Picture Perfect (Updated)

Hiya Friends, another short essay here. 🥱

This is something that's been on my mind ever since the first episode of the leap aired and we saw were the character's were standing. To be clear, I don't like one character over another and i understand where both of them are coming from but i feel Suman's character development is really being misunderstood. Imma be discussing both of them though.

At the very beginning of the show when we were first introduced to the characters and family, one of the things that stood out was how perfect Suman's family was. They were essentially picture perfect. Everyone was living together without any conflict. There was respect and love between all of the members. They were a middle class family who gave preference to human traits over money.

Suman's character therefore was build around a family that somehow encouraged her to strive for perfection. Her aims were clear and so was her mind. She was so focused on fulfilling her family legacy and making her father proud, that nothing else ever entered in her sphere of interest. Shravan's entry was the first crack in her world of perfection. He showed her a world outside beyond her vision of sight. Basically, he opened her to a whole new universe and i think with him she felt true happiness for the first time in her life. Happiness that was just hers and theirs and not based on someone else approval or appreciation. He was part of her self-love if that makes any sense, because loving him, choosing to be with him was the first thing that she ever did for herself.

Now post leap, we see that her picture of the perfect ideal family has not just cracked but is in ways shattered beyond repair. The only semblance of a normal relationship she seems to share right now is with Veer. (We'll see how her equation with Kancha is once's she's back in the picture) Her Chachi has shown her true colours and so has her chachu. Suman knows that somewhere their self interest is more important to them. That they don't consider her to be family the way she used to consider them to be theirs. They've differentiated in relations where as Suman and her parents never did. Daddu is MIA but i don't see him playing a very supportive role in her life either. Probably made his disappointment in her decisions known clearly and his bitterness and accusations over Devraj likely didn't help.

So essentially, Suman was left alone and not out of her own choice per say.

In comparison, Shravan still has everything that matters. His parents are still alive and with him. He was literally speaking to his father in front of her. Moreover, his parents have always been the kind of parents who actually care about their son. In short, he has had people to confide in, to share his pain with. The fact that he chose not to is his choice in this case. His loneliness was his choice. I'm sure there's a possibility he and his family faced alot of backlash because of his father being declared a traitor and even with the possibility of his parents suffering, the fact is they are still alive and that counts for a hell of alot.

For anyone who wants to say that 'Well, she's the one who pushed Shravan away', I'm getting to that part.

Continued in the next post.

In terms of how Suman reacted to Shravan

I'm of the opinion that sometimes as children, we make naive decisions out of impulsiveness but the consequences of those actions or events following can sometimes be so severe that the tiniest lack of foresight and impulsiveness can lead to life long regrets. Basically, teenagers and young adults have this fire in them. They make decisions without putting much thought into it because they believe in living in the present and think of their future mostly in terms of their present. It's only when you fall down a few times and begin to have regrets about some of your decisions taken with a lack of forethought, that you begin to think a little more deeply about your choices and their possible consequences. You both learn to give importance to yourself and to those around you in a balanced way. That balance is what experience teaches you. This is of course not to say that adults don't make impulsive decisions that they don't regret. Again, more than age it's about your experiences and what you learn from them.

For instance, a friend of mine passed away with one other person during a car accident two years ago. There were four people in total and two survived. The mistake was that in a single moment of impulsivity they decided to speed on the highway and got rammed by a truck because the driver couldn't slow down fast enough. A single moment of impulsivity, that in different circumstances wouldn't even have registered because nearly everyone speeds at some point, that day cost two people their lives. That little, seemingly insignificant move, changed not just four lives but four families and everyone who knew them. Now the two survivors have to live with that knowledge and what if for the rest of their lives.

It's the same with Suman in this case. Not matter what, she has to live with the fact that she disappointed her father, that she chose Shravan over him, that she never got to say good bye to him for the rest of her life. That guilt, especially of hurting the one person you have looked up to your whole life, the only person you truly wanted to see proud of you is just gone. And given the state of her family as we've been shown, Vijay was also the only one truly cared for her. Anjali was more like the final nail in the coffin and to me she's always been more of Vijay's wife than Suman's mother. Usually for parents, their children are their world, their first priority. They live through the worst tragedies and move on for their children's sake but i can easily see Anjali's character so overwhelmed by Vijay's death, that somewhere she forgot her own daughter in between.

