Thursday 20th June
Poor Chhanchhan!!! And horrible Umaben!!! Woman, don't you stop to think that by leaving your daughter-in-law open to insult, you're insulting your own family? Really hateful woman ... can't wait till she gets her come-uppance!
To begin with yesterday .. Umaben nonplussed as to how the three bahus completed the task in time. And Chhanchhan spiked Umaben's guns further by telling her truthfully how they made the rotlas so quickly with the help of some technology. Umaben had nothing to say ... rotimaker, ready-made sarees ... CC knows all the shortcuts but she gets the required results!
To add insult to injury, CC turns out to be UB ki maa in terms of rituals ... cows should be given gur with rotlas, that's what Dadi says. So she helpfully ordered the gur herself. The next person to be impressed with Chhanchhan's sanskaar is Manek ... he approves. CC might have made a mistake in the morning with regard to nighty, but she has the good of the family at heart.
Umaben is not happy ... not only did the divide and rule policy falter, but CC earned herself some more support.
Further insult to injury, Manav calls Chhanchhan yet again ... UB disgusted as to how much of a joru ka ghulam he already is.
So the saree plan ... now that was truly vindictive and horrible ... Umaben is a disgusting woman!
In the meantime, Manav calls again ... fourth call in one morning? He is a sweetheart!
And finally Chhanchhan manages to talk to her adoring hubby ... who's a bit perplexed as to why she's so busy. That's right, Manav ... get back and investigate, please!
Sarabhai home ... Dad is apopleptic at the thought that the nasty Umaben is making his poor darling daughter work her fingers to the bone on her first day ... why did Chhanchhan need two roti makers?! Dadi and Maithili calm him down ... so does Chhanchhan when he calls her ... don't think he's completely happy, but is slightly reassured.
Poor Chhanchhan is missing Manav terribly
SN - SO glad again it's the new Manav ... with old Manav, by now I would be telling CC again ... bhaag,CC, bhaag!
Technology to CC's aid again ... how to tie a saree. And it would have worked, if CC had the time to fix a few safety pins ...
Since she didn't ... disaster
The Mahila Mandal ladies seem to take lessons from Umaben on how to be nasty. And I'm not too conversant with munh dikhayi, but in all the movies, the girl sits quietly and everyone comes up to her to give her gifts. She doesn't go around to touch everyone's feet. Another convenient tweaking of traditions by Umaben ... now if traditions are tweaked against her, she's got it coming.
Precap was the saving grace ... Manav is back. Phew!!!
Poor Chhanchhan!!! And horrible Umaben!!! Woman, don't you stop to think that by leaving your daughter-in-law open to insult, you're insulting your own family? Really hateful woman ... can't wait till she gets her come-uppance!
To begin with yesterday .. Umaben nonplussed as to how the three bahus completed the task in time. And Chhanchhan spiked Umaben's guns further by telling her truthfully how they made the rotlas so quickly with the help of some technology. Umaben had nothing to say ... rotimaker, ready-made sarees ... CC knows all the shortcuts but she gets the required results!
To add insult to injury, CC turns out to be UB ki maa in terms of rituals ... cows should be given gur with rotlas, that's what Dadi says. So she helpfully ordered the gur herself. The next person to be impressed with Chhanchhan's sanskaar is Manek ... he approves. CC might have made a mistake in the morning with regard to nighty, but she has the good of the family at heart.
Umaben is not happy ... not only did the divide and rule policy falter, but CC earned herself some more support.
Further insult to injury, Manav calls Chhanchhan yet again ... UB disgusted as to how much of a joru ka ghulam he already is.
So the saree plan ... now that was truly vindictive and horrible ... Umaben is a disgusting woman!
In the meantime, Manav calls again ... fourth call in one morning? He is a sweetheart!
And finally Chhanchhan manages to talk to her adoring hubby ... who's a bit perplexed as to why she's so busy. That's right, Manav ... get back and investigate, please!Sarabhai home ... Dad is apopleptic at the thought that the nasty Umaben is making his poor darling daughter work her fingers to the bone on her first day ... why did Chhanchhan need two roti makers?! Dadi and Maithili calm him down ... so does Chhanchhan when he calls her ... don't think he's completely happy, but is slightly reassured.
Poor Chhanchhan is missing Manav terribly
SN - SO glad again it's the new Manav ... with old Manav, by now I would be telling CC again ... bhaag,CC, bhaag!
