Made in heaven (Amazon series by Zoya Akhtar and Excel Entertainment) - Page 6

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AllThatCritique thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#51
The landlord didn't have 'feelings' for Karan,thats for sure. He was mostly a deeply closeted man who had voyeuristic tendencies. On some level by watching videos of Karan he was vicariously living out his gay fantasies. He was envious of someone getting to do what he couldnt, jealous of how Karan could still live this life right in the middle of a society that still judges, and angry that he himself has to live a lie like that. His anger and eventual handing over the evidence has as much as to do with fear of getting exposed to his family as much as the anger borne out of hating himself. He acknowledges this while apologizing it to Karan and calling him brave.

The landlord's wife had an inkling from the very start I feel because of the landlord's almost obsession with him. I agree that in the event the wife didnt find out,nothing would have happened. The landlord wouldnt have done anything to Karan. He did what he did because he was afraid that a lifetime of a deeply concealed truth about himself was on the brink of collapse. He couldn't take that risk.

The landlord is a complicated figure. He deserves to rot in jail for what he did. The only time I felt an inkling of sympathy for him is when he has his moment of acceptance. Straight from his daughter. Its highly symbolical in my opinion. Someone who couldn't be his own self his entire life gets accepted unknowingly by his own flesh and blood. Just proves how people just want acceptance on some level in this community to ward of the deeply internalized homophobia that gay people suffer through. 

Essentially,the landlord just wanted to live Karan's life,the life he never got to live. 
Edited by AllThatCritique - 5 years ago
hedwig_fawkes thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#52
^ See, I always thought the landlord had a soft spot for Karan. He kept seeking him out, offering him mithai, and offering to take him out for a spin. It seemed like a very obvious crush to me. I don't think he was in love with him or anything, but there was a definite physical attraction. 
I also don't think he had any intention of recording Karan in order to turn him over to the police. I think he was just being a voyeur. Creepy, oh yes. But it was for his own pleasure. You can see how happy he is once he has that window into Karan's life, and his wife notices that. When she figures out what he has been watching, mark what she says to him "how many times have you watched that video?" She knows he has been watching it to get off. So to answer your question, I don't think the landlord would have EVER gone to the police if he had not been caught because he was never trying to get dirt on Karan. He was recording him for purely selfish motives. And he flipped when his wife found out. Remember when his wife first tells him that Karan has a "guest" over every night, and he should do something about it, he defends Karan. It's only when she dares him to send the video to the police to "prove" that he wasn't perving on Karan that he sends the video in. 

Also, there is that very telling exchange between Karan and his daughter, where she describes the book she has been reading "a man obsessed with a young man's beauty." I thought that was meant to be a wink and a nod to the audience.

And I agree, the landlord should be in jail. I don't think he earned any forgiveness. He was a peeping tom. 
Edited by hedwig_fawkes - 5 years ago
Flame. thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#53
I do agree with the two of you that he should be in jail for invading Karan's privacy is such a degrading way. He was definitely being a voyeur even though he had no other ill intentions towards Karan till his wife found out. But, I guess the forgiveness or rather letting go of his actions by Karan somehow stems from the fact that sometime people tend to behave in a way they shouldn't. The official reason Karan gives is that he wouldn't like to see the landlord's young daughter suffer, however, it is pretty obvious there is more to it. I wonder if it's his own past with regards to Nawab that haunts him in that moment, or is it the treatment he received while he was in the jail? I think it was related to his own behavior towards Nawab. Edited by Flame. - 5 years ago
hedwig_fawkes thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#54

Originally posted by: AllThatCritique

What Karan did to Nawab was inexcusable but it's quite evident that Nawab knew why he reacted that way. He tries to pacify him. Nawab knew first hand the kind of hell Karan was living in and why he was unable to communicate with him. Does that make the betrayal any less worse? No. He broke his trust. Karan forced him out of the closet and that must have been traumatizing BUT having been in love with him I feel Nawab knew why he did what he did or his thought process. If not then,maybe years later. They were kids in a relationship forbidden in society. He wasn't ready to come out and he didn't know what else to do. There's also internalized homophobia in play because essentially he knows by hating on whatever Nawab is,hes hating on himself. 


Now why he didnt apologize after years is easy for me to understand. He simply didnt think he deserved to apologize or explain himself. He's still in love with him after years but doesn't have the balls to contact him. He has let the only person he knows him, really knows him down. And he's already feels like a disappointment to his parents and he's still hiding. He simply didnt have the balls or courage to face Nawab. Its a very human thing. He looks at Nawab's pictures and hopes he's happy. Thats the only level of emotional vulnerability he allows himself. 

Its only when everything is out and he feels liberated that he gets that message and finally feels ready enough to face Nawab. There's no longer internalized homophobia,no longer the mom's voice in his head,there's no longer the fear of peers. He knows this could be it. His only chance for proper closure. Also he knows Nawab is happily married without him, he's happy and in his head he's moved on and this is his only chance to set things right. The fact that Nawab contacted him is of primary importance. It shows whatever Karan did for the community has finally reached the one person he wanted it to reach. Nawab is open for a dialogue and he acknowledges Karan even after everything. Karan didnt even in his wildest dreams think he'd have this chance to explain himself. So everything repressed and unsaid comes out in full form in the meeting. 

And to be honest,gay/bi relationships have similar hookups just like hetero ones. Affairs and hookups are frequent regardless of sexual orientation. In places where same sex marriage isn't allowed people date throughout their lives are open abt who they are dating nd hence more  visible partners. But discreet dating lives beyond marriage is not limited to gay or bi relationships. That's a very frivolous media stereotype to accentuate 'holy' heterosexual marriages.