Side note: It's sad that we'll never get to see it, but i wanted to see Anjali feeling guilty for hiding the truth about Daddu's behaviour from Vijay and leading to the misunderstanding between them at some point.

Now for Shravan

It wasn't wrong for Shravan to believe his father just as it wasn't wrong for Suman to believe Devraj was the culprit in that moment given the strained relationship between their families and her father losing his trust in the man. There was a moment where Suman chose Shravan over her father. Where she was willing to fight for them and disappoint her father but she never expected that she would lose her father altogether following that.

Shravan has always been a carefree but sensitive boy. Just like Suman he was protected and never really had to face anything serious in his life. In fact Suman was the first ever serious aspect of his life. Naturally, he wanted to comfort her. His mistake was the timing. The girl who's just lost her father, while she was hiding from him, who has been told it was because of his father, really couldn't have had the capacity to hear that his father was innocent. Unintentionally, he put his father before her and defended him at the wrong time, to the wrong person. I can't see any normal person in Suman's place acting any differently. Then again a boy with Shravan's background was probably too mind blogged to realize what he's unintentionally done. The problem is he still doesn't realize that.

I get that he feels betrayed. He thinks his love was naive and stupid because he couldn't see anything beyond that. That being said, if after walking away that day, he never tried meeting Suman again, never tried contacting her again, then in my opinion, he also broke his promise in a way.

Loving someone doesn't just mean loving them through their best. It also means loving them through their worst and accepting their weaknesses along with their strengths. That's something that young love finds it difficult to do. Sometimes what love demands from people is beyond their capacity to give at the time. In a way i see that being the case with both Shravan and Suman. Their love is the real thing but they weren't mature enough to use it to keep going and be together. This is something they should learn post-leap as they reconcile.

Personally if someone i loved was hurting the way Suman was, if they'd told me off and asked me to get out, i would be hurt but i wouldn't just give up on them. I wouldn't even take it personally because grief can twist people and bring out the worst in them and make them take out their pain on people who don't deserve it. It's not fair but loved ones take it because they love that person and understand that they are in pain. I would at least try one more time, when i think they are in a better place. And if i loved someone the way these two were shown to love, i would keep showing up, keeping giving her support until something major happens to stop me. I wouldn't just walk away without even making an effort. Now if the writers show that he did make an effort to reach out to her again, i would understand him a bit more. It would show that he did try but it wasn't enough but if he didn't then really, there is only so much i can feel for his state. Of course it isn't easy to love someone.

Again though, even if Shravan had done that, they couldn't have lasted without seperating. That time, their problems, their lack of maturity and young age were all factors standing against them at the time.

As the dialogue goes....

"Har Ishq ka ek waqt hota hai. Woh humara waqt nahi tha per iska mathlab yeh nahi ke woh ishq nahi tha." - Jab Tak Hai Jaan

- The End -

Applogies to all the people who had to spend 5 minutes reading my analysis on fictional characters. Kudos to your dedication and paitence. I do not expect many read or views on this one but any out take will be appreciated. *highfive/thankyou.

This was just take on the situation. Again not really siding with one character over another but i kinda relate more to Suman right now that Shravan. Maybe because i'm a little messed and crazy too lolz.

Originally posted by: misfit007

Hiya Friends, another short essay here. 🥱

This is something that's been on my mind ever since the first episode of the leap aired and we saw were the character's were standing. To be clear, I don't like one character over another and i understand where both of them are coming from but i feel Suman's character development is really being misunderstood. Imma be discussing both of them though.

At the very beginning of the show when we were first introduced to the characters and family, one of the things that stood out was how perfect Suman's family was. They were essentially picture perfect. Everyone was living together without any conflict. There was respect and love between all of the members. They were a middle class family who gave preference to human traits over money.

Suman's character therefore was build around a family that somehow encouraged her to strive for perfection. Her aims were clear and so was her mind. She was so focused on fulfilling her family legacy and making her father proud, that nothing else ever entered in her sphere of interest. Shravan's entry was the first crack in her world of perfection. He showed her a world outside beyond her vision of sight. Basically, he opened her to a whole new universe and i think with him she felt true happiness for the first time in her life. Happiness that was just hers and theirs and not based on someone else approval or appreciation. He was part of her self-love if that makes any sense, because loving him, choosing to be with him was the first thing that she ever did for herself.

