Rishton Ka Chakravyuh week 13, epi 70-74 - Oct 30-Nov 3

Monday 30th Oct

Sudha makes herself at home ... does her morning pooja, and goes to each room in turn, remembering her betrayal by each member of the family ... Satrupa ... don't know why she considers Satrupa as her enemy, as strictly speaking both women were betrayed by the same man and his family ... but then Satrupa took the place she considers rightfully hers. There has to be some other reason why Satrupa hates Sudha so much, as again Satrupa also suffered betrayal by Baldev and his family, and should sympathise with Sudha to some extent, maybe even feel guilty about the whole affair. But she doesn't ... she hates Sudha ... as does the rest of the family ... where they should also feel guilty, if anything.
Sudha also visits Gayatri and Vikram ... she considered Gayatri her mother, but Gayatri also betrayed her. Baldev too ... she loved him, but he never supported her, was never true to his love.
Pujan ... could have been her Lakshman, but instead he played Duryodhan ...  he coveted wealth that was not rightfully his ...
So Sudha has an axe to grind with each member of the family.

Satrupa is furious to see her doing the morning aarti ... warns her not to make herself at home ... and knocks the aarti thali out of her hands.
Interestingly ... symbolic? ... the diya stays alight even when knocked to the floor. So whatever Satrupa does, she will not harm the house and family.
And Sudha does repeat nautanki as soon as she sees Anami approach ... along with crocodile tears ... which Anami falls for completely ... as of course her matlabi mataji has upset Sudha in some way.
Satrupa once said that she never attacks anyone behind their back, she attacks from the front. That is true ... she cannot play sweet when she is sour ... she cannot pretend to like Sudha when she hates her ... while Sudha can easily do so ... especially in front of Anami.

Also interesting ... when Sudha drops the thali knowingly, it sets off a small fire ... which Anami rushes to contain. Symbolic again? Sudha will bring harm to the house and family ... but the harm will be contained by Anami.

Adhiraj sends Munna to the Barelly mental asylum to dig up the dirt on Sudha.
He ignores Anami's phone call.
Dadi doesn't come to do Anami's hair.
And Anami wonders ... the whole family is angry with her for bringing Sudha ... she is alone.

Sudha's arrival has started doing some good ... mending bridges ... first between Baldev and Vikram ... as Vikram acknowledges he needs his son ...
And between Gayatri and Satrupa ... as Gayatri comes to calms the distraught Satrupa, who is upset that her daughter hates her ... and Gayatri warns her ... this battle must be won by brains, not brawn ... expose Sudha in front of Anami. Gayatri will be Satrupa's guide in this journey ... as relations between them strengthen and deepen against their common enemy.
Vatsalya-Satrupa scene was beautiful as always.

Tuesday 31st Oct

Slower episode ... Sudha cementing her position in the house, cooking breakfast ... which everyone rejects, of course. And more crocodile tears to win Anami's sympathy.
Surprisingly Narottam didn't look quite so overjoyed at his mother's deceit this time.

Before that ...Dadi comes in to do Anami's hair, and gives her a gentle rebuke along with the hair brushing ... when you don't know the start of the story, how can you presume to understand the end ... true, but why doesn't anyone sit Anami down and explain to her ... and to the audience ... exactly what Sudha did? We know she's the villain ... but on the surface she is the woman wronged ... that's what Anami has seen. We audience have seen more, but even we have not seen the whole story.

Before that ... Gayatri also explains to Satrupa that she needs to fight this war with cunning ... because she has to win. Good thing Satrupa has the wisdom of Gayatri on her side ... as the mother in her is getting strongly affected by seeing Sudha win Anami's affections while she gets only her hatred.

Satrupa asks Gayatri to give Sudha the guest room key ... she doesn't want her anywhere near Anami as far as possible. Sudha takes the key ... after some drama. Though she does drop the sweet sugary facade to some extent since Anami isn't around.