Technology to CC's aid again ... how to tie a saree. And it would have worked, if CC had the time to fix a few safety pins ...
Since she didn't ... disaster
The Mahila Mandal ladies seem to take lessons from Umaben on how to be nasty. And I'm not too conversant with munh dikhayi, but in all the movies, the girl sits quietly and everyone comes up to her to give her gifts. She doesn't go around to touch everyone's feet. Another convenient tweaking of traditions by Umaben ... now if traditions are tweaked against her, she's got it coming. Precap was the saving grace ... Manav is back. Phew!!!
Hello Dia!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the Wednesday and Thursday episodes. Sanaya was just brilliant in portraying all emotions of a newly married woman who is missing her hubby and at a lose in her new place.
The three bahus scene in kitchen, Chhanchhan and her dad conversation, her calls with Manav, her admiring herself in the mirror, constant palla trouble all well done.
The episodes look much more polished and Anuj has revived the chracter of Manav. Glad he will be back home on Monday, as I want to see how he supports his wife against the tricks UB is playing.
The actor playing Ranjana needs special mention for doing a really good job, she is hilarious.
Glad they are keeping Sarabhais in the loop.
The problem I have is with UB and her husband's characterization. Maybe things will unfold later, but as of now all I can see is UB's motivation for everything is her ego and pride. She can even manipulate and turn against her loved ones for that. Her husband comes across as having no spine or independent thought. The creatives need to fix this.
BTW, where is UB's FIL? He has not come yet.
Dia I am taking a liberty to comment about Anuj's first couple of interviews. He said the show is perceived as a "sinking ship" by many actors yet he took it up. He covered his bases well, if the show does well he positioned himself to get lots of credit, and if it fails it was a sinking ship anyway. How smart is he? Other actors need to take tips from him...
-U
Uma,
DeleteAgree with most of your comments ... as usual! :)))
Umaben ... I find a few things out of whack with Umaben's character. The first is that she hides things even from her husband - why is that? She doesn't browbeat or dominate him, like say a Bhabho ... she keeps him as much in the dark about her true motives as she does the rest of the family. This is something I find very difficult to fathom, and it's one of the things that makes her character unbelievable. She doesn't trust anyone completely, neither her husband, nor her sons, and definitely not her DILs ... it's very weird. We need some back story to explain this.
The second, though not as unbelievable, is her extreme vendetta against Chhanchhan, without even for one moment considering her son's feelings, or considering that by humiliating Chhanchhan, she is also laying herself and the BS name to insult. Is she that short-sighted? She was upset at the wedding arrangements because of how the world would see the Borisagars, she even wanted to exclude her MM ladies and Khimji bhai for that reason ... now suddenly she is all right with a BS bahu being shown up to be incompetent? All because she hopes this will push CC into leaving, or Manav into throwing her out? There is a contradiction in her character here.
I can understand her not considering Manav's feelings ... she thinks CC is all wrong for him and more important, for the BS house, and most important, for keeping her own fiefdom intact. Many MILs do believe in the first two reasons - they don't want a more educated bahu, or a modern bahu, or one from a different background, because they feel she will not be able to adjust in the family ...
But Umaben's driving motive seems to be the third ... which makes it more unbelievable.
Anuj's interview ... unfortunately CC IS a sinking ship as of now ... FK did a lot of damage in those first two months. The romance was an important part of the story, two main foundations of the show are Umaben-CC hate and Manav-CC love. Sanaya tried her best, but FK was so completely awful that Manav's love for Chhanchhan just didn't come across. When one foundation is so shaky, then show is obviously tottering from the start. And the second foundation - the UB-CC hate story is also shaky because of the flaws in UB's characterization, it is covered to some extent because of Sanaya's acting and Chhanchhan's character, which is very real, and she has made Chhanchhan's character believable ... but UB's character has the flaws I just wrote above.
Now Anuj is redeeming Manav's character somewhat, and with that the first foundation is being strengthened. Manav is definitely head over heels in love with CC all right, and she with him.
So next the cv's need to work on the flaws in UB and make her character more believable. Again, I don't know whether they are character flaws or mistakes the actor is making - Supriya is a very good actress, but this is the first time she is doing a negative role .. might be a combination of directorial input, characterization and/or acting.
