Irrespective of the bts happenings, I think people would still have a problem with the Devar-bhabhi scene. I personally don't give 2 hoots about what's happening off screen. The actors from the show that I follow on instagram are Ayesha and Yogi.
Coming to the whole Bhabhi dynamics, as a society, we view it as a moral wrong. Brother's wife is someone we equate with a mother. In fact the notion is so strong that the law in force itself prohibits marriages between two people who were once related to each other as Devar and Bhabhi.
So the show is clearly handling misplaced ideals when they're blatantly showing such scenes in the farce of a jilted lover trying to get her love back. I think the other two versions that ran, clearly drew a boundary between the relationship. A boundary that was well maintained all through the scenes.
But the directors and creative team together, in order to portray Patralekha as broken-hearted women are delivering scenes that would be morally and ethically wrong. A woman trying to sabotage the guy's relationship with his wife while being married to the guy's brother is not new to Indian TV. She might be in love with guy, she might even join hands with the brother to destroy him. Those are acceptable. Again boundaries maintained.
The blame here lies on the plot, the director and the way scenes are portrayed. Dynamics and relations off-screen have nothing to do with it. Maybe a little part of it also lies on the casting of Patralekha herself. What should've been a bold, vengeful woman that might have attracted audience turned out to be a messy, whiney character. What should have been an amazing attention-catching presence on screen, turned out to be a nuisance that we skip. . There have been instance of negative characters being hate-loved. So when the actor fails to deliver, plain hate takes birth.
Patralekha's expressions are OTT, constipated and border-line offensive. Her body-language is faulty. You'll find where the actor lacks if you see the scene of Sai and Patralekha walking next to each other in yesterday's episode.
As for the male lead, I guess since we have gotten used to the earnest persona that the actor portrays, we might not like a change. But does that mean he is irreplaceable and there's no one that can play it better? Absolutely no. There are multiple actors that could have pulled it off in a much better way. We know irreplaceable actors don't we? They play roles that cannot be imagined on anyone else. 10 years and a character and it's actor is still the most loved. So much that the show is loved internationally, still being re-run when in need by the channel. The character isn't the most loveable on paper. On screen, he's pure magic. Through all his hateful acts, he was loved. This was all before the rise of social media and actors being close to their fans.
This love stems from the way the character is handled. By the actor, director, script write, costume department, co-stars, PR and camera too, in a way. You see, where Ghum has failed.
Some shows are liked, some are loved. But some are idealised, they go down in history. They grow to a level that 10 years later, they still get published in well known media, not the gossip sites. Ghum unfortunately falls in the 'liked' category.
If there's one takeaway from the show that I'd like to flourish and grow leaps and bounds, that's Ayesha Singh. She's irreplaceable. You cannot imagine someone else in her place. That's how a character is played beyond bad costumes and direction. I like the actor playing Virat. He's good at it and he's got the acting chops. But he's forgettable. A new show after this, I don't see him having the same pull that a few famous actors we know. The least we speak about the others, the better.
The elder actors will go on to play elders.
Once the show ends, the future trajectory at least in my prediction is that Ayesha might shine. That young woman managed to pull off a week's worth of episodes without the male lead or the parallel female. That's talent. Talent that deserves stories and post, praising her to the moon. The fact that she doesn't share them is a personal choice, and in contrast to other actors in the show, something that I admire.
Neil, I hope gets roles after this. He's a good actor with a bad PR team from the show.
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