Thursday 27th June
Chhanchhan is scoring major Brownie points with Babuji ... she will soon achieve Most Favoured Nation status with him ... that is, if she hasn't already!
Dinner time - and the food is a big success ... Ranjana, Sanjana and Kaumudi deny all claims to ownership ... they didn't make the food! Then who did? The food is so good ... and Kaumudi is the best cook among them ...
Chhanchhan meekly and happily acknowledges that she did the deed ... with Kaumudi bhabhi's help ... not as in physical help, but telling her what to do. As she didn't want to spoil the family's dinner with her amateur attempts.
I thought that Umaben should have been more worried about that one ... as it is, now Chhanchhan got the Brownie points for that as well ... consideration for the family.
Umaben seethes ... yet another flop ...
Babuji beams and complains to Umaben that she should have told him it was Chhanchhan's chokha ceremony, he would have got 'nek'. Umaben is forced to say she has organised something ... Chhanchhan stops her ... their aashirwad is enough.
Babuji is overwhelmed at the wonderful sanskaar of his bahu ... Umaben fumes a little more.
And Chhanchhan exchanges a strange smile with Manav ... almost knowing ... and he smiles back ... his look equally satisfied .. well done.
It really seemed that they were both in this together ... the plan to win over Babuji ... wonder if that is the case. Or he was just happy she had managed to do it ...
Chhanchhan is puzzled ... doesn't everyone pick up their plates and leave them in the kitchen here?
Sanjana says, no, this is not done here, the men don't enter the kitchen, maybe it happens in your maayka.
Chhanchhan murmurs, it's not a question of maayka, its a question of men and women.
But Umaben isn't one to give up so easily. So Kaumudi is dispatched to supervise daughter's homework ... said daughter seems to have shrunk since the wedding ... Ranjana is busy with Manek's medicines, Sanjana is sent to clean the table, Jigu is told she has fever and cannot work ... Chhanchhan has to wash all the dishes as punishment ... for making a good dinner and putting Umaben's nose out of joint.
Chhanchhan seems to be figuring out Umaben's modus operandi. So she doesn't say a word ... just gets busy ... yes, I'll do it.
Umaben seems to be waiting for Chhanchhan to crack or rebel openly ... that's not happening easily ...
Manav comes in to "help" Chhanchhan ... girl, take it from a long-married woman ... if your husband offers to help you in the kitchen, don't stop him, let him help! Such offers don't come easily! And once they stop coming, they stop forever!
Aww, he just regained some Brownie points for not helping CC clear the table ... he actually does try to help Chhanchhan in the kitchen! In between all the flirting, that is ...
And he leaves only when Himanshu calls ... Sanjana distracts CC just as she's taking the milk off the gas ... and her pallu slips and catches fire ...
Sanjana screams ... so does Chhanchhan ... the whole family comes running and Manav and Kaumudi manage to put out the flames ...
Family conference with a shaken Chhanchhan and (to give them credit) equally shaken family ... Babuji asks how this happened, CC says there was a lot of work and her pallu slipped ... Wish Babuji had asked why she was doing all the work all alone ...
Anyway Babuji decrees ... reeti rivaz are not more important than the family members ... drop the saree. Only Chhanchhan has permission to discard her sarees and wear suits ... till the time she is comfortable in sarees.
SN - Wonder how she will get comfortable in sarees if she doesn't wear them often ...
CC relieved, Manav and Kaumudi very happy for her ... Sanjana happy till she sees Ranjana's face, Ranjana fumes so Sanjana realises she's not supposed to be happy either.
And Umaben is simply furious! Another whammy - her punishment for Chhanchhan got her firmly off the hook for wearing sarees. Now Babuji has decreed it in front of the entire family ... there is no going back.
But it's not going to be so easy ... next morning Chhanchhan waltzes into the kitchen in a suit, and Ranjana can't hold back her jealousy any more. "Why only her? Why not us?!"