Anami is missing Adhiraj ... so after 40 missed calls, which he doesn't pick up, she goes to meet him.
Good for Adhiraj ... stay that way ... this girl needs taking down a few pegs.
Golguppas from Benaras for Adhiraj ... he can't stay angry for too long with her ... but it was good that he was quite curt and not as effusive and friendly as usual. So Anami needs to start thinking about why everyone is so angry with her for bringing Sudha ... especially as she doesn't  know the whole story.

Wed 1st Nov

Interesting developments today - So Sudha absconded from the mental asylum 6 years ago, and has been living with Naina in some quiet corner, after planting a namesake(maybe a lookalike?) in her place. Has she been plotting and planning her re-entry into Lal Mahal for six years? Has she been poisoning her son Narottam for six years, or for his entire life?

Sudha does have some right to be angry and vengeful against the Lal Mahal family ... the idle rich good for nothing young son Baldev fell for her, made promises ...  and left her pregnant and alone. Judging from Gayatri's flashbacks, Baldev was not the only one who made false promises to Sudha. But how and why they took custody of Narottam, when they all dislike him so much ... how was he raised as an eunuch ... and why the extreme hatred towards Sudha, is not yet explained.

Today her mysterious brother made a re-entry too ... or rather, his mention did. Gayatri had mentioned him to Anami ... that Sudha and her brother had 'phasaoed' Baldev. Today we learnt that Sudha is the daughter of a pandit ... hence the same platitudes as Pagli Panditayin ... don't touch your feet to the ground without doing pranam to Mother earth. And her brother Puroshottam seems to be a criminal. So there just might be some truth to Gayatri's story ... that Sudha and her brother manipulated Baldev.

Adhiraj-Ila-Anami ... found Anami's barging into Adhiraj's office very childish and immature. This is a CBI officer's place of work ... not her friend's casual hangout joint. But obviously Anami doesn't like the current status quo between herself and Adhiraj, and wants to get back to their old friendly footing.

Anami's story for the children about the man wearing dark glasses in the daytime ... as of now, Anami is the one blinded by dark glasses ... the dark glasses of deceit and lies that Sudha has placed over her eyes. While Satrupa can see clearly from behind her dark glasses ... the lying and manipulation of Sudha.

Naina spying on Anami ... Anami senses someone ... will Anami start getting suspicious? Or not yet?

Satrupa cannot be the mother to Anami that she was to Vatsalya ... neither can she be the mother that Anami has always known ...Pagli Panditayin. Her mamta to Anami will take a different shape and form ... although later it might evolve into a similar friendship that she shared with Vatsalya. For Satrupa doesn't smother her children with maternal love ... she treated Vatsalya as a friend and equal, except when she tried to bind him to Lal Mahal ... and she will treat Anami with affection, care and concern ... and mentor her. Anami is not ready for more yet. And neither is Satrupa. While Anami misses the only mother she has ever known, Satrupa misses the only child she was fortunate enough to raise, out of the four she bore. Neither is Anami ready to give Satrupa Madhu Pandit's place, neither is Satrupa ready to give Anami Vatsalya's place ... yet. Though of the two, Satrupa is more ready to give Anami another place, almost equally important ... beside Vatsalya ... next to him, not supplanting him.  While Anami has not yet lost the bitter feeling of abandonment to allow Satrupa any place at all in her heart.

Gayatri tells Baldev to try to get rid of Sudha. Foolish Baldev ... tries to buy her off. Really?! Did he really think she could be so easily removed?

Let's see where Adhiraj goes tomorrow with his questioning. I feel he jumps in too quickly ... he needed to do all his fact finding before rushing to question Sudha. Sudha is a smart cookie ... she would have all eventualities covered before she moved in. She had all the time in the world to prepare.

Thurs-Fri 2-3 Nov

As I thought, Adhiraj jumped in too quickly to question Sudha, and then seemed satisfied with her explanation about being moved to rehab ... or was he?

Anyway, he left the family fuming as to why and how they hadn't been informed ... Satrupa calls the mental asylum but receives the same answer ...

