Sorry I'm really late in posting this but I was swamped with work.
The episode was mainly to move the story along, and in true MHRW style there was no dragging, only action and reaction.
Furiously downing glass after glass of his favorite beverage, Raghav was very much an active volcano, which I don't think surprised anyone in the audience. đ
We saw Raghav quite literally question himself about what had just happened. If you wanted to explain to someone what it meant to be blindsided, there couldn't have been a better example than Raghav at that moment. Even in that mode, his sarcasm made its way out... usko Mandaar se do din mein pyaar ho gaya. It was interesting to hear him use the word pyaar, even though Pallavi had said no such thing about her feelings towards Mandaar. In fact, none of what she said was about what she'd done or felt for Mandaar, rather it was about what Mandaar did for her and how he apparently made her feel.
So there was Raghav's alter ego, trying to help Raghav analyze the situation and figure why Pallavi had suddenly taken a U-turn, why she seemed to hold Mandaar in such high esteem and discarded Raghav's affections.
This particular scene was brilliantly written, again on many levels. On the surface, Raghav and his alter ego tried to dissect Pallavi's words in order to come out of that haze of anger. On a deeper level, Raghav was able to talk to his own self openly about something that he would never talk to anyone else about, especially not Pallavi: all the things he'd done for her. We have never heard him brag about his efforts to support her. Even at the peak of their enmity, he never let her falter, he always supported her. Kabhi ehsaan nahin jataya na ginwaya. It was a great throwback to the scene where she was telling him what she had done for him and why she was disappointed at his lack of support in the accident track. It highlighted again how Raghav has always been giving with all his heart.
He also let out what we've always observed but never heard him talk about before: that he had done a lot for her and had accepted her family and her traditions. Yes, we may take it for granted, but if you step back and think about it, Raghav accepted his wife's ex-in-laws and their weird ways. It was not that easy for someone like Raghav who not so long ago admitted that he doesn't tend to make people apna. He also voiced how he had given her a lot of happiness and love. Again, even though he never bragged about his efforts in front of her or others, he was well aware of what he had been doing for her the past few months. It was something he could speak about only with his alter ego. This candidness was refreshing to see, because our Raghav Rao isn't burdened by the need to be mahaan or to be selfless without acknowledging it in private at least.
I could see in him the same frustration we would see earlier in the show where no matter how hard he used to try to please Amma and Keerti, they would belittle or deny his genuine love and care. It would end up with him getting frustrated and then drunk, and then berating himself for trying to so hard only to end up being rejected each time.
I know some viewers may see it otherwise but that doesn't matter here because it was about Raghav's perspective on his journey with Pallavi and the evolution of their relationship. At the back of all this is what I call his Mr. Bajaj syndrome. After their wedding ceremony he never forced her to do anything but the constant reminder from his conscience that he had forced her to marry him had tainted this valuable relationship of his. They may both be in love but Raghav hasn't forgiven himself for doing that to Pallavi, and in dark moments like these his helplessness at being unable to undo this comes out.
I think it was a brilliant idea to show his alter ego slide the glass towards him, because contrary to most MLs, Raghav needs that liquid to fire him up and open his mind up so that he can think clearly. His alter ego knows only too well how necessary it was for him at that moment! đ¤ŁI must say he has great capacity to hold his liquor because even after all those glasses he was able to walk straight, read from a book, use Google, and connect the dots. đ
So Raghav basically pieced together puzzle starting from section 307. Pallavi had said all those things in the hope that the knowledge of each other's quirks would give Raghav a hint as to where to start looking for answers. I laughed at the way he said, like we all do, that Pallavi knew that HMA book by heart and she would never make a mistake regarding its contents. He was able to make the link to Ayi's 'accident' being an attempt to murder. I guess he was paying close attention to Ayi's reaction to Mandaar in the hospital after all. This really pleased me because I got to see the same Raghav Rao who had detected Keerti's presence just by the smell of her perfume.
What I also found particularly applaud-worthy about the writing here was how they had reversed the communication style between Pallavi and Raghav. Usually, she's the one who has more eloquent or poetic lines and figurative references when expressing herself, whereas he tends to be more literal, perhaps because of his limited vocabulary and 'weak' Hindi. We saw that recently during the confession too. However, in this sequence it was the opposite. For a change, Pallavi had quite literally talked about the use of force, oonchayi se girana, and aaina/Ayi .. na. Raghav, based on his familiarity with Pallavi's usual communication approach, had taken all her words to be figurative/abstract. So his first thought was to figure out when he had compelled her to do something against her will or had tried to bring her down, i.e. demean her or hurt her progress, etc. You get the gist.