Chhanchhan offers to talk to Umaben about making it a rule for all ... Kaumudi is most worried ... this is not going to work ... and it will have repurcussions ...
But Ranjana overrules her ... CC should go and talk ... beard the lioness in her den ... after all, it's CC's head, not Ranjana's ...
CC goes ... leaving a very worried Kaumudi behind ...
Precap - one more dhamaka ... honeymoon package for ChanMan ...
*Edit*
A few observations ...
Babuji seems to know what his wife is like ... that was definitely a glare he sent her when she was a bit slow in raising her hand to bless Chhanchhan.
Does Manav know more than he's letting on about his mother? He doesn't come out vocally in support of Chhanchhan in front of the family, but he is very supportive in private ... did he see his mom telling CC to do all the washing up alone, and so came in to help her? Morale boosting as much as actual help ...
He told CC off for not being able to wear sarees in front of Ranjana ... he never told her she can drop them. He doesn't have the authority in the house to do so. And if he had, he would have been labelled 'joru ka ghulam'. But he was understanding about her problems. And the moment Babuji announced
she could drop her sarees, he was very happy for her ...
If he comes out vocally in support of Chhanchhan right now, he will be labelled as being under his wife's thumb. Won't do much good ... he is the youngest, he has already broken some rules by going in for a love marriage and his brothers are voicing their discontent over that ... and no one has any authority over his mother in the house ... except for Babuji. So the important thing is to win over Babuji first ... and that Chhanchhan is managing to do very nicely on her own. He is just supporting her all the way. And making sure she knows he has his love and support all the time. Even in front of his mother ... especially in front of his mother?
I loved the fire scene ... it was acted beautifully ... Sanaya's look of shock turning to horror and panic when she saw the flames, shaking the pallu away from her as far as she could, she could not shake it off because it was pinned ... the hysterical fear in her voice when she shouted for Manav ... the way the entire family rushed in and helped ... Manav without a care for himself, immediately got hold of the pallu and started dousing the flames by beating them ... Manthan got a jug of water ... Manek and Mukut turned off the gas ...
And the best part was the last bit after the flames are doused and Chhanchhan goes blindly into Manav's arms and he holds her tight ... both shaken by the near disaster that could have happened, both holding each other tightly to reassure themselves that she is okay and he is there for her ... her fright, his world shaken at the thought of anything happening to her ... their expressions and acting were fabulous!
Chhanchhan is scoring major Brownie points with Babuji ... she will soon achieve Most Favoured Nation status with him ... that is, if she hasn't already!
Dinner time - and the food is a big success ... Ranjana, Sanjana and Kaumudi deny all claims to ownership ... they didn't make the food! Then who did? The food is so good ... and Kaumudi is the best cook among them ...Chhanchhan meekly and happily acknowledges that she did the deed ... with Kaumudi bhabhi's help ... not as in physical help, but telling her what to do. As she didn't want to spoil the family's dinner with her amateur attempts.
I thought that Umaben should have been more worried about that one ... as it is, now Chhanchhan got the Brownie points for that as well ... consideration for the family.
Umaben seethes ... yet another flop ...
Babuji beams and complains to Umaben that she should have told him it was Chhanchhan's chokha ceremony, he would have got 'nek'. Umaben is forced to say she has organised something ... Chhanchhan stops her ... their aashirwad is enough.
Babuji is overwhelmed at the wonderful sanskaar of his bahu ... Umaben fumes a little more.
And Chhanchhan exchanges a strange smile with Manav ... almost knowing ... and he smiles back ... his look equally satisfied .. well done.
It really seemed that they were both in this together ... the plan to win over Babuji ... wonder if that is the case. Or he was just happy she had managed to do it ...
Chhanchhan is puzzled ... doesn't everyone pick up their plates and leave them in the kitchen here?
Sanjana says, no, this is not done here, the men don't enter the kitchen, maybe it happens in your maayka.
Chhanchhan murmurs, it's not a question of maayka, its a question of men and women.
