the premise of that past. Shyam's exposure disappointed me because half his deeds never came to light. I can claim disappointment on those fronts ... but I still loved the show for what it did give me.
Chhanchhan has promised me a 'realistic' show ... from the name Modern Bahu and the sketch about it being a clash between modern ideas and a MIL with old-fashioned thoughts, I expect something ... so far, it has met my expectations. I have a protagonist with modern ideas, I have a MIL who is orthodox and very proud with it. Where it has disappointed me is the original news that it was based on Khubsoorat - the MIL is not like Dina Pathak in Khubsoorat ... but the bahu so far still is. Again, in just two episodes, I cannot claim that I know the characters inside out, they will take more time to develop.
Does the show interest me? It did for Sanaya initially. But yesterday's episode got me hooked more for the show itself. I wanted to watch DABH when the promos came because the premise interested me ... an educated girl fighting for the right to work. The execution disappointed me big time - and I gave far more than two days, I think I watched it off and on till Sandhya got married and a few days beyond that. So far the execution in Chhanchan has not disappointed. The characters are taking time to settle down, but that's a different issue entirely, and one which every soap goes through. Heck, even IPK did ... after 3 weeks and Khushi's goofiness, I almost gave up on the show, and thought I would watch just for time pass. It picked up about a month into the show.
My only expectation for Chhanchhan is an author backed central role for Sanaya, a mature intelligent heroine with the courage of her convictions, and no OTT. I am getting that in spades. The rest is a bonus.
You say that the friend dying from dowry drama was more melodramatic than realistic for you ... did you think that Nirbhaya dying, and the huge uproar and protests that occurred around a nameless, faceless girl melodramatic? That is REAL, Su ... unfortunately very much so. And thank heavens that the youth of today are slowly waking up to these evils and taking it into their own hands to protest. Chhanchhan and her friends did exactly that ... I loved the way they showed it. You can only do what is in your hands. You can't change the world, but you can start the change with only one person - YOURSELF. And that is exactly what they are doing.
DeleteWhen my parents were looking for a match for me, the daughter of a friend went through a bad NRI marriage. She was locked up in her house in the US and had a tough time even managing to send a message home for her parents to rescue her. It scared my parents so much, that they swore they would not even look at an NRI guy for me ... and they didn't, even though they knew I wanted to go abroad to study. One's own experiences and those of people close to you, shape your own thoughts and reactions a lot.
Not melodramatic ... nope. Not at all.
Sorry if I went overboard ... this is a subject which is very close to my heart! :)
Mads, I pretty much agree with everything you said ... I didn't watch SBS regularly, but Kavs loved it, and I watched some scenes with her .. it was never on top of the charts or anything, but it was a very watchable show. And they did what I think shows like DABH and YRK do ... they took up tracks of each brother one by one, and sorted them out ... with five, or six brothers, that gave them lots of tracks to go through.
DeleteI think the same will happen here ... Manav has three brothers, who are all married presumably, as he is the youngest and his mom is thinking about his marriage ... Chhanchhan has a brother and a sister ... so all the brothers and their wives will have some issues, Chhanchhan's brother and sister will have tracks ... and the issues will be dealt with by Chhanchhan and her saas in totally opposite manners, resulting in clashes ... of course, as Chhanchhan is protagonist, she will win over, but not in an overly dramatic way.
I have seen a spark between Chhanchhan and Manav in the siggies on IF ... they do look good together!
Dia,
DeleteWhen I talk about Bhaabho getting me interested, I only started watching the serial then. And in two epis or so the entire cast was clear to me. May be they improved later on after the show started, that is why they held my interest for a short period of time.
IPK- took me longer to like the show, actually. Once I liked it there was no looking back, and once I understood Khushi, my main criticism of the show too died down and I appreciated all the depts they excelled in, including the acting. I don't know what magic that show had- it catered to people with different sensibilities!
On HW- the MIL is not very idealistic, I think- but the first two epis were good- they introduced all the characters pretty well- and their comedy is quite good. I can pick up any time I want because I know the characters from two or three epis. Can't say the same about CC.
Your disappointment with the MIL's characterisation is the same that I have.
Expectations ruin a show for you. You are right there.
QH disappointed me initially, it took me a few epis to warm up to it after the initial epi- same could happen with CC- I hope they concentrate on all the side characters in the next few epis- the patience of the general public wears out after some time....all the more important since DABH is coming closer to the original theme!
I am a little worried since these guys said they rushed with their selection after they got San and zeroed in on the dogs.