But yes, Anuj worded his statements very smartly ... if CC recovers he gets a good bit of credit, if it fails, it was sinking anyway. FK with his idiotic foot in mouth posturing has drawn attention away from his awful acting which was the reason for his being axed, to Sanaya, which I completely detest him for. We were all along saying there was a lot to be desired in the execution of the story, apart from the incompetent male lead ... he has made it all about this being Sanaya's show and he is not responsible. What a pathetic loser and apology of a man he is! Sanaya was trying, within the limitations of current scripts and shows, to do something different, and come out from the shadow of IPK ... and this guy has messed things up for her so badly!
I was hoping Umaben's FIL would return with Manav from the village ... wonder if they still have the character, or have axed him :( We need a counterpoint to Umaben ... unless Manav or Babuji takes that mantle, this is going to be too one-sided. Everybody in the house can't be against Chhanchhan, she has to have just one support to start with.
DeleteIn this PH's previous show, the Tej-Toasty bond was rock solid, so Manav might take that role after all. Let's see.
Dia, Uma,
ReplyDeleteI didn’t watch the Thurs epi- both of you sound upset. I saw the precap of the saree disaster- it looked OK to me. Did it go worse than that? Or are you upset with FK?
UB: I don’t think she is inconsistent. She is not pure evil either. She is a blind idiot who thinks the world revolves around her.
What you said is right. She keeps everyone at an arm’s length- she behaves like the Queen Bee- part of the fault lies with her husband too, I guess. He has simply allowed her to manipulate him- he is the bigger idiot, actually, since he has not been able to see through her mask.
UB’s only pride is her youngest son. Manasi would have been too, had she not been a girl. For a woman active in the Mahila Mandal, UB wants to show the world she is progressive- at the same time, she wants to show that she has upheld the traditions- that she has balanced both the worlds admirably well. Her husband is a simpleton- so are the first two sons. Manthan turned out to be manipulative like her and she doesn’t trust him one bit. Manav is the sweetest child she has- the one who has done well education wise and remained a mama’s boy up until now. He is her pride- the child all the other women envy. I suppose that is why she wanted him married to a slightly better girl than the rest of the lot- I have not seen the girl, but going by Thakkar Bhai’s looks, I feel the girl will be more modern than her other bahus. And if Manav had married her, she would have been the princess of the house.
UB will be blind to CC for a long time. They started on the wrong note and everything that happened hence has only aggravated it. I think the fact that Manav returned only because CC told him to, is the biggest slap on her face. It is something no woman will tolerate. Yes, she was wrong- but did her favourite bachha have to leave her and run into CC’s arms at the first instance? She will never forget or forgive the injustice of it. She curses herself for the one bad move (the move was not bad, she just didn’t cover her tracks) that got her into checkmate.
About the BS bahu being humiliated in front of MM women- worse was the humiliation of the wedding that CC’s family arranged. Now UB is out to show the world how a love marriage takes its toll on the entire family. However modern she tries to be in terms of her social activities, love marriage is a stigma on her family, at least in the MM circle. The men are simply not bothered about it, because they don’t have to sit through hours of gossip. Her three bahus don’t have to know the trauma of it either. UB is the guardian angel who has to see her family becoming the talk of the town.
UB wanting CC out- I have come to terms with it. She is trying to nip the inevitable disaster in the bud- before it becomes too late. She is the only one who is smart enough to see the future of BS family- the rest are all idiots. In fact she thinks CC will make a slave out of her son, the same way UB has her hubby under her thumb. Her husband is her MIL’s son, and Manav is her son- he cannot let a woman rule him all his life- that’d be pitiable. In fact, she made sure she chose docile bahus for all her progeny, for this same reason. I am not saying she doesn’t love her husband- just that she thinks SHE IS PERFECT and is the only one who knows how to run her family. If you remember the movie, I think the husband there was very soft (in the remake I have seen) and the MIL had to run a tight ship because she thought the family would crumble without her- she was blind and foolish too-she did not have to be a scheming MIL because it was only for 21/2 hours.
DeleteSaree fiasco: Is it all out in the open now? Has it become clear to CC that her MIL is doing this on purpose? Or has UB covered it with her sweet demeanour? In case CC knows, will she remain doubtful and not want to poison her husband’s ears against his mother in the very early days of her marriage? Will she not want to shield him from the shock of it all, until things get really out of hand? I like this UB’s FIL – he will be a cute grandpa who knows exactly how UB has domesticated his son- I really hope he comes somewhere down the line.
