Originally posted by: Apsvenky
JP, I hope today's episode help you come to terms with Aparna finally accepting Imlie as her own - to the extent of calling herself Imlie's sasuma, which is a big deal for a woman who once told Imlie that she never saw anyone else except Malini as her bahu.
It just strikes me how both mother and son are so similar to each other, that it is uncanny. We always assumed that Adi was adopted because Aparna always considered him last😆. But her behavious was because she was one of the rare mothers who understand that when girls get married in a family, just how much they have to give up to re-build their lives in their husband's family - she once said that to Radhaji as well, when Radha was complaining about the high handedness that AC showed about Adi & Malini's marriage. Aparna had accepted and placed Malini in her mind as her bahu - the same way Adi had assumed that Malini will only be his wife, no matter what happens in his life. That someone like Imlie will ever be in their lives, was something that they could never comprehend.
If you look at Aparna's journey to acceptance, it is very similar, but still a bit different to Adi's journey to accept Imlie in their lives. When Adi first went to PD, he fell in awe of this young, spirited girl who enamored him with her qualites. Which is why when he was forcefully married off to her, it his his ego and his pride that she had to save his life and it was easier for Adi to assume that Imlie had ulterior motives to trap him in a marriage. That assumption of his was very strong till the SR scene and the gunshot episode, where he realized 2 things - 1) Imlie was never the kind to manipulate people to get her way and more importantly 2) Imlie was so ingrained in her life that no matter what, she was connected to him in a way that was beyond his comprehension at that point of time. After that when they came back to Delhi, many times Adi still tried to remind her that Mun was his wife and he will always be with Malini, but somewhere that khichaav was there towards Imlie. That gunshot trauma had opened his heart towards Imlie, while her actions and her behaviour later just cemented her place in his heart. Which was why the pahad jaise aadmi who once said that Imlie would nevr be able to change his stance, was able to make him understand that sometimes what kismat wants, that is what will happen, because god has written it for your own good. AT PD3 when she left him and said that she does not need him anymore, it struck him just how dependent he had gotten of her presence in his life. His need to to go and see her in PD, get jealous of Prakash and finally confess to her that she has made a place in his heart, was all his process of finally accepting that Imlie was, is and will always be his wife and she was written in his kismat for a reason - because she is his perfect partner.
Now if you chart Aparna's journey with Imlie, there are similar such touchpoints there as well. Aparna started with a bit of distrust (she also assumed that Imlie stole the jewellery when the others accused her) then of complete trust, to the point of almost considering her a daughter. She was enamored and fell in love with Imlie and for her she was the closest confidant, with whom Aparna could share everything. During the suicide kand, she did misunderstand Imlie, but realized that she was faulting Imlie for no fault of hers and went back to considering Imlie her own - similar to Adi once misunderstanding Imlie during the suhaag raat scene - where after she saved him, he realized just how wrong he was regarding Imlie. After that, when the truth came out, Aparna had the exact same reaction as once Adi did when he was forced to marry Imlie - that of being faced with a situation that they could never dream of in the wildest imagination. The fact that her son will hide such a huge thing from her and marry a girl who she felt did not match to the picture she had in her head of her bahu was something that was an extremely difficult pill for Aparna to swallow. While I agree that a lot of her words were very horrible and to the extent of even being vile, I still feel that her behaviour and reactions were no worse than how Adi treated Imlie when he first got to his house after marrying her. Also we have to take into consideration, that for Aparna it was an even bigger blow with Imlie living with her and becoming her confidant, but never even mentioning to her that something like this had happened. Aparna was hurt, disillusioned and almost in shock, and reacted exactly how her son once reacted in the similar situation. While I agree that some of her actions are extremely difficult to forgive (her allowing Imlie to be blamed for Adi's kidnapping, her calling Imlie a naukrani, her manipulating situations to support Malini), again the gussa was just a veneer over the love that she had. See if a person loves someone, tabhi nafrat and gussa plays a role in their reaction when they get betrayed. If there are no feelings for that person, then there is only indifference - the way that she now treats Malini - with an almost sense of indifference and surface level cordiality and formality.
After Adi's NDE where Imlie saved him during the SK ka kand, Aparna had started melting, seeing just how Imlie can go through hell to get her son back. Like she told Imlie, she was on the way to accept Imlie as Adi's wife, but the situations later again made Aparna hold back - kind of like how Adi used to hold back after the gunshot episode, every time that he felt that he was going a bit too far with his behaviour with Imlie. Aparna felt bad for Imlie, but kept reinforcing that Malini was her bahu, similar to Adi's mun jaap for his sanity that he used to do to Imlie, to remind her that he can be only Malini's husband.
But the court proceedings and the truth of what actually happened with Adi during Janmashtami, brought things to light to Aparna, the same way that once editor saab explained to Adi that Imlie not being in his life has brought about the sense of depression he was feeling. How once PT explained to Adi regarding doing something to bring hi life on track that prompted Adi to go to PD to get Imlie back, similarly PT's words to Aparna jolted her out of her anger and made her realize that Imlie has always been the bahu she wanted, despite never asking for that haq. Just like how Adi realized his feelings for Imlie when he realized how possessive he was of her on seeing her friendship with Prakash, the same way Aparna realized just how much she missed being with Imlie, when she noticed that Imlie preferred going to PT with her troubles, rather than approach Aparna like she used to before the truth came out. Another parallel was how Imlie was hesitant to sing the aarti with Aparna because she assumed Aparna will not like it, but still Aparna asked her the lyrics and sang along with her - the best parallel was when Imlie assumed that Adi does not like to do puja, but Adi voluntarily went ahead to do the puja with Imlie, thus giving her a pleasant surprise. Like how when the villigers were berating Imlie in PD after hearing that she and Adi were not husband and wife, and Adi stood up for Imlie in front of the villagers calling her his zaroorat, the same way when Malini was trying to malign Imlie and called her careless, Aparna reminded Malini about how Imlie can fight till the end of the earth to get Adi back, and she has full trust in Imlie regarding the same.
Aparna's journey with Imlie has been a long one and difficult for us to watch, because of the nuances and how beautifully the actress convinced us of the inner turmoil that character was facing. While i know it is difficult for a lot of us to come to terms with her character, I still feel that today her candid and almost remorseful confession really convinced me that this saas - bahu relationship is truly going to be as special to us as Adilie's relationship.