Now post leap, we see that her picture of the perfect ideal family has not just cracked but is in ways shattered beyond repair. The only semblance of a normal relationship she seems to share right now is with Veer. (We'll see how her equation with Kancha is once's she's back in the picture) Her Chachi has shown her true colours and so has her chachu. Suman knows that somewhere their self interest is more important to them. That they don't consider her to be family the way she used to consider them to be theirs. They've differentiated in relations where as Suman and her parents never did. Daddu is MIA but i don't see him playing a very supportive role in her life either. Probably made his disappointment in her decisions known clearly and his bitterness and accusations over Devraj likely didn't help.

So essentially, Suman was left alone and not out of her own choice per say.

In comparison, Shravan still has everything that matters. His parents are still alive and with him. He was literally speaking to his father in front of her. Moreover, his parents have always been the kind of parents who actually care about their son. In short, he has had people to confide in, to share his pain with. The fact that he chose not to is his choice in this case. His loneliness was his choice. I'm sure there's a possibility he and his family faced alot of backlash because of his father being declared a traitor and even with the possibility of his parents suffering, the fact is they are still alive and that counts for a hell of alot.

For anyone who wants to say that 'Well, she's the one who pushed Shravan away', I'm getting to that part.

Continued in the next post.

Perfect post. I feel the exact same way as you.

@bold. I think this is a very important point. I'd add to that by saying the there was a big difference in Shravan's relationship with his dad and Suman's relationship with hers. Shravan was used disappointing his dad without it truly impacting him emotionally. He basically did what he wanted without worrying too much about what his dad would think. From the party aftermath scene we know he didn't like disappointing his dad but it was never a big deal enough for him to change his ways and be more responsible. Suman's relationship with her dad was entirely different. She built her entire identity around following his example and lived for his approval.

So even though they both stood up for their love, it was a way bigger deal for Suman to do so. This was the first time she risking hurting her dad and disappointing him. But yet she went against her dad because she truly loved Shravan. So for that situation to backfire the way it did would leave a person scarred from ever reaching for happiness again. Add to that Shravan getting to support his dad at potentially the expense of justice for hers. The whole thing is just so complicated.

Completely agree with both of you.

It was a huge deal for sumo to come to terms with falling in love that too as a teenager with someone like shravan. And it's something that evolved beautifully over time and they both saw past each other's outward persona to what both of them were- sensitive, emotional and caring people.

sumo saw past the impulsive, reckless, showoff, laid back, flirty playboy kinda guy in shravan and recognized that he has tremendous potential, was extremely loyal and when needed could be the most dedicated and sincere person. Similarly shravan saw past the discplined, no nonsense , kadak , self righteous exterior and realized that she can be fun/bubbly and let go of her rules sometimes. And she did it all only for shravan.

I can see where both of them are coming from. But I definitely sympathize a teeny bit more with sumo just because of how isolated she is. Shravan has bunty, his new army bro's, his family....sumo doesn't seem to have anyone except this lawyer friend (kancha is missing and veer is cute, but he's a kid!) and despite his obvious interest in her, she has guarded her heart and didn't allow herself to rebound like many others would have. That along with the pictures/her holding on to every little thing shravan has gifted her tells us how much she valued her relationship with shravan- not only the love but also the friendship. She chose him over her family when the need arose, and even defied her dad and daddu who she idolized and adored. So after paying a price of her father's death and her whole family disintegrating she's obviously disillusioned. She's once again hiding behind her tough exterior.

Some things that occured to me watching today's episode-

Was hoping shravan may see the photos of sumos dead parents with the maala in her room so it'd at least subconsciously trigger him to consider what she has lost. I hope that they show that at some point later at least.

Wondering if shravan/sumo still have their tattoos. Pretty sure sumo does. But I couldn't tell if shravan had got it removed or not from today's scene where he has his shirt off....

I hope that at some point shravan sees sumos diary/sketches where she expresses herself and sees what she truly feels...

I have a feeling bunty will be a big catalyst in helping shravan realize that sumo is still his true love and not a teenage infatuation/childish mistake that shravan is trying so hard to convince others/himself.

@misfit & malika

I am glad I caught you two here..