The show: It will take at least a month to pick up. Hats off for the way they are promoting it even now. FK was not the only factor that led to this- the romance was too cheesy and the camp scene was not well directed. I think you mentioned the writer has changed and it really shows. We will have to wait for it to pick up. At least CC is doing better than Khoobsoorat which is not too bad either. Let that donkey bray all he wants. The whole industry knows how bad an actor he is- CC will be his first and last show, unless someone takes him to be the doorman. I am so thankful you are not posting the links to his ‘bray- thlons’. :D
Su,
DeleteI dislike FK too much to post the links to his bray-thons - what an apt word!!! His only claim to fame is Chhanchhan and being paired with Sanaya, and he is milking it for all he is worth. Once CC settles down and starts doing better *fingers crossed* ... he will be forgotten in no time. Probably he knows that too - after all, his two most controversial claims were that Sanaya wanted Mohit in the show, and hence was cold to him, and fans wanted Sarun and hence were not accepting his jodi with Sanaya ... the first has been completely knocked for six with the friendly relationship Sanaya has with Anuj ... and the second by the almost universal acceptance of the Sanaya-Anuj pairing. Though there was help there because the comparison was no longer with BS, it was with FK!
He tried to deflect attention from his pathetic acting - which was the real reason for his being axed - to two other claims which have both been negated instantly! So he has no choice but to back down ... anyway, he will be forgotten in another month, especially after this exit - no other PH will want to touch him.
I don't think CC has realized that UB is doing all this on purpose yet ... in fact, I feel Manav will be more suspicious of his mother than CC, so Umaben has to cover her tracks very carefully with him. I hope so - that will be such great thing to see on TV - probably the very first time ever! I will love it! And even if CC does come to know, she might tell Manav - the foundation of their relationship is trust, they TALK to each other and share everything ... however I think even if she and Manav suspect that UB is up to no good, she will continue making excuses for UB, and Manav will continue to suspect her.
The saree fiasco was really not that bad ... fortunately they spent very little time on the actual fiasco - thank god, because I hate to see Sanaya crying, it breaks my heart :( She does it so well! There was a lot of UB scheming, which is what got my goat - such a horrible woman she is, doesn't care about the humiliation of another girl, be it Purvi or CC, just because her own status is of over-riding importance.
Khubsoorat - I believe Madhav will die. Also heard that it's under the scanner. I hope not, I watch it off and on, I find it better than SC. Saumya's acting is not that great, but she has improved. SC is strange - knowing the actual story, the current one is nowhere near it!
New promo of CC - UB tells CC she can wear salwar suits ... Ranjana is not pleased. Haven't found the link yet, if anyone does, please post it.
Quite funny that in her quest to show CC down, Umaben manages to end up helping her.
New promo:
DeleteIsn't she leading CC into a trap? Favorite bahu gets her way...inviting displeasure from other bahus.
I am quite liking the way they are taking this forward..UB is too cunning for Manav or CC. Manthan is the only one who can read UB...
Also, after the way UB repented and allowed the wedding, that too in CC family's tastes...I think Manav thinks his mom is an angel. He has not been suspicious about the jaagaran and the Kuldevi Pooja... and now he returns to see Mummy has granted CC the enviable best bahu status... (BTW, does Manav and Manasi call UB 'mummy' and the rest call her Baa?)
Guerilla warfare tactics!
Su and Dia,
DeleteI was mad about the whole replacement fiasco, but I have vented in IF and don't want to drag the nobody here.
Su, you explained Uma Ben better than the creatives are doing. Wish what you said was better translated on screen. Her blindness, her fondness for Manav, her idea that only she can run the family smoothly are not coming out in the script and acting. She only looks like vengeance queen and anybody who comes in her path is destroyed. If they show some concern or even a twinge of guilt for what she is putting her son through, it would be more relatable. Right now it looks like she trusts nobody but herself and every one is fair game for her, as long as she gets Chhanchhan ousted.
The saree scene was not that bad as Dia said and let us see what Manav does to help his beloved.
Only read the description of promo, so other family members are also getting drawn into the games apart from the bahus, this should get interesting.
-U
Dia, not all so called Sanaya fans are accepting her jodi with Anuj, my greater frustration is with viewers who want Sanaya to remain unemployed until her ex co-actor condecends to do a TV show with her. Not all of these people are teenagers too...that's shocking.