I thought the informer Munna said that someone was posing as Sudha in the asylum while she was absconding ... Adhiraj has forgotten about that ... and Satrupa was not informed... so Sudha escapes for now.

Anami - Adhiraj scenes are boring ... Anami is too childish ...  making Adhiraj write her essay for her ... really?! Mahima needs to improve her voice modulation and her acting ... she is up against stalwarts ... and so far Narayani Shastri and Sangeeta Ghosh are walking away with the honours. Even Sudha can make me empathise with her at times ... but Anami is just annoying. Dunno whether it's the actress or the way the character is written these days.

So the family decide to find out what Sudha did ... but Vikram Singh leaves it to Pujan ... and Pujan's method is to beat Narottam ... while Baldev looks on.
Baldev is coming across as very weak and spineless, he actually allows his own son to be beaten for no fault of his own ... but keeps his own hands clean and allows Pujan and Avdhootto do the dirty work for him.
Satrupa intervenes ... because if word gets back to Anami, it will widen the chasm between her and her daughter ... as she tells Sudha ... she has already lost a son ... she doesn't want to lose another child ... and she knows the pain of losing a child.
Wonder if Narottam will turn ... one one hand, Sudha wants to keep his wounds fresh, for the pain is what keeps her revenge alive ... on the other hands, Satrupa wants his wounds to heal ... to be ready for new ones ... no wonder the poor guy is confused. Between the devil and the deep sea ... 
But in all this, Anami is the only one who protects him as much as she can ... now that she is back at college, and Sudha is no longer in her room, it is difficult for her to do much.

Adhiraj is actually mooning over Anami ... she's a kid!!! And Anami has a crush on him too ... but she's also trying to solve Vatsalya's mystery ... good thing one of them remembers what they're supposed to be doing! 

Rishton Ka Chakravyuh week 12, epi 65-69 - Oct 23-27

Monday Oct 23rd 

Durga Ma episode ... liked Anami fighting Harry with the background score of the mantras ... Satrupa supporting Anami in front of the guests ... and Kamini's fury ... Kamini deserved it for supporting Harry and trying to put the blame on Poonam ... typical and expected, but disappointing. Pujan of course manages to play safe. Satrupa says ... I am proud of Anami ... wonder what Anami would feel at that. The camera didn't linger much on her expression.

Though from the promo, Anami herself is going to damage this new found thaw in her relationship with her mother very soon ... with the advent of Sudha.

Anami saving Durga Ma murti ... I was wondering if she would do a Baahubali ... was glad and relieved to see she didn't ... and Baldev for the first time steps forward to help her ... even as Vikram sees two instances of Anami supporting and helping the poor and the weak ... first Poonam, and then the way Anami bends to remove the  thorn from the foot of the palanquin bearer ... thereby sees the screws falling from the palanquin in time to stop the murti from falling. Symbolism here ... as Anami bends to help the weak, it opens her eyes to the danger to her family and she steps forward to prevent it. And in this, she will be supported by her family ... Baldev and Satrupa on either side ... and Vikram Singh for the first time, steps forward to clear her path.
Loving Narayani's acting ... the woman expresses with her eyes, the slightest twitch of her expressions ... pleasure watching her on screen. Mahima is doing very well too.

Thursday 26th (update Tues/Wed later)

Superb episode ... LOVED Satrupa! Narayani Shastri is a fabulous actress ... the gamut of emotions that ran across her face as  the Sudha drama unfolded ... the hurt when Baldev averted his eyes when Sudha asked him if he didn't make any promises ...

Anami is coming across as very stupid and shallow ... unthinking, and arrogant with it. She thinks she knows best ... regardless of the fact that she doesn't even know the full story ... has heard only one side of it. How can she decide that the entire family is wrong, and only Sudha, whom she doesn't even know properly, is right? Very stupid!
Sudha is smart ... played Anami like a master puppeteer ... and Anami got played.

Satrupa has told Anami to leave ... wonder what will happen tomorrow.