Em - I started reading your post as I enjoy your writing and perspective a lot.. you know when you someone’s thinking level match yours as well and same goes to you Malika..

I had to stop half way because I was too overwhelmed and couldnt continue reading with a teary eyed.. So I def continue reading it after I catch my breath...

I do think Suman’s character isnt being understand or judge properly.. May be because lakdi’s strength have overpowered her pain... Some only can see her rudeness, some bitterness and some can see her power, her resillence and her rising tall from the ashes of her life..

But I am in the minor category where I cant see beyond her pain.. The pain of what this little 18 yr old Suman Tiwari went through since that fateful day...

Originally posted by: Nailah_EjFian

@misfit & malika

I am glad I caught you two here..

Em - I started reading your post as I enjoy your writing and perspective a lot.. you know when you someone’s thinking level match yours as well and same goes to you Malika..

I had to stop half way because I was too overwhelmed and couldnt continue reading with a teary eyed.. So I def continue reading it after I catch my breath...

I do think Suman’s character isnt being understand or judge properly.. May be because lakdi’s strength have overpowered her pain... Some only can see her rudeness, some bitterness and some can see her power, her resillence and her rising tall from the ashes of her life..

But I am in the minor category where I cant see beyond her pain.. The pain of what this little 18 yr old Suman Tiwari went through since that fateful day...

@bold: to be honest I think that part is a bit about how women are viewed in society. Generally women aren't given the same space to be as assertive as men. It tends to be viewed differently.

I randomly came across this study a few days ago and it made me reflect a bit on some of the comments we see. https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/what-counts-as-a-rude-interruption-depends-on-your-gender-study-confirms.html?fbclid=IwAR1tPFGtjnMJaFLwpIM32KNppwnEhQV-lYKqoTI1pD8rHKnkFJxhQvC6thc

@ Malikakas & @ misfit007

Loved the analysis. It gives more deeper context where Suman stands right now in the current scenario.

What baffles me is that how max viewers are not reading in between the lines and simply getting frustrated over Suman's thoughts and behavior towards Shravan. But that doesn't mean I don't understand Shravan's turmoil. What they just see is Suman has no one, she is miserable and this is why she is bitter and rude. But even if Suman hadn't lost Anjali, Her situation wouldn't have made me less sympathise with her. I would have get her and her loss, pain, turmoil the same way I do right now. Anjali's death is actually a final nail in the coffin and I also get why she didn't survive after Vijay's absence.

Shravan loved Suman to an infinite extend and still does but one simply can't overlook the fact Suman loved him and still does in the same extend if not more. Yes, Shravan had to take lots of insults and humiliation from Daadu because he was so in love with her but it was on him if he wants to stand for himself or not. One can't blame Suman for that. Vijay did helped him to overlook those by praising his efforts and learning more about Army. But a point came where Suman also stood up with him in front of her father. But she outdid herself when a girl like her, brought up in restrictive, disciplined household started doing things she never did. It made her happy. She didn't felt guilty for her lies. Another thing stood out for me is she wasn't ready to give up on Shravan when her whole family went against her. She turned into such a rebellion that she stepped out of her house just to meet shravan right in front of her family. All of this wasn't easy for her either.

You can blame her for ending a beautiful cordial relationship in a matter of day just out of grief and anger. You can also blame her the words she used for ending the relationship. "Zindagi barbaad ho jati meri" "Mujhe tumhe pehle hi chhor dena chahiye tha". But all of this doesn't conclude that she never loved him as much as Shravan did.

There was an episode where Suman also questioned her capabilities to maintain relationship and may not be able to stand where Shravan's expectations are. And this is exactly what happened on the break up day. And now she has formed an opinion ki she really isn't capable of relationships. Either way she end up hurting people. It's sad how she was the more confident one in the room about relations and gave advices to Kanchan, Shravan.

Originally posted by: raahiyaan

@ Malikakas & @ misfit007

Loved the analysis. It gives more deeper context where Suman stands right now in the current scenario.

What baffles me is that how max viewers are not reading in between the lines and simply getting frustrated over Suman's thoughts and behavior towards Shravan. But that doesn't mean I don't understand Shravan's turmoil. What they just see is Suman has no one, she is miserable and this is why she is bitter and rude. But even if Suman hadn't lost Anjali, Her situation wouldn't have made me less sympathise with her. I would have get her and her loss, pain, turmoil the same way I do right now. Anjali's death is actually a final nail in the coffin and I also get why she didn't survive after Vijay's absence.

