Sundara Mana Madhye Bharli - Colours Marathi - Page 100

I think it's wonderful that Latika is able to accept herself, lives a healthy lifestyle, and makes positive efforts in her community, despite being rejected for her looks. Accepting herself is different from accepting unfair and unkind treatment. It must hurt to be told by Kamini that her weight is the reason she didn't get the job. Latika has borne insults patiently before, and now she's hitting back. Fine.

And Kamini deserves to be mocked for telling everyone she's Miss Nashik from long ago. (Latika once said, "two girls since you," but now it is "last year.") Kamini deserves censure for being unqualified for her job, for flirting with Daulat while chasing Abhimanyu who never encouraged her ... maybe even for what Latika calls her dhara-soḍa attitude towards acting and modelling.

But should a person be ridiculed for choosing cosmetic surgery? Latika said, "Paṇa jara sagaḷaṃ kāhī yevaḍhaṃ perfect hāya, tara maga thobāḍa kāyalā badalalaṃ? ... Paṇa tū tara svataḥca svataḥcā ceharā reject kelāya! Tyācaṃ kāya karāyacaṃ? Hī tujhī kimmata hāya." Latika didn't just refute Kamini's claim of perfection. She shamed Kamini for "rejecting herself" and called Kamini as worthless as her unnatural face.

I know, the show is only joking about Kamini having plastic surgery, and has no plan to discuss the issue seriously, but ... this was always a story about body image, so bear with me, I see a problem here.

If the creative team's message is that people with different body types can excel at work, be healthy, and feel desirable, I applaud that. That is a positive message for society. However, if the message is that choosing cosmetic surgery is a sign of weakness, or that individuals who don't keep their natural looks deserve to be mocked, I can't endorse that.

For much of my life, I got comments on the gap between my top front teeth. People felt entitled to say everything from "fix it or you'll lose job opportunities" to "oh, you're the one with the funny teeth," and my former dentist asked, "is there anything you want to change about your smile?" And I, being indoctrinated to believe that good looks don't make a good person, ignored the comments and accepted my crooked teeth. Only when my new dentist told me that my flared teeth would cause gum recession, I understood that it was a health issue, not merely cosmetic, and I addressed it. Straightened teeth improved my quality of life: apart from having healthy gums and teeth, I can bite an apple properly, and I'm allowed to smile without feeling awkward. I was happy when I accepted my natural looks, but I'm happier now that fault-finding people have to look harder: "Why are your cheeks so muscular?"

My point is that if reshaping the body helps a person's self-esteem, it's a valid option. Positive body image can include accepting what is natural as well as changing it. If straightening curly hair to make it manageable, or hiding a bald spot, or covering blemishes with makeup isn't a moral failing, and if prosthetic limbs, skin grafts, and gender affirmation surgery are accepted as beneficial for a person's mental health, why do we mock people who have cosmetic surgery?

Kamini's motivation to change her face was probably unhealthy, but now that it's done and she has to live with it, shaming her for her unnatural face isn't any more right than shaming Latika for her natural body.

I imagine the writers want us to feel suspense:

Will Taramati die?

When Taramati was introduced, I was interested in the character: her being Indumati's friend, and how that might protect Abhimanyu from Daulat; her manipulation of Sarjerav to get self-defense training for Latika etc. ... I was hoping that with Taramati living with the Jahagirdars, we would see her coming into her own, dressing with confidence, applying her education to improve her village ... A middle-aged woman rejecting her husband and son and starting her own life, maybe even finding a lover or life partner, is the sort of story that would make Sundarā Manāmadhe Bharalī stand out among other dramas.

But Taramati making the fatal mistake of trusting Daulat doesn't make me feel anything. Indu's murder affected me, and I still think it was a good artistic decision. Taramati is a much less developed character, and when she pops up alive, I'll yawn and ask if we can move on to a story about Latika's ambition already. When Taramati was screaming through the flames, I only wondered why she wasn't coughing from smoke.

Will Abhimanyu be arrested for the murder?

That would be so boring. I predict that in between scenes, Abhimanyu rescued Taramati and she told him about the plan to frame him, so he's letting Daulat run his mouth.

Endless undeserved suffering doesn't make a good show. For example, Abhimanyu being hospitalized before the race and never managing to give Latika the maṅgaḷasūtra ... the Vaṭa-Paurṇimā spectacle and months of bitterness between neighbours ... Give the viewers something to enjoy once in a while. Latika and Abhimanyu growing closer while doing something positive can also be dramatic.

Or will Daulat and Sarjerav finally face consequences?

The time when that would have satisfied me has passed. I can't trust the writers to end a storyline and create something fresh. They'll just bring back the characters in a few weeks and expect us to enjoy the same tricks.

The only positive thing I can say right now is that horrific scenes may be welcomed by the actors to show their skills, and they are delivering the performances.