Friday 27th Oct

As I thought, that court order came into play, and Anami, for  all her 'principles' and her righteousness, was not above using good old blackmail to get her way. Sudha wins ... for now.

Baldev is a major douche ... blaming Satrupa for what was essentially his fault ... a weak man through and through.

Dheeru and Gayatri gave identical advice to Adhiraj and Satrupa ... brains, a cool head and iron self control is needed to play Sudha and win ... brawn and anger will get nowhere.
Adhiraj furious as being so deceived by Anami ... he trusted her too much and ignored the signs that she was getting far too close to Narottam. He trusted her ... and thought she trusted him too, enough to tell him everything she was doing.
Satrupa knew how to win the small wars against ... by reverse psychology or Benaras blackmail ... but failed to win the bigger battle ... she did not even try to win Anami's trust and affection ... she tried to control her every thought and deed ... and Anami stumped her completely.

Anami of course is being played by a master hand ... and she is so gullible, not to mention self-righteous and blind in her arrogance, that she is certain she is right. And Sudha, master manipulator, plyes her cleverly ... praising her for the one thing Anami prides herself of being ... the protector of the weak. Pagli panditayin told Anami ... 'sahi ho to daro nahin, galat ho to lado nahin.' But she forgot to teach Anami how to distinguish between right and wrong, and how to understand that those who wear a stern mask are not necessarily the 'galat' ones, and those who smile and charm their way forward, are not necessarily the 'sahi' ones. 
Anami still has a lot to learn ... her journey made more difficult by the fact that she thinks she knows everything, is always right, and has nothing to learn from anyone ... least of all, her 'matlabi mataji'. That 'mataji' has handled the Lal Mahal and Royal Steel for years ... and has more knowledge in her little finger than Anami has in her entire body.

Liked the precap - as Gayatri advises Satrupa to play the game with a cool head ... and to forget the fact that Anami is her daughter. 

Rishton ka Chakravyuh week 11, epi 60-64 Oct 16-20

Monday 16th Oct

Episode slightly disjointed ... where did the court custody of Anami spring from? And why would RS assets be frozen if there was an attack against her? That part was not well explained.

Satrupa trusting Naina so quickly and giving her the job of bodyguard to Anami, without any background check, is a loophole in the script. Where is Naina's daughter, whom she claimed she was protecting by protecting Anami? Has Sudha and Naina fabricated a background for her and a home for her daughter while Naina plays bodyguard?

Dheeru's flashbacks when he enters Laal Mahal were beautifully portrayed ... the black and white past against the colorful present.

Tuesday 17th Oct

Loved the Satrupa - Dheeru scene ... there is an unspoken tangible tension between the two. Both fine actors, their scenes are a pleasure to watch.  Liked the way Gayatri pushes Satrupa to ask Dheeru to be Anami's tutor.
I wonder if Satrupa and Dheeru's friendship was used by Pujan to goad Baldev and make him frame Dheeru for a crime he didn't commit. Dheeru was happily married at the time ... so it couldn't have been anything more than friendship and support from his side ...

Anami is way too gullible regarding Sudha and Narottam ... and worse, she thinks she knows better than everyone else ... including Adhiraj, Gayatri and especially Satrupa. I hope she does learn her lesson soon, and doesn't become the typical SP heroine who manages to reform everyone and prove herself right. So far, despite ... or may be because of ... Satrupa's grey streak, I am liking Satrupa more among the mother-daughter duo.
And Sudha and Narottam are leading Anami a merry dance ... she is dancing completely to their tune. Hope Adhiraj manages to knock some sense into her head ... it looks like Anami is anti everyone who actually wishes her well. 

Sanaya News

Not exactly what I'm waiting for ... but in the interim, something is better than nothing. Sanaya coming on two chat shows ... one with Vahbiz, this is with Drashti ... and a new chat show for TV celebrities, hosted by Ila Dubey, daughter of Lilette Dubey, on Zee international/Zee Cafe, called Table for Two ... this one with Mohit. And Sanaya looks da bomb in the second one ... dressed up to the nines. Mohit looks dapper too.