But Umaben isn't one to give up so easily. So Kaumudi is dispatched to supervise daughter's homework ... said daughter seems to have shrunk since the wedding ... Ranjana is busy with Manek's medicines, Sanjana is sent to clean the table, Jigu is told she has fever and cannot work ... Chhanchhan has to wash all the dishes as punishment ... for making a good dinner and putting Umaben's nose out of joint.
Chhanchhan seems to be figuring out Umaben's modus operandi. So she doesn't say a word ... just gets busy ... yes, I'll do it.
Umaben seems to be waiting for Chhanchhan to crack or rebel openly ... that's not happening easily ...
Manav comes in to "help" Chhanchhan ... girl, take it from a long-married woman ... if your husband offers to help you in the kitchen, don't stop him, let him help! Such offers don't come easily! And once they stop coming, they stop forever!
Aww, he just regained some Brownie points for not helping CC clear the table ... he actually does try to help Chhanchhan in the kitchen! In between all the flirting, that is ...
And he leaves only when Himanshu calls ... Sanjana distracts CC just as she's taking the milk off the gas ... and her pallu slips and catches fire ...
Sanjana screams ... so does Chhanchhan ... the whole family comes running and Manav and Kaumudi manage to put out the flames ...
Family conference with a shaken Chhanchhan and (to give them credit) equally shaken family ... Babuji asks how this happened, CC says there was a lot of work and her pallu slipped ... Wish Babuji had asked why she was doing all the work all alone ...
Anyway Babuji decrees ... reeti rivaz are not more important than the family members ... drop the saree. Only Chhanchhan has permission to discard her sarees and wear suits ... till the time she is comfortable in sarees.
SN - Wonder how she will get comfortable in sarees if she doesn't wear them often ...
CC relieved, Manav and Kaumudi very happy for her ... Sanjana happy till she sees Ranjana's face, Ranjana fumes so Sanjana realises she's not supposed to be happy either.
And Umaben is simply furious!
Another whammy - her punishment for Chhanchhan got her firmly off the hook for wearing sarees. Now Babuji has decreed it in front of the entire family ... there is no going back. But it's not going to be so easy ... next morning Chhanchhan waltzes into the kitchen in a suit, and Ranjana can't hold back her jealousy any more. "Why only her? Why not us?!"
Chhanchhan offers to talk to Umaben about making it a rule for all ... Kaumudi is most worried ... this is not going to work ... and it will have repurcussions ...
But Ranjana overrules her ... CC should go and talk ... beard the lioness in her den ... after all, it's CC's head, not Ranjana's ...
CC goes ... leaving a very worried Kaumudi behind ...
Precap - one more dhamaka ... honeymoon package for ChanMan ...
*Edit*
A few observations ...
Babuji seems to know what his wife is like ... that was definitely a glare he sent her when she was a bit slow in raising her hand to bless Chhanchhan.
Does Manav know more than he's letting on about his mother? He doesn't come out vocally in support of Chhanchhan in front of the family, but he is very supportive in private ... did he see his mom telling CC to do all the washing up alone, and so came in to help her? Morale boosting as much as actual help ...
He told CC off for not being able to wear sarees in front of Ranjana ... he never told her she can drop them. He doesn't have the authority in the house to do so. And if he had, he would have been labelled 'joru ka ghulam'. But he was understanding about her problems. And the moment Babuji announced
she could drop her sarees, he was very happy for her ...
If he comes out vocally in support of Chhanchhan right now, he will be labelled as being under his wife's thumb. Won't do much good ... he is the youngest, he has already broken some rules by going in for a love marriage and his brothers are voicing their discontent over that ... and no one has any authority over his mother in the house ... except for Babuji. So the important thing is to win over Babuji first ... and that Chhanchhan is managing to do very nicely on her own. He is just supporting her all the way. And making sure she knows he has his love and support all the time. Even in front of his mother ... especially in front of his mother?
