[Episode 177] October 18th, 2016
- The courtroom fiasco comes to an end, thank god. Amrish points out that Surili's "evidence" was problematic. I'm glad at least someone pointed that out! Would've helped if that had been brought up earlier. And Shogata points out that Rajni is taunting Surili for losing the case...which is honestly a reasonable conclusion, given the way that Rajni speaks. As an aside, I will never understand how these random media people show up at every place that the Kants happen to be. The Kants aren't that famous, are they? They're not celebrities and they don't seem to be a path-breaking business family, either. Regarding the business aspect of things, that reminds me - Surili has a sari business, right? What happened to that? Has it gone bankrupt by now, due to the fact that Surili only seems to have time to be everything besides a sari designer?
- "Kaunse sawaalon ka jawaab dena chahiye, kaunse nahi...Mereko lagta tha yeh samajh tere mein hai." Amrish's words to Rajni...I think I can see why Amrish is disappointed in Rajni. She has been evading every single question that the Kants have asked her since the moment they found out that Shaan went missing. She has also been roaming around, acting like absolutely nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Regular, robotic life as usual for Rajni Kant. She doesn't realize that they are in need of comfort and reassurance; avoiding the issue is not the way to deal with this. But she is a robot and they are humans...and therein lies the real issue. She cannot answer the question that the Kants want her to answer...and she cannot tell them about her identity, either. And so...all of her actions are taken as evidence that she just doesn't care about Shaan, wherever he is.
- Rajni is the focus for a sniper rifle's aim...An aim that goes off-target due to a man with a basketball and an impressive sense of projectile motion. Anthony Gonsalves. Such a cool introductory shot for Raqesh! The use of the Don Theme and a hint of Tapori language - homage to Amitabh Bachchan's Anthony Gonsalves and SRK's Don?
- "Tujhe...don kisne banaaya? I mean...main tere jaison ko toh chamche ki naukri bhi na doon." The attitude, with a hint of irreverent arrogance. "You know what? Tum ek nahi...teen-teen galtiyaan kar rahe ho. You want to know?" And he lists out the mistakes. Systematically. Logically. From this one scene alone, it's clear that this man, whoever he is, is someone who has an ability to think quickly and get things done. He is serious enough and systematic enough to the point where I can connect him to being Shaan. I wasn't expecting to be able to sense Shaan-like vibes from him in his very first scene, but there are little things, like the way he speaks, the way he moves, that somehow align...Like this is a man who is more sharp, more aware of what is happening around him...and he is a go-getter. He saves Rajni and ensures that the Kants will stay safe, too. He gets it done by not only using his brain, but also by talking his way through a deal. Why? There's something about him...And one more thing. "Nahi. Chehra nahi." This seemed familiar to me, for some reason...So I went back and hunted down the words that had given me that sense of deja vu. Back when Shaan was trying to talk his way out of a sticky situation with gangsters, way back in Episode 29. "Sir! Sir pe mat maarna! Kya hai, itne saal ki jo mehnat hai, jo studies hai, jo research material hai, sab chala jaayega agar meri yaaddasht chali gayi toh, it'll all go to waste, you know what I mean?" Don't hit Shaan on the head. Don't hit his face...
- Back at Kant House, Surili is back to her routine - wanting to get back at Rajni. Amrish has had enough. He's absolutely right when he berates Surili for her messed up priorities. Is winning a court case against Rajni more important than finding Shaan?! Arguably, at least according to Amrish earlier, whatever Surili did by going to court was for Shaan's sake. But I disagree, and I think Amrish hits the target properly here. Surili wanted to punish Rajni. As usual. Surili's hatred and frustration towards Rajni, combined with her despair upon Shaan's disappearance, has made her impossible to deal with, more so than usual. She was acting out of anger and grief. And while I understand that her love for her son is what caused such a volatile reaction, it is precisely the reason why Surili shouldn't have tried to take matters into her own hands by going to court. Her emotional state is too dangerous. Understandable, but dangerous. In any case, Amrish brings up a very good point - if Surili had put all of her energy into trying to find their son instead of trying to punish Rajni, then maybe they would've found him by now! He's absolutely correct! More than him, I am fed up of Surili's constant blame game regarding every little thing that Rajni does. She's like The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
- And just when things might have started to calm down...just when Surili and Co. might have started to think rationally about the entire ordeal and start reassessing their priorities...Rajni comes in with a cake, balloons, and noisemakers. For celebrations. No, no, no. Rajni, not again. The last time I can vividly remember this happening was on Shogata and Dev's wedding day. "Celebrations!" And that didn't end well. That definitely didn't end well. I also remember being irritated with Rajni in the aftermath of that marriage revelation...Same reaction here...I can see why the Kants get angry with Rajni. She has terrible timing sometimes. And this is just about the worst possible time.
