*Long Post in the glory of Vanraj Shah*
I wonder what made him so attractive apart from him being the hero of this show? He is now more stylish than his previous avatar, but it's not that he has been any less attractive to the women around him before with his mustaches on. The longing they have to be acknowledged by him, seen by him is insane. Why is he so hard to get?
Anupamaa of course lived under his influence for a long time. For years his appreciation mattered to her. Years after her divorce with him, his criticism, his demotivation, his "dil ko chot pahunachane wali baatein" affect her. He was brutally wrong towards her but earned the title of "galat but not ghatiya". Also, "Mishter Shah mein bohot saari kamzoriyan hain par Aurat unki kamzori nahi hai" ... This came from the woman who was cheated on by Vanraj and his betrayal was displayed on their marriage anniversary in her room. There are multiple such instances where her assessment of him was unbelievable, considering what she had to suffer because of him. Today if there exists tension between Vanraj and Anupamaa it's not because of Anupamaa, who has legitimate reasons to keep a distance from him, but it's Vanraj who keeps the friction between them on, keeps taunting her thereby evoking the so-called savage responses from her.
Then comes Kavya. She does not defend him much, but she can't live without him either. She can also never see him sad, even though she pretends to fight with him. She wants the same thing from him that Anupamaa wants - acknowledgment, acceptance, and validation. If Vanraj becomes overbearing for her, she expects Anupamaa to come and handle him & the environment created by him, for her. When she was out of touch with Anupamaa she even tried to contact aliens, hoping that someday they would catch her weak noise signals and deliver it to Anupamaa. Like always she found Anupamaa before aliens. She wants Vanraj to accept her daughter, provide her with love and care, and become a father to her. She wants a happy fulfilling family with him, something he is incapable of giving but Kavya tries, tries and tries.
Malvika - Even though she realized that the relations around her were not worthy of her time and energy, including Vanraj, at one point she too empathized with Vanraj a lot and actually used to think that he was wronged by the destiny and world. Even though it was clear that he was trying to manipulate her by using her vulnerable state of mind to get hold of her property, Malvika passionately defended and protected him by saying that Vanraj never made a move on her and she was the one who grew fond of him, despite him being married and he never led her on. The reason, if I remember correctly, he was thrown out because of his overreach in the company and not because he tried to exploit Malvika. Again a very strange behavior who was betrayed by two most important men of her life - her husband who physically and sexually abused her and Anuj who probably without any background research married her young to that abuser. I feel a person in her situation would turn paranoid toward the intentions of men. But strangely she believed in the inherent goodness of a man. Not only that she went a step further and believed in the inherent goodness of a man like Vanraj. Very strange. Anyway, in the end, she left for good.
Kinjal - Well she is a sly fox. So the less said about her, the better. She is the Karma of both Vanraj and Anupamaa. She would use Anupamaa to her advantage, yet won't ever give her any substantial support. Will keep eating the head of Toshu and even give moral science lectures to Vanraj if needed, but will not leave them so that they can never live in peace. So this one is a unique piece.
Lastly coming to Dimpy, she again shields Vanraj and brushes all his wrongdoings under the carpet. Vanraj didn't let her have a say in her own son's life to the extent that the child had started stealing. Wasted the precious years of her life by not letting her work. Dumped the entire household work on her head with no help. Stalked her, didn't let her have any social life or friends, constantly kept an eye on her minutest moves, and made her extremely nervous so that she would not stand up for herself. Yet she goes on to protect him by taking the whole blame on her head saying that it was she who never wanted to move out of the house as she was not mentally prepared. She venerates him as her father. He gets the honor to do her Kavyadaan. Slowly his questionable traits turned into the worry of a father towards his daughter.
How come he managed to fool every woman around? All these women came from very different social, educational, and financial backgrounds. They are from different age groups and generations too. Yet everyone found their God only in Vanraj? This is very unrealistic and shocking. "Koi sense hai is baat ka" meme perfectly suits this situation.
Vanraj sees through Anupamaa, saw through Malvika, sees through Dimpy and Kavya.... But no one literally, no one sees through him....
Honestly, I think he is a very well-written character. But he didn't reach his full glory and became the full-fledged monster he deserved to be, because the so-called positive and affected characters protected and tried to make him look like someone he was not. He was not supposed to be a God. Anupamaa, Kavya and Dimpy, not only destroyed themselves, but they destroyed him too.
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