Originally posted by: anjs

finally my mom stopped watching this show........the stress got too much for her........esp Daulat's cruel behavior...... now the only thing i have to endure is the promo, for which mostly i mute the audio..........

while watching the pre-airing promos, i never thought that it will reach this stage........... there are so many pathetic shows and storyline but none stressed my mom so much to stop watching in between, this was the first one......... shame on Mrs Naik for coming up with such a pathetic show..and pathetic character of Daulat....

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I'm impressed! Abhimanyu asked his jailor if he had read Mahābhārata. Not heard the story from a grandparent, not seen it on TV, but actually read it. It really is a different experience to read Mahābhārata - in any language, but especially in Saṃskṛta. The characters' morals and practical considerations, the logistics of daily life and warfare, the brevity of some speeches or descriptions and the extent of others ... just about everything in the text is different from popular retellings.

Abhimanyu alluded to the power of Duryodhana's mother's blessing, of which Vyāsa reminds Gāndhārī in Mahābhārata, Strīparvan, chapter 13, verses 8-11:

uktā'sy aṣṭādaś'āhāni putreṇa jayam icchatā

śivam āśāssva me Mātar yudhyamānasya śatrubhiḥ

sā tathā yācyamānā tvaṃ kāle kāle jay'aiṣiṇā

uktavaty asi Gāndhāri yato dharmas tato jayaḥ

na c'āpy atītāṃ Gāndhāri vācaṃ te vitathām aham

smarāmi bhāṣamāṇāyās tathā praṇihitā hy asi

sā tvaṃ dharmaṃ parismṛtya vācā c'oktvā manasvini

kopaṃ saṃyaccha Gāndhāri m'aivaṃ bhūḥ satya-vādini

For eighteen days, your son, wishing for victory, said to you, "Tell me I'll be safe, Mother, while I fight my enemies." Time and time again, desiring victory, he pleaded with you thus, and you, woman from Gandhāra, replied, "In the direction of justice, let there be victory." I cannot remember any past words that didn't come true if you spoke, woman from Gandhāra - such is your ability, really. So, determined one who remembered justice before speaking those words, bring your fury under control, woman from Gandhāra, and don't be like this, speaker of truth!

I enjoyed so many scenes in this episode!

Sajjan's gratification that Latika accepted a lift from him was adorable. His romantic love for her shouldn't cease just because he accepts that her marriage is real now.

Appā and Bāpū had a nice scene, insisting that they would support Abhimanyu in court, even though it is stressful for them.

The dialogue between Abhilasha and the landowners was delightful. She was explaining matter-of-factly about rights and rates, and they only wanted to listen to a trustworthy person like Abhimanyu. I don't mean to stereotype, but I can believe that these villager characters, whose land is a large part of their identity, would never take a decision to sell it based on objective facts. They are all looking at each other for approval, and hearing that Abhimanyu isn't negotiating the deal anymore is an alarm for them.

Abhilasha was joking about speaking Hebrew or Kannada, but maybe she can understand this āryā in Saṃskṛta:

ajñaḥ sukham ārādhyaḥ sukhataram ārādhyate viśeṣajñaḥ

jñāna-lava-durvidagdhaṃ Brahmā'pi naraṃ na rañjayati

A know-nothing is easily satisfied. It is easier to satisfy an expert. A man whose brush with knowledge makes him wrongly confident? Not even Brahmā the Creator can please him!

Vivek told her that the uneducated landowners would take Abhya's word. She knew how to convince Abhya by promising solar energy, rainwater, organic farming etc. But being Abhilasha-You-Are-Always-Right, even when M. K. himself warned her, she didn't listen!

Sometimes I wonder, doesn't the creative team look at the script that they have produced, and say, "This is unworthy of production. Let's not waste everyone's time. We have to reallocate episodes, reimagine scenes, and rewrite the dialogue, or it won't be entertaining. What needs to happen to move this story forward?"

What an uneventful episode! A waste of time outside the courthouse as Daulat taunts Latika and Kamini taunts Ājī. Abhilasha urges M. K., as if he wasn't already helping Abhya, and somehow reaches the courthouse before anyone goes in. More time wasted with Vikya and Taramati reminding us that Abhya is in trouble. The new lawyer brainstorms with Lati that they need to prove improper gathering of evidence or jailhouse brutality ... from the courthouse already? Abhya enters the courtroom, wearing the same singed clothes in which he has stewed for days. (Wouldn't his clothes be taken from him as evidence? Wouldn't the jail provide detainees with uniforms? Wouldn't the court expect the accused to have access to washing and a change of clothes?) And the bail hearing was hijacked by distractions, with Daulat talking out of order and Appā having chest pains, until the episode ran out of time.

The dialogues for Abhimanyu's lawyer were sensible, and she delivered them well, but the rest of the bail hearing was farcical. Any real judge would have ordered Daulat removed as soon as he spoke out of order, not waited until he physically assaulted Abhimanyu!