On the dowry death- no you are not going overboard. We react strongly when something like that has happened closer to home.
DeleteMy point is, you don't need something like that to take up a strong stance...probably because I have not been exposed to the very real horrors of it- yet I stand against it. So do most of the people around me.
What you get in the News is enough to take up a stance against dowry system, female foeticide and rape...there is no need to defend a young girl who is clear about her stance on these issues, I thought. I guess the creatives wanted to justify CC, which I felt was not required.
I think most educated people of today would stand against dowry, female feoticide, rape ... IN THEORY. When it comes close to home, especially with dowry demands when they are couched in terms of being 'gifts for your son-in-law, of course for your own daughter eventually', it sometimes becomes difficult for the youngsters to take a stand ...
DeleteThe elders will say exactly what Uma Ben said ... these youngsters should not interfere in the matters of the elders, elders are more experienced, let them handle, the the oft-repeated ... 'you are too young to understand these things, yeh toh hota hai, this is the custom'. And mostly the youngsters have to pipe down. So I think the reason for showing the dowry death of their friend was to firm the stand of the friends, and give them a cast iron reason as to WHY they would not stand for dowry in any shape or form whatsoever, even if it meant standing up against the elders.
It IS difficult for youngsters to stand up against their own elders, Su ... all parents do what they can for their children, and children know that. Purvi also knows that her father would give the dowry out of love for HER.
I was speaking to my mom ... she said that was the best and most poignant scene of the episode - the dowry death, and the five young girls taking the pledge.
I agree completely, dia..it is VERY difficult for youngsters to stand upto their own parents, esp in comparison to how easily they would do that to unknown strangers..esp girls like chanchan and her friends who are not out and out rebels, but want to stand upto their beliefs nevertheless..and there are MANY of them around us..
ReplyDeletelet me give u a very personal example..when I got engaged last yr, inspite of it being a love marriage, my parents were all for paying the entire cost of the engagement saying it to be a "tradition"..me and my fiance were completely against this and so were his parents..so there the pressure was not from the groom's side, inspite of that my parents were insisting on that..although this time with a different emotional angle "we have just one daughter, its the least we could do for her..esp since u also took a loan for ur masters and didn't let us pay" etc..only I remember the tremendous amount of guilt I felt after I convinced them to pay just 50% of the costs..while my fiance's family paid 50%..
Point to be conveyed is, many elders genuinely believe there is nothing wrong in these customs..while the younngsters strongly believe that its wrong, but often hesiate to tell the elders because they love them a lot and don't want them to feel bad..its esp even worse for women who are abt to be getting married and are leaving their parents' houses to live with an unknown family..who would want to sadden their parents when already there is so much of an emotional burden? So many youngesters, even educated ones just let it go..
I can cite many more examples of these incidences happening around me, some within my family, some within my friends' families..let me tell u, ALL educated ppit saddens me that I cannot changeall of it by myself..but atleast I can start with my own marriage, which I did.. :-)
Aww, well done Mads, and kudos to both you and your fiance ... and to his parents. I think the change has to start with the boys and their parents ... they are the ones who have to put their feet down and say, we will not take anything!
DeleteMaharashtrians and Gujjus have a more two way street, I think ... my mom had a Gujju friend, I had a Marathi friend, and they not only gave sarees to the MIL, but they also received sarees back. Now that is a gift in the true sense ... you give AND you receive. Punjabis are the worst in this regard ... it's one way only. No wonder the maximum female foeticide happens in Punjab - in educated families, that too.
At a friend's wedding, her mom gave five sarees for the boy's aunts, because two were deceased, one bua and one masi. The boy's side asked for those two extra sarees, to be given to the daughters of the respective aunts. Now this is nothing much, seven instead of five ... but it created embarrassment where it was not needed, and just showed the nature of the in-laws ... they did not demand cash or any goods, but they were finicky about these little things. "It was the custom".
The girl's side HAD TO GIVE to all the aunts by count, whether living or dead! Would the girl oppose this? No, she wouldn't, but she felt bad about the embarrassment to her parents, and felt annoyed that the in-laws were so petty.
My niece got married recently to a non-Indian, and the wedding was SO smooth ... the inlaws were more embarrassed at the gifts being given, and they tried to return as best they could, with books, wine ... this is NOT their custom at all, but they had to match up. And the girl's parents had the same mindset as yours - our only daughter, we want to give her a memorable wedding.
*sigh* When will these customs change?!