Originally posted by: milkcakejamun
😭...
This post hits me in a way that it shouldn't (incoming long rant alert)... I know there's talk about a Raavi/PS frustration thread... count me in! CVs have practically ruined quite the list of characters including Dev, Dhara, Suman and now Raavi for many different reasons... Because this post has the line "You never deserved me" here's my frustrations on Raavi's character as a whole:
Positives/Strengths
— Sweetness and Charm: One of the greatest strengths Raavi has as a character is her sweet, good-natured personality. Even if she has been wronged, she is quick to forgive and see the "good" in everyone. This is in direct contrast to Shiva who simmers in his emotions (whether it be anger, frustration, guilt, or self-doubt) for quite some time. Overall, this trait of Raavi's would positively reinforce their relationship as Raavi could teach Shiva how better to control his emotions and actions. While he sees the danger, she could be the one showing him the light!
— Spontaneity and Quick Wit: Pre-marriage, the audience was treated with Raavi's quick wit (knowing exactly how to reign Shiva in and make him speechless), and she was never afraid to do something spontaneous (i.e., go to Dev's house in her wedding garb, begin the haldi ceremony with Shiva, hit a watermelon with Shiva's name until it turned into pulp to vent her frustrations). But this spontaneous nature of hers ended at her marriage...
— Knows how to Express her Displeasure: Compared to Rishita, Raavi is able to sense time and place when expressing her displeasure. Even if she married Shiva against her will, she didn't express her complete displeasure until much, much later, when Shiva and her were alone in the room and when Dhara and her were alone in the mandir. Even the Raavi/Dev conversation recently, I believe she was in the right to express her worries and concerns. Dev was always the "nice" one in their trio, a voice of reason perhaps. Plus, he's closer to her age and understands Shiva better than Rishita... so perhaps she felt comfortable enough to share her thoughts. As for the recent blow-out, I didn't mind that she tried to stop Shiva from beating her friends publicly... she had to do something to stop the physical violence, and even the slap... if he judged her character publicly like that, her slap was not without reason either.
Negatives/Weaknesses
— Unable to Read the Room: Wow do I have a huge problem here... this is probably my number one complaint about Raavi. She's used words like "jaahil" and "gawar" in the past, and each time she's, or others, done so, Shiva has had a strong visceral reaction. She either would like to remain clueless about his reaction, or she straight up doesn't respect him as even a family member to know that those words hit his bottom line. Obviously, the CVs are fetching TRPs at this point, but I wish they stuck with "junglee" "bhoothnath" "Chattan Pandya" and had Raavi question Shiva on why she couldn't wish for a husband who was well-dressed and groomed with good hygiene.
— She Lets Others Insult Shiva/Weak as a Character: So this problem is two-fold. She wants to marry Dev because he's a Pandya and because he is well-groomed, handsome, etc. If we put aside handsome, I would at least expect Raavi to continue her Pandya praise (especially since she seems to have moved on about the insult she experienced at her wedding with Dev's apology, and her excitement over Dhara's new room). Even if she doesn't love Shiva, I would expect that she would protect Shiva on the sole basis that he is a Pandya. The day of the danda kaand, I was really hoping she would stand up and say, "Dhara Di, this isn't right... you've made your point, what they did was wrong, just please stop..." because if not for Shiva, I would've hoped she at least stood up for Krish. Then there's the whole allowing her friends to complete their insults before intervening... These are all small nuances, but as she continues to stand as a spectator, the audience will eventually grow tired of her. I wish the CVs had Raavi save Shiva once, or grab onto his hand and say in a strong voice, "This is my haq as your wife." Even the bangle kaand, I wish she questioned Shiva for trading her off instead of just walking away. The question itself could have been as simple as, "You promised you would stand by me at our wedding, now look at what you are doing... What gives you the right to treat me like a commodity?" Equally, I wish she just shut her friends up and threatened to end their friendship should they continue to insult Shiva in public like this...