Daulat made speech after speech, and even called Kamini to speak irrelevantly! Although I know the footage gets assembled in the editing room, the scene gave the feeling of bad theatre, with the judge obviously waiting for his turn to speak.

Hrishikesh Shelar is a talented actor who makes Daulat's quirky dialogue delivery feel real, but that doesn't justify writing the episode as a vehicle for him!

Taramati doesn't seem to be in much pain from her skin peeling and cracking, exposed nerve endings etc. She's talking and trying to sit up. Whatever anaesthesia she's getting must be really good. She's not drowsy at all.

Latika's dance was graceful and attractive. Abhimanyu's reaction was believable.

What was the point of not letting us hear Abhimanyu's song? Sameer Paranjape can sing, the writers want him to sing, and we want to hear him sing, as he did in the Maṅgaḷā-Gaura episode. What a disappointment to see his lips moving while generic music plays over.

Latika did not need to say sorry to Abhimanyu for how she dressed at the pūjā after the race. At the time, she didn't want to be married to him, and she had every right to make that choice. Now she has changed her mind, and that's her right too. Better flashbacks for the scene of Latika putting on her maṅgaḷa-sūtra would have been Abhimanyu telling Latika that he wanted to propose to her on her birthday, he wrote to her from the hospital, and he tricked Kamini to get back that maṅgaḷa-sūtra. It's as if the writers have forgotten all about those events.

Why are Abhya and Lati the only two characters dressed up for Hoḷī? If they can reuse their festive clothes, why can't the other characters?

Raṅga-saptapadī was an enjoyable scene, although I found it a bit out of character for Abhimanyu to analyze colours like that. The footprints looked like one person hopped zigzag all the way, but whatever.

Abhilasha's rant about the village mentality made no sense, like most of her dialogues. Her fleeing sponsors and investors are from Mumbai, right? Then why is she complaining that projects sell out quickly in the city, but villagers aren't buying what she's selling? If she had complained that the farmers aren't selling her their disputed land for the sake of progress, that might have made some sense at least. Also ridiculous was her prediction that if she couldn't start the project, bad publicity for the village would deter any other developers forever. Does the value of land ever depreciate because its occupants don't want to sell?

Do construction companies in India really give deadlines for bhūmipūjana? The bhūmipūjana for Abhimanyu's academy was right after he bought the land, the land is bringing him no income to mitigate his mortgage payments, and well over a year later, construction hasn't begun. Abhilasha's sponsors and investors might want to set more concrete goals for her.

So, the scheme is: Daulat launders Sarjerav's money through Abhilasha, the farmers find themselves selling land to Sarjerav (redundantly with the previous forgeries), neither township nor academy gets built, and Abhimanyu will be the fall guy. That's depressing enough to watch. Why add the disgusting dimension of Sarjerav telling Daulat to marry and impregnate Abhilasha?

Good for Vikya, figuring out that Mukya is suspicious of Lati's visits to Taramati. I guess we'll get another Abhya-brawls-with-Daulat-&-Co. scene tomorrow.

Have we ever seen a character in Makhmalabad wearing a burakhā before Abhilasha decided that it was the way to be inconspicuous? Sattvashila had a better idea, although Bhanupriya was unable to follow it for long. Unfortunately, Daulat changed out of his polka dotted shirt and pantaloons before he could complete Abhilasha's masterpiece of camouflage.

Daulat's villainy is dragging on, but the mystery of where Latika shifted Taramati was written well to sustain suspense. It gave the supporting cast something different to do, out of the shadow of the leads, who got to flirt a bit meanwhile.

Daulat's lines scolding everyone's parents as half-dead, emaciated etc. were not funny. They all know that he murdered Indu. Wouldn't they barely resist the urge to attack Daulat physically? Appā and Bāpū both are capable of rage.

My guess is that Latika sent Taramati to Mohan's house. She needs a physiotherapist, and when Abhimanyu needed rehab, he went to Mohan. Mohan, who was officially on Daulat's payroll, fits the clue that Daulat wouldn't suspect.

Who was the tall woman with very long hair, standing next to Vikya as the ambulance pulled up? Was that Rupali? I don't think that Latika would send Taramati to any of her co-workers. She wouldn't take the risk of Sarjerav firing them. Anywhere in Makhmalabad is too dangerous for Taramati to stay anyway. Rupali's sister is a nurse, however, so Rupali could be there to make arrangements.

The alternative, that Taramati is staying with the real Tulasa = Akkā, seems unlikely because Tulasa was described as irrationally hostile to Latika. It seemed odd that Ashutosh referred to her as Tulasa Akkā rather than Tulasa Ātyā.

Usually, when someone is recast, the costumes stay the same. Not so for Vikya's mother. The new version wears eyeglasses, nauvārī, ḍokyāvara padara, and bright kuṅkū. I thought she was supposed to be a widow! I know a few widows who wear a red ṭikalī out of habit, but on TV, it would be a surprise if a villager made that statement.