Shravan loved Suman to an infinite extend and still does but one simply can't overlook the fact Suman loved him and still does in the same extend if not more. Yes, Shravan had to take lots of insults and humiliation from Daadu because he was so in love with her but it was on him if he wants to stand for himself or not. One can't blame Suman for that. Vijay did helped him to overlook those by praising his efforts and learning more about Army. But a point came where Suman also stood up with him in front of her father. But she outdid herself when a girl like her, brought up in restrictive, disciplined household started doing things she never did. It made her happy. She didn't felt guilty for her lies. Another thing stood out for me is she wasn't ready to give up on Shravan when her whole family went against her. She turned into such a rebellion that she stepped out of her house just to meet shravan right in front of her family. All of this wasn't easy for her either.

You can blame her for ending a beautiful cordial relationship in a matter of day just out of grief and anger. You can also blame her the words she used for ending the relationship. "Zindagi barbaad ho jati meri" "Mujhe tumhe pehle hi chhor dena chahiye tha". But all of this doesn't conclude that she never loved him as much as Shravan did.

There was an episode where Suman also questioned her capabilities to maintain relationship and may not be able to stand where Shravan's expectations are. And this is exactly what happened on the break up day. And now she has formed an opinion ki she really isn't capable of relationships. Either way she end up hurting people. It's sad how she was the more confident one in the room about relations and gave advices to Kanchan, Shravan.

As someone mentioned,if a FB scene of a finall attempt of reconciliation was shown, then that wouldve provided a bit more clarity but as of now nobody made attempts & was expecting the opposite person to call back but none of them did so.

Originally posted by: misfit007

In terms of how Suman reacted to Shravan

I'm of the opinion that sometimes as children, we make naive decisions out of impulsiveness but the consequences of those actions or events following can sometimes be so severe that the tiniest lack of foresight and impulsiveness can lead to life long regrets. Basically, teenagers and young adults have this fire in them. They make decisions without putting much thought into it because they believe in living in the present and think of their future mostly in terms of their present. It's only when you fall down a few times and begin to have regrets about some of your decisions taken with a lack of forethought, that you begin to think a little more deeply about your choices and their possible consequences. You both learn to give importance to yourself and to those around you in a balanced way. That balance is what experience teaches you. This is of course not to say that adults don't make impulsive decisions that they don't regret. Again, more than age it's about your experiences and what you learn from them. +1 Otherwise we wouldn't have seen Shravan open up in front of his army friends now that the topic has been raised. Usually, he would guard his past before someone provokes him to do so. Bunty was right in letting his frustration out otherwise it will just eat him up. Much to his surprise, he did open up & Suman's aspect of advising him on love life has gotten into him showcasing that her lessons did indeed have a great impact. Now, he did open up about how much impulsiveness was there aside from love hence taking steps that would end up hurting the families even more.

It wasn't wrong for Shravan to believe his father just as it wasn't wrong for Suman to believe Devraj was the culprit in that moment given the strained relationship between their families and her father losing his trust in the man. There was a moment where Suman chose Shravan over her father. Where she was willing to fight for them and disappoint her father but she never expected that she would lose her father altogether following that. I would like to connect the dot of them being in the car & when Suman asked who's the most important person to him and he mentioned it was Suman. Now, with the tragedy, both prioritized their fathers. So both oscillated between pariwar & pyaar in the moment. Yes, they weren;t geared up for this tradegy as much as we were from an audience's POV.

Shravan has always been a carefree but sensitive boy. Just like Suman he was protected and never really had to face anything serious in his life. In fact Suman was the first ever serious aspect of his life. Naturally, he wanted to comfort her. His mistake was the timing. The girl who's just lost her father, while she was hiding from him, who has been told it was because of his father, really couldn't have had the capacity to hear that his father was innocent. Unintentionally, he put his father before her and defended him at the wrong time, to the wrong person. I can't see any normal person in Suman's place acting any differently. Then again a boy with Shravan's background was probably too mind blogged to realize what he's unintentionally done. The problem is he still doesn't realize that. Yes, he just bought up the wrong time out of recklessness. She was already sobbing from the loss of the person whom she idolized from childhood even before Shravan entered the picture.