Showbiz with Vahbiz

Rishton Ka Chakravyuh week 10 Epi 55-59, 9-13 Oct

Monday 9th October

Back on track with the change in time slot. A good tense episode today, started with a brief recap, and then the story moved full steam ahead!

Anami Satrupa confrontation Satrupa had her reasons for abandoning her daughter, and they were not all unselfish. So she is silent when faced with Anami's accusations, because they ring true.
Still don't like Anami's extreme defiance ... they have mellowed it down, but it's still quite strident.

Baldev-Dheeru ... some major unfinished business here. Simmering undercurrents, outright dislike and envy ... Dheeru gets the position that Baldev covets, feels is rightfully his. Baldev hides his gun when Tanya appears. And just misses Adhiraj as he leaves and Adhiraj arrives. So that connection is not known to him yet.

Pujan and Kamini scene ... light relief ... he is still plotting and planning ... wonder when one of his plans will succeed. He doesn't seem to know that Avdhoot's army has been hijacked.

Anami-Dadi ... this was a shocker. Dadi is also a grey character. Sudha's hatred and thirst for revenge is not unjustified. But like everything and everyone, there will be layers within layers in this story too.

Ila is jealous of Adhiraj's growing friendship and regard for Anami. So she tries to drive a wedge.

10th October Tuesday 

Ila-Anami - Ila continues to try driving a wedge in AdhiMi's friendship ... and does succeed ... for the duration of one episode :)

Satrupa-Baldev ... these two have a very complicated relationship. Good scene, both are such fab actors. Baldev accuses Satrupa of loving RS much more than him ... so why did she give in to Dheeru?
Satrupa explains that she's being careful, picking her battles ... she is ruthless. Let Dheeru save RS today ... then they will deal with him. Baldev still not convinced about Anami.

Ila-Adhiraj - she tells him a sanitised version of the truth, omitting her part, of course ... Adhiraj goes straight to clarify matters with Anami! But of course Anami isn't going to get appeased so easily.
Methinks Anami forgot that she also tried to trick Adhiraj by changing samples ...

Tanya-Adhiraj ... Adhiraj is in foul mood ... fighting with friend/girlfriend has that effect! Tanya advises him ... just say sorry.
That's not going to be easy for Adhiraj ... he's as arrogant and egoistic as the next man :P

Pujan's next plan ... kidnap Anami from college. let's see if this one works better than the previous ones.

Adhiraj -Tanya - Dheeru ... Adhiraj letting loose his frustration on his family, especially his father. Taunts about becoming partner in RS ... Dheeru retorts he's doing all this to protect his family.
Dheeru's dialogues ... in this fight, you can't fight a face to face battle like Lord Ram ... the deviousness of Krishna is required.

Pujan- Kamini ... Pujan's plans are under way ... Kamini is not impressed. Not surprised, as all his plans have flopped till now.
Which makes me feel even more certain that it was Sudha who got Vatsalya killed ... not Pujan.
And this time it's Kamini who comes up with a plan ... Avdhoot - Tanya marriage. Friendship with Oberoi didn't last long ... she has a better idea. Rishta is longer lasting than friendship ...

Adhiraj tries to follow Tanya's advice ... simple apology. Including climbing up her window in the middle of the night. Let's see how that goes.

11th October Wednesday 

Adhi-Mi Anami isn't appeased so easily. Apology not accepted, thank you very much. And she knocks Adhiraj off her balcony for good measure. Adhiraj is sorry he even attempted to say sorry.
So both end up miffed with each other.