— Did she really share a childhood with the Pandyas? Okay, again, this is me complaining about small nuances, but it seems as though Raavi and Rishita have the same footing in the house in terms of who knows the family members the best. Other than the kitchen conversation she had with Rishita, I can't really tell if Raavi was close to anyone... she seems to share a similar relationship as Rishita which is just a little weird. I would've expected Raavi to joke with Krish (they could've had inside jokes against Shiva and Dev, making Rishita feel left out), I would've expected a scene where Raavi lists out all the Pandya family members favorite dishes (especially since she loved Dev and desperately wanted to be a part of the family). I would've thought Raavi would've made the effort to stay by Suman's side because she knows that Suman never would've wronged her. I would've much rather seen a track of Rishita feeling like the outsider for not knowing simple nuances than the baby track at the moment. It could've been a great track of Rishita growing more and more homesick because she can't call the Pandya family her home when she sees Raavi so easily assimilated into the family.
— Her Goals are Not Transparent in the Slightest: As of now, we barely know what goes on in Raavi's mind. There's no dialogues, there's no monologues, and sometimes, we barely get a good scene with her. Sometimes, she really is no better than a prop, and that's where her character is lacking. There's so many storylines for the CVs to explore with her including: Her forgiving the family for the wedding, Her being more comfortable as a Pandya bahu than Rishita, Her balancing the Pandya family with Maami and Anita's plots (telling them that she's old enough to solve her own problems), Her figuring out what Shiva's equation is in her life.... but they've somehow delivered all these tracks at the same time... not giving the audience the time to process each track. As such, I barely know her goals in life, I barely know what type of person/wife she will be in the future, I barely know her backstory as an orphan...
Also, don't even get me started on the "I'm becoming a junglee like Shiva..." that one dialogue was enough to turn the episode red for me, personally. Hated that dialogue and made me fully join the camp of ShiVi need to find new people for happiness, or have prolonged separation so both of them can mature.
Getting back to "You never deserved me," the best on-screen couples are those that balance each other in every way possible. Every time Shiva simmers with anger, Raavi's cheer and happiness can show him the light. Every time Raavi fears the unknown, Shiva can be the guiding hope and strength. I really don't want Raavi to be a unidimensional character. I want her to be multifaceted with quirks and a spark that is uniquely Raavi... I don't want her to just be Shiva's wife. I want her to be the Pandya bahu she's always dreamed of. All of the following scenes could have been strengthened with her doing the simplest of things:
— Mischief with a Voice of Reason and Spunk: Shiva and Krish don't have the best laid out plans (see Kesar part II), but Raavi could've been the voice of reason. She could've vented her own frustrations of how smug Rishita was by taking part in the plan. She could've told them which makeup was best to use (water proof, looks good in low-lighting, etc.) and she could've pulled out her phone to play a nice, creepy soundtrack as she remembered the seniors trying to scare the freshers in college (it could've been the moment where Shiva's smile drops for a second because he never experience college for himself)
— The Best Detective: After Shiva and Raavi's endless fights, she could've better predicted the stupid stuff people do... every time I think Raavi is able to sniff out Anita's worst laid oily plans, she doesn't 🤦♀️. Even if she doesn't rat Anita out to the whole family, I do wish Raavi would've had a private and personal talk with Anita... where she tells Anita to stop interfering with the Pandya family. Even the kidnapping scene, I would've loved to have a scene where Shiva thinks Raavi is completely useless, but Raavi says, "The exit is on the right... while you were beat up by the goons, I surveyed the area! Because you know... you're dumb with anger and I am smart and sophisticated!"
— Plays the Older Sister/Jokes with Krish: Krish is such an underutilized character... I wish Raavi and Krish had a stronger equation together. After she takes a video of him smoking and uses it as blackmail, I so wished she did something similar post-marriage. She could've taken a video of Krish dancing with the cigarette pack and teased him... she could've laid down on Krish's bed, stuck her tongue out, and said, "Now you're really not going to sleep tonight!" and Shiva could've commented in the background, "Seriously, she sticks to you like a chipkali!" Krish teases Raavi and Shiva a bunch, sometimes I just wish he had a taste of his own medicine 🤣
Anyway, I could go on and on, but this long rant was me trying to express my dissatisfaction with how Raavi is underutilized. The CVs really don't deserve Raavi... they really don't after ruining her character like this 😢 Thanks for reading my rant everyone... Happy Independence Day!
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