I loved the fire scene ... it was acted beautifully ... Sanaya's look of shock turning to horror and panic when she saw the flames, shaking the pallu away from her as far as she could, she could not shake it off because it was pinned ... the hysterical fear in her voice when she shouted for Manav ... the way the entire family rushed in and helped ... Manav without a care for himself, immediately got hold of the pallu and started dousing the flames by beating them ... Manthan got a jug of water ... Manek and Mukut turned off the gas ...
And the best part was the last bit after the flames are doused and Chhanchhan goes blindly into Manav's arms and he holds her tight ... both shaken by the near disaster that could have happened, both holding each other tightly to reassure themselves that she is okay and he is there for her ... her fright, his world shaken at the thought of anything happening to her ... their expressions and acting were fabulous!
Loved the episode ... have watched it three times already ... and not just the ChanMan scenes ... I love the whole episode! Especially the fire scene, and the last bit, where after putting out the fire, Chhanchan and Manav cling to each other ... it was so utterly sweet and natural, just loved it!
ReplyDeleteHi Dia,
ReplyDeleteWas busy the whole week so could not respond, yet read all your posts and just finished watching the episodes.
The show seem to be flowing more smoothly now, there are areas they can fix but it has found a rhythm. The things which stood out for me this week are as follows:
1. Manav is deeply in love with Chhanchhan but is blind to gender biases and impact of the norms and traditions on the younger women of the house. He has long way to go in getting sensitized and Chhanchhan will play a role in this. Meanwhile will this lead to tensions between the couple? Time will tell.
2. The eldest son Mukut' s discomfort/scorn when Kaumudi sat next to him to have tea seemed less about women being below status and more about a major marital strife between them. That is what I felt after seeing the expressions of Mukut. He looks at Kaumudi scornfully pretty much all the time. He may have married Kaumudi against his wishes and may have made it clear to her. Kaumudi is too sweet to show her sadness outside. When Mukut left in huff, none of the other brothers seem to find that strange.
3. It was made clear Manek is sickly and has health issues...a reason for Ranjana's dissatisfaction with her marriage. He is also quite under the thumb of UB. Manthan seems to upset with biases of his parents, both perceived and real, of course also unhappy with Sanjana.
4. Chhanchhan did get a doubt that she is being tested, but there is no realization yet that Ranjana and UB are deliberately trying to create problems for her.
5. So, Babuji has a mind of his own and wants welfare and peace in the family. The latter could be the reason that he let's UB run the household her way, as he does not want to rock the boat and so far everything seems to work like clockwork to him. So why meddle with a system which seems to be good for the family?
6. UB lost a couple of battles this week, so we have to brace ourselves to see Chhanchhan losing some in the coming episodes and it won't be a pretty sight. So far Chhanchhan has scored points without trying too hard or even knowing she has opponents. It will always not be so smooth sailing.
7. The Sarabhai's are not forgotten and Chhanchhan's dad is still not assured of his daughter's safety and happiness, glad they are keeping this side alive.
8. Lastly, Sanaya is doing such an awesome job as Chhanchhan- her discomfort with saree and pallu, expressions, body language, voice modulation everything so good. The detailing and nuances she puts in is amazing. The rest of the ensemble cast is doing really well. The writers still have to work on better characterization of UB and keep tightening the script. Show Chhanchhan missing her dogs and talking about them to her dad or Manav. Anuj and Sanaya are acing the romantic scenes.
-U
P.S. Looking forward to the honeymoon track.
Agree with you, Uma...
DeleteMaanav is a typical youngster who has not really bothered to look into gender inequality and all other issues- because it simply did not affect him in any way..marriage will change that.
Mukut's discomfort: I wondered if he had/ has an affair. He seems unhappy with Kaumudi, like you said.
CC getting a doubt: For a second, I even wished they had her written as a motherless girl- that'd explain her blind belief in UB- or atleast they didn't make UB come out with those 'double meaning' one liners...guess I have to satisfy myself with the thought that CC has not seen much of life, and being a straightforward person herself, can't imagine someone to be as crooked as UB...