Satrupa-Gayatri - both have an interesting relationship.Not cordial, not close ... but two strong women who recognise each others' strength, and are not too proud to ask for help and cooperate on the one matter that matter to them both - Anami.
Satrupa asks for help ... tell Anami that Narottam is not a good friend to have.
More than Narottam, Gayatri is worried about Sudha. Narottam has already been feeding Anami lies and half-truths about the history of LM.
Satrupa is furious ... she wants to throw Narottam out immediately. Fortunately Gayatri has a cooler wiser head on her shoulders ... any action against Narottam will only antagonise Anami against Satrupa further. And make it more difficult in the long run to get Anami back on the right path.
And for once we see the softer mother in Satrupa ... she is worried and concerned about her daughter. Like every mother she worries, she wants Anami to tread the right path ... she is happy to see Anami's strength, even if it is currently pitted against her ... because that strength is what will be required to straighten out the chakravyuh that is the Laal Mahal.
Gayatri wonders at this change in Satrupa ... the ruthless businesswoman who stood shoulder to shoulder with her husband Vikram, is now helpless against a teenager's tantrums. For a mother, her children are at once her biggest strength, and her biggest weakness.

Have said it before, will say it again ... one of the biggest strengths of this show is the actors ... each and every scene has good actors pitted against each other, and they lift the scenes to another level entirely. As do the dialogues ... hats off to the dialogue writers as well.
Gayatri continues to worry about Sudha ... as she remembers how she threw her out and got her locked up in the mental asylum ... through deceit and treachery, sweet words and hard actions.
And Sudha has the capacity to be very revengeful ... even as she was being drugged and taken away, she didn't try to free herself ... instead her hands reached out to throttle the one who had betrayed her - Gayatri.
And a pregnant Satrupa looked on, horrified at the scene below. Was that the first time she got to know the truth... that Baldev, her husband, had an illegitimate child already?

Anami-Tanya-chemistry lab ... fairly predictable scenes, as Anami is trapped in the chemistry lab by Avdhoot's minions.
Avdhoot and Pujan start celebrations ... again a bit too early!  Though why they feel that people will think she ran away, beats me ... Anami is quite settled in LM after the DNA test.
Adhiraj-Tanya ... brother picks up sister ... and Anami is left alone in college ... passing out in the locked chemistry lab.

12th October Thursday 

Avdhoot-Pujan-Kamini ... start the celebrations ... kidnapper is on the way.
Anami tries to call Adhiraj ... Anami beta, he's miffed with you, remember?

Anami is passing out in the lab ... struggling ... phone breaks ...

Satrupa is worried about Anami ... the driver is still waiting at college.
Satrupa gets worried instantly. And corners Narottam ... is he responsible?
But Narottam swears he doesn't know either.
She warns him ... if he has anything to do with Anami's disappearance ...

If only she knew ... Narottam is as worried about Anami's absence as she is. And so is Sudha ... trace Anami, get her back ... and whoever is responsible, get rid of them. Anami is essential to Sudha's plans.
Again, dialogues are fab!!!

Some dramatic lab scenes ... which were as usual edited out in the TV telecast ... Grrr, UK!!!!

Adhiraj drops sister off, and drops his pretense of being unconcerned. Call to Ila ... trace Anami's phone ... now!
Anami manages to get out of the lab, bleeding foot and all ... collapses outside ... kidnapper reaches her ... Adhiraj reaches the college ... kidnapper ties up Anami neatly as though he's tying Boy Scout knots ... and starts pulling a sack over her as though he has all the time in the world ...

Satrupa is worried sick about Anami by now ...Baldev passes some taunts, Satrupa taunts him right back ... Damo wants to inform the police.
Adhiraj finds Anami and kidnapper with sack ... good filmi fight scene ... isn't Adhiraj taught never to take eyes off hostage when he has a gun pointed at him? even when he's making a phone call? And why did he leave the guy to go to Anami instead?
Probably to make sure she was alive, and if she needed urgent medical help ... okay.
Kidnapper runs away after one more attempt ... Adhiraj takes Anami off in his jeep ... just in time for Narottam to see she's safe ...

Satrupa is very grateful to see Anami back safe ... though she wonders how Adhiraj reached there.

Adhiraj questions Anami ... she remembers she is miffed with him ... but eventually wiser sense prevails and she tells the whole story ...