I get that he feels betrayed. He thinks his love was naive and stupid because he couldn't see anything beyond that. That being said, if after walking away that day, he never tried meeting Suman again, never tried contacting her again, then in my opinion, he also broke his promise in a way. I wish they had shown a one last attempt of reconciliation or something to clear the mess but the mess is done. Whatever's in the episode, we can speculate both developed a great level of bitterness with time & this has impacted them emotionally to some extent.

Loving someone doesn't just mean loving them through their best. It also means loving them through their worst and accepting their weaknesses along with their strengths. That's something that young love finds it difficult to do. Sometimes what love demands from people is beyond their capacity to give at the time. In a way i see that being the case with both Shravan and Suman. Their love is the real thing but they weren't mature enough to use it to keep going and be together. This is something they should learn post-leap as they reconcile. Yes, they had potential but both just utilized it out of impulsiveness. Time & space was required hence let's see what gets shown. Right now, it is like they both want to write a book on how to look at the khamiyaan. Suman at least agrees that she might not be the one Vikram wants out of her partner and she has another attempt of writing out her feelings. My thing was that she considered Shravan a Dhoka which got me baffled/confused. I don't want to point out fingers but it was just she was in denial mode at that point about not wanting to figure out the "new" Shravan she's seen. But I guess, she's also learning that if she makes the same mistake again, then history can be repeated (or not but they don't know😆).

Now if the writers show that he did make an effort to reach out to her again, i would understand him a bit more. It would show that he did try but it wasn't enough but if he didn't then really, there is only so much i can feel for his state. Of course it isn't easy to love someone. This is what I was also expecting. One last attempt of reconciliation. Also, his conversation with Bunty & hers with Kanchan post the split. Never got to hear this so I wish this was shown,

Again though, even if Shravan had done that, they couldn't have lasted without seperating. That time, their problems, their lack of maturity and young age were all factors standing against them at the time. Yes, both were viewing this split from their POVs & the events that accumulated the tension bhara atmosphere.

Originally posted by: Meena_J

For this, I would agree on the fact that Suman doesn't mind experimenting with things she'e never done & Shravan bought out this quality in her. Such as the play scene, starting to play pranks to sorta amuse herself which never would usually do, etc to the point of falling in love & rebelling @ one point in her life.

As someone mentioned,if a FB scene of a finall attempt of reconciliation was shown, then that wouldve provided a bit more clarity but as of now nobody made attempts & was expecting the opposite person to call back but none of them did so.

@bold : To be very honest, I won't have problem if there isn't any flashback where one or both of them had tried to reach out.

1) From Shravan's POV , it was always Suman's wishes and what she wants. This time she wanted him to get out of her life. But here's the situation was not only relies on what she wanted and he followed, it was more about self respect and the accussations on Devraj. Yes there must be proofs against his bribery but Shravan never thought Suman will accuse his father as well like the entire state. He also got a slap from the girl whom he immensely loved and created beautiful memories, they promised each other to always stay together in the worst phase. She also said things which must have hurt him and rightly so. So, I don't see why Shravan should go back and reach out to her even if he gets that she is in her most vulnerable state. He is a human, an emotional vulnerable human. "Deshdrohi" is not a small term. Especially when you hear it from the girl whom you love. So I understand what he must have felt.

2) From Suman's POV, it was more complicated , vulnerable situation if we compare it to Shravan and even if we not. Shravan was the guy whom she eloped with and came back only to see a martyred body. Shravan is the guy for whom she went against her father. Shravan is the guy whom she immensely loved, loved so much that she got blinded and chose to ignore her father. Shravan is the guy for whom she pointed out her father that he's accusing their love just because he isn't on right terms with Devraj. At the end of the day she was left with guilt and nothing. And hence yelled at Shravan that her life would have been destroyed and should have left him way earlier. She was also angry on him for directly bringing Devraj in her worst state. She shut him out. But the moment she stepped out to get the last glimpse of and turned away the other side says that her fight between mind and heart started. She knew and knows what she'd done. And there her believe in herself of maintaining relationships also got shattered. So concluding all of this, I don't see Suman reaching out to Shravan to make sure if her words have completely destroyed his heart. Because somewhere she knows it must have and she doesn't want to do further damage. And the other side, it was her promise to Vijay.