Sanaya: I feel, compared to Anuj and Supriya, she seems distracted at times...I know she can do better. May be, the FK chapter has taken a toll on her- she will come out of it.
If you remember, all through the Umaben-Chhanchhan feud, Chhanchhan always tried to reason with Umaben through talks. Be it the time when Purvi's dad lost his job, or when Umaben sabotaged Purvi's computer classes. She retained that naivety that just by talking things through, they could be sorted out. She did not realise the depth of Umaben's hatred towards her.
DeleteSo her naivety here is not so out of place. And she did save Umaben's life, and refused to marry Manav unless UB consented. So she genuinely thinks that UB had a change of heart and has now accepted her.
I think she has seen a little what Ranjana is like ... and that she is jealous of CC for some reason. She doesn't know how RS complained to their husbands about UB's partiality to CC about dropping the saree. This morning was the first time Ranjana showed her unhappiness openly ... till now, she was only trying to impress on CC that the rules are unbreakable, and show CC down for not being able to wear a saree. Ranjana never sympathised with CC, nor did she ever say that she and Sanjana also would prefer to wear suits. Today CC did realise that R was unhappy, that's why she made it a point to wish her again when R didn't reply the first time. So CC is catching on slowly ...
I don't find Sanaya distracted ... I feel she has very little acting to do, or rather, she needs to put very little effort into her acting. Both Gunjan and Khushi were larger than life characters ... Chhanchhan is a normal girl, her expressions and her reactions are restrained and calm for the most part. In the sari tying, I saw a little bit of Khushi :)) For the rest, I feel she is doing perfect ... there is no trace of Khushi, it is Chhanchhan all the way.
But yes, FK issue has affected her ... she mentioned it again in SBS ... she's struggled for six years to reach where she has, and it must be upsetting that one upstart newbie can be so vicious, and so many people so ready and eager to believe him ... shows the mentality of people, how ready they are to denounce anyone successful, especially a woman.
Agree with Uma - Mukut is not happy in his marriage. There was a mention that he wanted to meet Kaumudi before the wedding and was not allowed. So he doesn't mistreat Kaumudi, he just ignores her mostly, and doesn't allow her to get close to him. She is more a bahu than a wife.
Agree with both of you about Manav too - he is clueless and has never bothered to think about the gender inequalities because they never affected him.
Dia,
ReplyDeleteI loved this episode of CC- it was one of the best epis for me- and much better than the Wednesday epi.
Wed: I felt Sanaya was a little off with the Saree tying scene. Anuj was bang on. Also, Babuji alternating between praising his chhotti bahu and continuing to be blind to UB- looked a little odd.
Thurs:
I loved the ChanMan scene...Anuj is superb- must have had loads of practice romancing Anushka in the Nivea ad. His expressions were really good- Sanaya was perfect too. This is exactly how a newly married couple with no unresolved issues behaves- I am happy to see that at least in one show. The scenes with the hip chain are really cute.
Another thing I felt is, Anuj is already a good actor- that makes him different from Barun and Mohit- going by what you all say about their early days. He supports Sanaya very well.
I am also loving the spotlight a little away from CC- on to the other characters- even UB is interesting for me, because of the actress. I think the role has not been defined very clearly- but Supriya does justice to the way she has understood it. I can’t help admiring the actress even when the character does not make much sense.
Absolutely loved the way the pallu dropped! What a superb idea! And such a treat to see Sanaya back in suits. I don’t really care if the rule stays for the rest of the family- so long as I don’t have to endure Sanaya looking odd in a Pallu, I am happy.
Maanav heard his Mummy talking about CC having complained ‘ a lot’ about the saree- and Babuji seems to have bought it. I wonder if Manav wouldn’t want to ponder about it- but I guess he has other things in mind when he gets near CC. Fair enough.
Su, as far as I remember Manav did not hear UB weaving stories about Chhanchhan complaining about saree. He was came down the stairs later after the FIL had a word with Manthan and UB. He himself was looking clueless about what his parents needed to talk about with Chhanchhan.