Narottam finds the guy ... contract killer ... who doesn't know the contractor. Sudha tells Narottam ... the guy tried to finger their future ... finish his past, present and future everything ...
But on second thoughts ... let Satrupa do the dirty work.

13th October Friday

Adhi-Mi ... friends again? Maybe, maybe not.
Poonam's vivid imagination :) Can't wrap my head around the fact that Anami is just 17 ... romance doesn't seem too plausible yet. A crush, maybe.

Baldev and Pujan - Adhiraj ... Pujan of course is furious that his grand kidnapping plan went awry ... why is Baldev being such a  douche?

Satrupa-Anami ... Narayani is such a good actress ... in front of her Satrupa, Anami always comes across as a spoilt petulant brat ... even though one knows she has every reason to be angry with her mother. But then, Satrupa didn't throw her out in the streets, she placed her with a loving foster family, and Anami has that to be thankful for. The bigger loss for Anami, however, was the loss of her twin brother ...
Satrupa tries to come closer to Anami ... even tells her she is a reflection of herself at the same age ... interrupted by Damo ...

Naina tells Satrupa she can lead her to the would-be kidnapper ... Satrupa deals with kidnapper efficiently and ruthlessly ... and one sees the head of Royal Steel in this confident ruthless lady ... Narottam is satisfied.
Naina asks for a job with Satrupa. Now where is this leading?

Laddo calls Anami, crying ... again he had the same dream that he had the night Vatsalya was attacked ... that someone was trying to take Anami away.
That was the night Vatsalya was attacked .. today Anami was attacked.
Anami might begin to see some sense now.

Adhiraj wants court custody for Anami for her safety.

Rishton Ka Chakravyuh week 9, Ep 49-54 2nd- 7th Oct

Monday 2nd October

Time pass episode ... Anami's behaviour is getting more brattish ... she is heading for a fall. The stunt with the tutor was simply annoying and childish. To get back at Satrupa, she is forgetting, or ignoring her own interests. Not very smart of her at all. I guess these are time pass episodes till the slot change to prime time next week. The Satrupa-Damo scene was nice ... Satrupa struggling to control a daughter who is her reflection ... pride warring with frustration.

Dheeru has the 26% trustee all tied up ... literally! So he's going to take over 26% shares. And from the precap, he's on his way back  into Royal Steel ... and from there, into Lal Mahal? Time will tell.

More time pass - another of Kamini's nightmares, and a Pujan family scene.

Adhiraj questions Pujan about his phone calls with Oberoi ... Pujan wriggles out of a tight situation. Adhiraj is not convinced, but for the moment, he can't do much.
The guy playing Adhiraj is getting better and better ... I like his acting now. He was stiff when he started off, but has grown tremendously into his role.

Anami gets the better of Dadaji in chess. Hope she is not going to be typical SP heroine ... always right ... even when she is so obviously wrong.
She won in two moves ... bettering the 6 moves over Narottam.
And another forecast of the shape of things to come - Men fashioned the game of chess, hence it's black and white. If it was left to us women, it would be filled with color. 
A woman coming to change the tides in Lal Mahal ... as Guruji had foretold.
Bina emotions ke koi game bana hi nahin. Auratein dil aur dimaag dono se khelti hain. 
So far Anami is playing the game with emotions, while Satrupa is the more calculating one. But Satrupa's emotions are what brought Anami here in the first place ... and Anami may have to use her head as well as her heart. Or does that mean Anami's heart will win over all the heads in Lal Mahal? Including the not so wise old man entrenched in tradition and parampara ... make him realise that yes, capability is as important, if not more than, lineage.
But for that, Anami has a long way to go. In her current state, she is not fit to take over a kindergarten, forget Lal Mahal and Royal Steel. In fact she's barely fit to be in a kindergarten, considering the stunt she pulled with the tutor.
Yep, am annoyed with Anami today ... she's coming across as very brattish and arrogant.

Precap is interesting ... Dheeru reveals himself to Vikram Singh.