I wish they hadn't kept cutting the scene in between showing Pallavi praying he'd get the hint. It interrupted the flow. They could have show her being concerned about this before or after his aha! moment instead of the back and forth.
Raghav's shock was visible in his body language upon realizing what Pallavi had tried to tell him, what a monster Mandaar was to have done this to his own mother. He staggered backwards as if having troubling articulating the conclusion his mind had come to. For someone for whom his Amma is his jaan, and who respects mothers in general, this was something he couldn't grasp or accept, even though he must have seen his fare share of horrible people in his line of work. Even in his darkest corner, Raghav would be nowhere near as evil as Mandaar. You could also see his unspoken emotions for Ayi as his eyes teared up. You could see his protectiveness start to rise and I agree with others here that he would have felt the same rage towards anyone else who had done this to their mother. Ayi is family so just imagine what must be bubbling up inside him. We know their bond hasn't been explicitly talked about on the show until now. I am hoping that will change soon. He respects and admires her a lot but I want to see the affection too, now.
I find it quite impressive how Sai pulled off two different versions of Raghav and made the conversation flow naturally. I felt the dialogue about Pallavi being smarter than him was unnecessary because come on, until recently both of them had been clueless about Mandaar. We really didn't need that reminder or to have another superwoman FL angle here. We also didn't need to hear someone with the class of Raghav say RaghVi. I hope this was the last time, because we all got the message.
I don't know why there were glimpses of office buildings all of a sudden. That was new.
I loved Amma's reactions as she went into mama bear mode, calling Mandaar a monster right away. How DARE he trap their Pallavi?! I wonder if Raghav told her about what he had done to Ayi. I really loved this scene because the Amma who usually asks Raghav to stay calm and have patience was herself agitated and impatient for her son to help Pallavi get out of that situation. On the other hand, Raghav decided to curb his impulsiveness and be shrewd about his next steps. He realized that she had been cut off from communications and would have to make his moves very carefully so as not to let Pallavi or the Ds be harmed by Mandaar. This was not the time to let his anger take center stage. I was really happy to see this side of Raghav again but also to see him be true this character by acknowledging his less than perfect traits.
The first step was to let Pallavi know he had understood her message and that he was there for her. He trusted her enough to know she must have made some kind of plan (which I doubt) and didn't want to jeopardize it by calling the police prematurely. To keep Amma and the audience in suspense for a bit longer, he didn't say what he wanted to do next but reassured his mother that he would give Pallavi the message in front of everyone, just like she had done. Of course, the size and scale of the audience were completely different in both cases. LOL!
While I was elated to see the smart Raghav back again, it was a bit jarring because of how he has been portrayed the past few weeks. I get it, there's been a change in direction, so I will try my best to believe in what we're being shown this week.
Raghav made a point of confirming the TV interview on the phone and asking them to telecast it live. He used his authoritative tone, reminding us that Hyderabad was his! I loved the way he proudly and quite dramatically said Raghav Rao ka style mein aap ka bahu ko uska jawaab dene ja raha hai Amma, to be rewarded with a beaming smile from Amma. Ah! I love these two!
I think this is the first time we've seen Raghav touch his mother's feet to get blessings. It melted my heart seeing her there to support and bless him at such a crucial time, as though sending her son off to war. As Raghav grabbed his coat and walked out of the room in style, with the RR music playing in the background, his mother looked at him with immense pride and confidence that he would win the war.
Of course, this post would be incomplete without a mention of how amazing it was to see Raghav Rao once again with his signature walk down the stairs, matching the rhythm of his music that we all love. I loved his little exchange of nods with Farhad, who was waiting for him in the hall, and was once again in awe of the way they both walked out of the mansion towards their goal for the day. I know we saw this in the BTS but the actual effect on screen was brilliant. Sai is just such a treat to watch with the way he gets the body language spot on every single time. â¤ď¸ I had missed this version of Raghav Rao so much and seeing him with all that swag and class, and the determination on his face in his business tycoon and Hyderabad ka don mode brought back all those memories of why I fell in love with Raghav Rao in the first place. I will even forgive the team again for trying to fool us into thinking his room is upstairs because of how brilliant the screenplay and camerawork was in this entire sequence.đ
Pallavi managed to fool Mandaar into thinking she was eager to move on with him to start their new life but did not expect him to talk about them getting married so soon. Sanki and BWA were as usual quick to accept it, as if suddenly forgetting how they had thrown Pallavi out. No comments about Mansi. It was a nice touch showing that while they were talking about making Pallavi their bahu again, Farhad appeared there, calling out to his bhabi, as a reminder of who she really was and where she belonged.