- "Tu pehli waali Rajni hai hi nahi, yaar." "I'm sorry, Bhabhi. Hum sab aapse bahut pyaar karte hai. Lekin Shaan Bhaiyya se bhi utna hi pyaar karte hai. Hum sab aapko ek saath dekhna chahte hai, alag alag nahi." This just about breaks my heart. The fascinating thing is that these statements are true in many ways. Rajni isn't the same as she was before. I don't know if it is a consequence of malfunctions or a result of all the knowledge and experiences she has been internalizing and trying to deal with...or if this is a way to somehow channel the voice of the audience...Whatever the reason, this Rajni is a far cry from the Rajni that the viewers and the Kants were introduced to. The source of the Kants' disconnect is Rajni herself, the way she has been handling everything after Shaan's disappearance. From a machine's perspective, it is default procedure to try and bring the system and surroundings back to equilibrium. Back to normal. From a human's perspective, the loss of a loved one couldn't be further from normal. There are emotional impacts that have to be handled with care and with time. Rajni cannot understand this. She is a machine...and she is all alone.
- "Rajni, please, just get lost." Only a few words, but such a powerful moment! I love the music in the background here, and I love that Shogata is the one to essentially communicate that final message to Rajni. I can understand both perspectives here, which makes this moment all the more heartwrenching and fascinating to watch. It's interesting that Shogata is emotional, logical, and outspoken, while Rajni is mechanical, logical, and silent. I've always seen Shogata and Rajni as contrasts, at two opposite ends of a spectrum. That comes across here in Ridhima's and Neha's performances, too. Very well done by both of them! Shogata is emotional but still manages to convey her feelings with relative restraint, which is remarkable, given the circumstances and the intensity of her feelings. And Rajni? Rajni is more lifeless than ever...She is not free to tell the family any details regarding the unfortunate incident that they are holding against her. Her silence is being used against her, and no one knows why she is behaving oddly. Besides Kuhu and Dev, no one knows that Rajni is a robot following a command to withhold information. And neither Kuhu nor Dev is here right now.
- "Tumhe toh tumhare bhai tak ne chhod diya..." Aah. Shogata. I completely wasn't expecting this...but I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was! I can always count on this girl to bring up Dev in a conversation, even when he's nowhere to be found. This is such an interesting, logical point for Shogata to make, considering the complicated interpersonal dynamics at play here. With Shaan and Dev gone, both Shogata and Rajni have lost a brother each. But Rajni is worse off. Her husband is missing and her brother has forsaken her. From the way I see it, the fact that Shogata even brings this up indicates how well she actually understands the nature of the bonds between Shaan, Rajni, and Dev. Shogata has seen how Shaan and Rajni were virtually inseparable since the time they got married. She knows how close Dev was to both of them. And now, Shaan is not here...and Dev isn't here, either. As Shogata implies with that one simple observation, Rajni is really, truly alone.
- Shogata's words stood out to me for another reason, though. Shogata saw how Dev reacted when he learned that Shaan went missing. She saw him lead Rajni out of the living room, serious like never before. And she knows that Dev was hurt immensely...hurt deeply enough to have cut off ties with Rajni for the past few days. She knows all of this. For the longest time, Shogata and Dev used to be on different sides of the battle lines they had etched out while growing up together. Remember how strongly Shogata reacted when she found out that Rajni was Dev's sister? That fact was a major contributor towards Shogata's unfavorable opinion of Rajni...As Dev's sister, Rajni was on his side of the battle lines. Today, Shogata's words made me think...maybe the lines have shifted. If only for a moment, Shogata and Dev are on common ground...Because of Shaan. Can I just say that I love how Shogata cares SO much for Shaan and also constantly keeps mentioning Dev?
- "Kisi ko kahin jaane ki zaroorat nahi hai." And he has arrived at Kant House...No one knows who this stranger is. "Who the hell are you?" "Anthony. Anthony Gonsalves." Three things. One, the way Rajni looks from Anthony to Surili right after he says, "Aap jo samajh rahe hai, aisa kuch bhi nahi hai." Two, the entire family's relief and happiness upon hearing that Shaan is alive. And three, just as a bonus, Anthony's change in expression when Ghyaan confusedly asks, "Roop Nagar, Prem Gali waala?" Priceless! Of course Ghyaan would ask this, being a film buff, LOL! Amar Akbar Anthony references galore, and this is not the last of them!
Edited by MelodiousDreams - 8 years ago
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