Tuesday 3rd October

Anami goes to college!
Thank god wiser sense ... and Dadi's wisdom ... prevailed. Though Anami still hasn't forgiven Satrupa for her blackmailing tactics.

Dheeru starts the journey back to Lal Mahal ...  a deal with Vikram Singh. 26% shares are yours ... and 50% partnership in RS is mine. Apparently Vikram Singh doesn't have any choice left ... as the trustees have swung some magical foul play overnight.
Again, the small attention to detail ... the driver is addressed by name, not the universal 'driver' ... and is asked wordlessly to leave while the negotiations are going on.

Pujan is happy that Anami is going to college ... it will be so much easier to arrange an attack on her outside the Lal Mahal. Avdhoot is to do this job.
But Adhiraj now drops his sister to college every day ... of course it's the same college that Anami will attend.

Anami is being pretty obnoxious to Satrupa ... not that Satrupa is trying very hard to win her affection. Both are cut from the same cloth ... proud, almost arrogant ... confident, almost over-confident ... sharp intelligent women. Although's Anami's intelligence is somewhat obscured these days by her rebellion against Satrupa ... and she is slowly becoming Satrupa's weak spot.


Wednesday - Saturday 
Can't keep up with daily updates, too busy! So I will do a quick synopsis of what happens in the week.

Adhiraj-Dheeru - A number of father-son clashes this week. Dheeru used the information from Adhiraj to set into motion his own plans ... revenge? Adhiraj is angry with his father ... for using him.  But as Dheeru points out - what do you want? First you accused me of running away, now you're unhappy I've come back to fight?
The father-son clashes were good - the father is a very good actor, and Ankit - Adhiraj is holding his own despite this being his first show. He has really developed well, from being quite stiff at the start of the show, he is now on par with most of the other actors.

Anami continues to clash with Satrupa ... and Satrupa is worried ... in her bid to show Satrupa that she means nothing to her, Anami might land up endangering herself. And Satrupa is right to worry ... Anami fancies herself to be a very good judge of character, and is falling headlong into the trap being laid for her by Sudha and Narottam. Maybe Satrupa should go back to reverse psychology, as she knows Anami will do the opposite of what she wants.

Adhiraj discovers that Anami is the rightful heir - the result of the second DNA test is conclusive. Surprisingly, he doesn't lose his shit over it ... I think he had already started realising the truth when Anami spoke about staying back for her brother. So he probably understands her position ... she wanted to leave because she hates her birth mother, not because she was a fraudster being blackmailed into staying at Lal Mahal.
Adhiraj and Anami are developing a nice friendship ... Anami is too young for a serious love story to start yet, but she definitely has a crush on Adhiraj. Adhiraj 'likes' her, he has even started treating her as a friend and confidante ... despite her young age, Anami is wiser than her years ... except when she is fighting Satrupa! Then all her maturity goes out of the window!

Anami settles into college ... Avdhoot tried to get some kids to rag her, she ragged them back, so his plan has flopped ... for now. In the bargain she has struck up a friendship with Tanya, Adhirah's sister ... she doesn't know Tanya's relationship with Adhiraj ... but Tanya should know she is the Lal Mahal heir. Let's see if this comes up soon. 

The family scenes of Tanya-Adhiraj-Dheeru are very well done ... a small, close knit family, casual conversations, teasing, affection, and the inevitable clashes between two strong minded people.

Dheeru strikes a deal with Vikram Singh ... and the board meeting goes off as he planned ... not without a few anxious moments. Pujan does a volte face at the last minute .. opportunistic as always.

Sudha is creepy as always ... now she is planning to enter the Lal Mahal. 

Next week the makers will up the pace as the show moves to prime time 8 pm. So far it's going really well, and I'm happy to see that they have tamed Anami down a little. Her brattish behaviour was becoming a major turn off ... the stunt with the tutor was totally not funny, and the only excuse I can find for the makers is that it must have been a last minute time filler addition, to slow down the main story before the slot change.