DeleteConsidering a majority of the viewers are women it is astonishing that they want Sanaya to fail, yet have no issues with Barun doing well in movies...not much different from all the scheming and biases they show in soaps!!
My heart goes out to Sanaya, but am glad she is not very active online and is tough enough to keep bouncing back.
-U
Uma, the Sanaya fans are accepting her jodi with Anuj, its the more blind SaRun fans who are not - they're still stuck in the past, and just can't move on.
DeleteAnd I think some Barun fans are jealous of the acceptance of the Sanaya-Anuj jodi, their claim was that Sanaya can't re-create the same chemistry that she had with Barun ... Sanaya even said she wasn't trying to do so, but they were on and on about it ... now they're really upset that she can.
Post MJHT, most Sanaya fans happily accepted Barun, even though he was an unknown actor then ... there were comments by a few non-Sanaya fans who were really surprised and impressed to see that happen. The contrast was even greater because around the same time, the Mayank-Nupur fans torpedoed Arjun Bijlani's new show by their non-stop demands for Rati to be paired with Arjun.
Same thing this time ... while the SaRun fans are stuck in the past, the Sanaya fans accepted FK ... the complaints only grew when his acting talent - or lack of it - became so apparent, and also the personal differences between them started to surface.
But as for those fans you mention ... yes, it is shocking ... while they are ready to endorse Barun doing well in movies, what's more, they are able to endorse Barn leaving IPK for a B grade movie by an unknown PH and director and a cliched romcom story, they are full of criticism for Sanaya for trying out a good PH, a new (for her) genre. Just shows what hypocrites some people can be ... not far removed from the scheming and malicious female characters of the usual Indian soaps at all. Art imitates life, after all.
I just saw a couple of BS fans on the CC forum who were genuinely (I think!) feeling bad for the name-calling Sanaya was getting ... other fans were so blatantly double-faced as to say that if the Sanuj scene had been with Sarun, it would have been perfect, but because it was with Sanuj, they didn't like it. The claim when they bashed Viraf and defended Barun, was that Khushi should not be with another guy ... Barun was with another actress, and not ASR ... now it's not Khushi, but Sanaya in another role, and they now change tunes ... apparently Sanaya should remain unemployed and wait till kingdom come for Barun to return to soaps, IF EVER he does. They seem to have no concept of women who are working, independent and want to remain that way and not be dependent on their parents/husbands/better halves.
I feel bad for Sanaya ... this is what all working women face at some point, the feeling that a woman's career is subordinate to a man's. And the sad part is that it's mostly other women who drag her down. Sanaya needs all the toughness she has ... fortunately she has a very good support system in her parents, and her own self-confidence to carry her through.
Su, I echo Uma's views ... you interpret Umaben much better than the makers do! Her character needs a lot more clarity to make sense. We need some dialogues of introspection from her, or else, some explanation of the past, what has made her this way, that she doesn't trust anyone but herself to run the house the way she deems fit.
DeleteUma, Dia,
DeleteThanks...
I agree they should have a proper monologue from UB at this juncture if it confuses the audience. I guess, I have been watching CC erratically- so, few scenes stand out in my mind.
1. The way Manav convinced UB to send Manasi for the camp, and the very fact that Manasi approached this particular bro for the task- he is the favoured child. (This was probably the only scene where I felt FK was OK) And UB really loves him a lot- that is why Manthan was snooping around this fav son of hers.
Had it been any other son, she would have declared no to a love marriage and it would have been obeyed.
2. I did not initially like the way CC went and apologised and thanked UB for accepting her- as if she had forgotten what UB had done to Purvi. Later, I realised that all this is after the hospital- she feels UB is great to have forgiven her and accepted her in spite of the initial reservations- she was saluting the badappan. Same goes for Manav- he was SO PROUD of the two women in his life at that point.
3. UB’s explanation to Thakkar Bhai: Her son is right now under the nashaa of love- but one day it will fall off- UB does not believe in love, she believes in practicality.
Therefore, whatever she does is to protect her son from the disaster that awaits him when the scales fall off. (I think this is a point that needs to be re-emphasised by the script now.)
It’d be great if she thinks about the pain she has to put her son through, in order to save him from the traps of love.
IPK fans or Sarun fans: Gave up on them long time back.
If they are waiting for Sanaya to be paired with Barun- I honestly feel it may never happen again. Sarun themselves may be wary about it. Very few PHs can recreate the magic of Sarun, the way it was in IPK.