DeleteAbout Sanaya, I have not felt she was off, but this week I saw the episodes in a hurry. For me it is amazing how she has carved out a new personality and there is no traces of Khushi in Chhanchhan. I am sure the FK fiasco has affected her to an extent, one can see that in off screen segments.
I agree that other characters should also get attention and they all seem to have a story to tell which will make the show more interesting. The bonus is they are all good actors.
Su, as I see it Babuji made an exception for only Chhanchhan because she is the one who is having a problem wearing a saree and handling pallu. She almost had a major accident because of it. So, the immediate need was her safety over tradition of family. He is also impressed with Chhanchhan and she has adequately demonstrated that she respects the family members with her actions. For the other bahus, they are used to saree and pallu none of them outwardly are having trouble handling them and seem perfectly comfortable and happy with it. He even says that the elder bahus have never complained or shown discomfort. He is completely unaware how UB enforces the pallu rule and other things at home especially with her DILs. He made an exception to the rule to prevent more accidents and until the time Chhanchhan becomes comfortable in a saree.
-U
BTW Su, Dia and I did discuss the tellychakkar taro prediction of Chhanchhan. You are right the first part came true, hopefully the second part will also comes true, at least for Sanaya's sake.
Delete-U
Manav did not hear the bahus complaining ... but he was there when Umaben was trying to justify to Babuji why she gave permission to CC to wear a saree. So he should ponder about that ... because CC would have said something to him before saying anything to Umaben. All she said to him was that the munh dikhayi saree was heavy and she had trouble with it ... from that, he would guess that his mom was not being completely truthful about that.
DeleteNow if my theory is right, then Manav DOES know what his mom is up to, so he is not taken in by her lies at all. He is just keeping an eye out for Chhanchhan, and making sure he is there for her whenever she needs him ... like helping her to wear the saree in the morning, helping her to wash the dishes at night. He doesn't countermand his mom's instructions, but he helps CC carry them out. If he straight out said he doesn't want CC to wear sarees, or she shouldn't do the kitchen work alone, he would be categorised as being a joru ka ghulam ... especially as he never said anything when his bhabhis were doing the same work. He has already broken one rule by having a love marriage, if he encourages CC to go against the other rules of the family, it might make things worse for her, and show that CC is not really fit for their family.
Babuji .. I do feel Babuji knows more than he lets on, but stays quiet in the interest of peace. Plus in a big family, some rules have to be in place. He doesn't know how UB enforces those rules, that's all ... if he did, he might not be so accepting. And ultimately, his word is final ... UB cannot go against him. So that is one big plus.
Me too, hope that TC prediction comes true for Sanaya's sake ... keeping fingers crossed. The show has had an unfortunate beginning, let's hope things go better now.
Dia and Su,
DeleteI stand corrected, understood what you were saying about Manav. Dia let's see if your theory is right about him.
-U
dia..nice new background!! :) :)
ReplyDeleteso I was watching one episode of hitler didi right now .. :P do NOT ask me why..I was bored enough to do that..and OMG guess WHAT is the current theme of the show -
apni hitler didi (with a rebellious streak) gets married and enters into a very orthodox family...AND protests when an old lady of the family asks her to follow certain rituals, saying that she doesnt believe in those rituals.. :O wow..certainly looks like a familiar concept, doesnt it? :P
ROFL ... I don't believe this!!! So Hitler Didi does it the Hitler way ... and Chhanchhan does it by winning over hearts. More familiarity here :)))
DeleteYeah, Dia- pleasant BG...
DeleteHitler Didi- I wonder what keeps the show from getting axed.
Dia, Uma,
What I said about San looking distracted:
It is not there any more...Thurs epi was perfect. I think Anuj is a wonderful co- actor: seems grounded. I was unaware of the off screen donkey drama, but even I could feel Anuj was trying to cheer up Sanaya in SBS...sweet guy.
Really VERY unfortunate that FK had to happen to San after the way IPK ended- hopefully things will start looking up now. Thurs epi gave very good vibes.