I loved the calm and precise manner in which Farhad delivered his Anna's message to bring out the desired response from both Pallavi and Mandaar. I don't know on which planet Mandaar lives. Did he really think Raghav would sign those divorce papers? Pallavi said she didn't want to be with him anymore but Raghav had said no such thing. What right does Mandaar have to expect anything from Raghav at all? His frustration and desperation was great to watch, as was seeing Farhad nonchalantly tell him that his Anna was busy and didn't have time for such silly things (or people). His Anna had a TV interview and as a known figure, he didn't have time for domestic matters right now. At least that was the impression Farhad created. I also loved how he didn't indulge Mandaar's tantrum and coolly said he'd send the car for him to visit Raghav later on when he was free, if he wanted to talk to him. So far, Mandaar has been riling Raghav up while remaining calm himself. This time, Raghav managed to turn the tables on him.
Pallavi remembered her conversation with Raghav where she learned he did not like TV interviews. Doing something out of character to mirror Pallavi's actions the night before was the best way to get her attention and deliver the message. I think it was a great idea to send the papers to Pallavi with a messenger just like Pallavi had done, but the intended recipient was actually Mandaar. We know he's going to see Raghav later on with the file in hand and try to coerce or blackmail him into signing it.
Like most people I loved the conversation between Farhad and Raghav in the car, where Farhad was venting about the glue Mandaar and how he wanted to slap him hard, only to be told by Raghav that he would have smashed his head had he been there. This is why he had decided not to enter the house. Farhad was totally confused and frustrated that Pallavi was stuck in that house with Mandaar.
For some reason, Raghav hadn't told Farhad what was going on, maybe because there wasn't enough time, but I hope he does tell him eventually. I was just happy to see these two together on screen after ages. Reminded me of the initial tracks and why I fell in love with this show.
I have to say Sunny is the smartest one for now, he sees all the players and their weaknesses. He truly believes RaghVi cannot be separated so easily. He even called out Mandaar for his fake obsession with Pallavi and suspected there was something else driving Mandaar. I still believe, as I have from day 1, that his main target is Raghav and Pallavi is just a weapon to weaken or destroy him emotionally. To which Mandaar responded by questioning Sunny about his intentions regarding Keerti.
Sunny and Mandaar do seem like partners in crime, quite literally, but Sunny is far shrewder than anyone else. I feel as if they are leaving the door open for Sunny to actually save the day at some point.
Moving on to the TV interview, I was really happy that they had Raghav explain how he had started JJ from nothing and had worked night and day to build his business. Why? Well, firstly, because Amma's dialogue about Pallavi being his inspiration/reason for his success never sat well with me, as it wasn't true. Secondly, the world needed to hear how Raghav too had had his share of failures but persevered, and how his customers' happiness was the most important thing for him. This was exactly what had made him who he was. Thirdly, even though Sanki wasn't listening, it was a throwback to the scene where he had told Sanki that he had become successful through his sheer hard work (and I'd say talent), not by taking shortcuts or using underhanded methods. Contrast this with Sanki's sick-minded son who had not achieved anything meaningful in life.
It was a good thing Mansi and BWA didn't want to watch the interview. Somehow it made the moment more intimate because only RaghVi supporters were there. Kaka looked shocked when Raghav said he like Hindi songs and that he would like to sing one for his customers. We all fondly remembered the Tum aa gaye ho song he had taken the effort to memorize and sing, despite knowing how besura he was. It was amongst family at the end of the day.
This time though, the audience was much bigger but he did not care about his reputation as he focused on the sole purpose of doing the interview: giving Pallavi the message loud and clear. So once again, he put aside his reservations and public image to sing the song that I just knew he would: Kuch na kaho, kuch bhi na kaho... Kudos to the writers for selecting this song, as the words fit the situation perfectly. đ
This was a good way to tie up the non-verbal communication that Pallavi started in the previous episode and Raghav concluded, showing that there were indeed some quirks that only they knew about each other and that they didn't need explicit words to convey their messages to one another.
I am not sure how I feel about Amruta being in on the secret. One, because she doesn't know how dangerous Mandaar is, and two because she might slip up and give the game away, as she nearly did in the kitchen. I am guessing Pallavi would be successful in tying the saree on the roof. What did Raghav think, that SKD would waste time with a duppatta? Nope, she's all about sarees! đ
We see in the precap that Sunny remains suspicious of Raghav and Pallavi and warns Mandaar. I can't believe Raghav and Pallavi would be careless enough to meet at such a public place. I assume they need to hide in the toilet to avoid being spotted by either Sunny or Mandaar. The upcoming Raghav in disguise is clearly to give us more RaghVi moments, to set the stage for all their stolen moments of romance while they are busy 'planning' how to deal with Mandaar.
PS I haven't had a chance to proofread this so please excuse any errors.
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