I do agree that we don't get to see Nawab's husband and that complicates things. The only way to uncomplicate this is Nawab coming clean to his husband about Karan. He needs to be honest with him. Both Nawab and Karan have been living very dishonest lives, living on broken parts. They both tried to fix it with other people but this meeting was enough to tell them its really never working out with anyone else.

After sleeping together they both  show how they want to get back to the comfort of their underwhelming lives because of this was too much. But we know how Karan actually feels. And one look at Nawab when Karan says am sorry is telling enough how he feels too. He just has to be honest with his spouse and they need to work on their major trust issues. This was definitely not a hook-up though. No way. For Nawab this is validation for the love he's shown Karan once upon a time. I'm sure once he moved out of that school he questioned the depth of their  relationships and what little he meant to Karan. So this liberates him of those thoughts. And Karan could tell his greatest,deepest secrets to Nawab. Someone he hasnt seen in ages only because he's still the only one his heart trusts. Doing whatever he did to Nawab was the greatest burden Karan was carrying throughout his remaining teens and adult life. Nawab's forgiveness liberates him. Nawab fixed him. Them getting together has far more psychological implications than  just physical. 



I agree with everything. And I want to combine what you said about Nawab always understanding where Karan was coming from, with what Flame said about how heartbreaking it is that even when Karan turns on Nawab and outs him so cruelly. Nawab's reaction is not to strike back or defend himself but say "we can talk something out, Karan". EVEN in that moment, his first thought is about fixing Karan. He has always been the nurturer. There is no malice or real bitterness in him when it comes to Karan. Even though he says he has hated Karan for so long, he can't help but reach out when he sees what Karan is going through and what he is trying to fight for. And after everything, all that is takes for him to melt is one "I am sorry." For him, the heartbreak wasn't about the boys at school. It was always about why Karan had turned on him. It was Karan who was consumed with what people would think of him. Karan needed to build up the courage. Nawab always had it. And he never held that against Karan, he just wanted Karan to be able to accept his truth for himself. And I will never get over how tenderly Nawab treats Karan after he apologizes. It is so pure. And Karan finally allows himself to heal because Nawab is there to hold him.
tl; dr: Nawab is a cinnamon roll 
Ekaanek100 thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#55
Well all in all I see a lot of praises for Nawab...However the moment they were on bed though the scene was  emotional.. I could not just be okay with it because somehow "happily married" thing lingering somewhere.. I don't know if m completely correct with that though..
Also the equation between jazz and Kabir has left me confused.. any analysis on them ?

Shibani was one of the most underused character..They left her character and her story linger in thetbackground..
I wish there was more to her .. 
hedwig_fawkes thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#56
^I get what you are saying, but the Karan/Nawab tryst didn't feel like a cheap affair or a fling. There was so much history and unresolved tension there that it felt necessary for both characters to continue functioning. And the fact that Nawab was going to be in town for two more days, yet he says "keep in touch Karan" sort of underlined the fact that this was not going to become an affair. 

Hmm, for some reason, I could NOT get into the Kabir character. I know a lot of people seem to like him, but I found his entire shtick a little contrived. So I could not get into the Jazz/Kabir relationship. 

Coming back to Karan and Nawab, it would have been interesting to see what Nawab's home life was like. I have a feeling his parents were much more supportive of him, and protective. They let him switch schools etc. It would have allowed us to understand how he and Karan had such different attitudes towards their own homosexuality. Karan was broken by abuse. 
Edited by hedwig_fawkes - 5 years ago
AllThatCritique thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#57
The assumption that Nawab's parents were supportive is a double edged sword for me. Did they actually know the reason. Was it mentioned ever that they knew? If not Nawab could have come up with plain bullying,or any other reason to change schools. I feel that after getting betrayed by Karan like that he wouldn't really take the chance with his parents. Something like that breaks one. Would he really gamble away his only other solace now that all his friends were gone? Food for thought. But if they knew there's a chance they were supportive. You know the first thought Indian parents get is 'log kya kahenge' if things got out further. So more than being allies and supportive maybe they wanted the episode to end quickly as possible. For their own image in society. So many possibilities. 

And speaking of the 'happily married' thing... I thought that Nawab reiterated that as a defence mechanism thrown right at the start to let Karan know that he's moved on and he isn't stuck with him in their grim reality anymore. It is said to gauge his reaction too I feel,the way his eyes bore into his while he talked of his marriage. He's married and was he considerbly fine with the husband? Sure. But his 'happy' isnt the husband. The rest of the events that followed the words 'happily married' is proof of this. And he wouldn't have contacted Karan and met him if he was really 'happily married'. This wasnt a normal meeting an ex. 
Edited by AllThatCritique - 5 years ago
hedwig_fawkes thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#58
^I get what you mean. I think the "supportive parents bit" was wishful thinking on my part, because I wanted Nawab to have some support and comfort. And I have the same interpretation of the "happy marriage." I see a lot of people say Karan should move on because Nawab is in a happy space, but is he? I will be a little heart-broken if we never hear from Nawab again. I need a little more resolution. 
Btw, I was skimming the comments on the official insta page, and I was surprised at the number of people who seemed to like Kabir and the voiceover. I thought they were both rather cringe-inducing. Especially the "all it took for years of patriarchy to be struck down ..." line. It seemed so reductive. What did you guys think. 
hedwig_fawkes thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#59
They are working on season 2!

AllThatCritique thumbnail
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Posted: 5 years ago
#60
I didn't like Kabir at all. And his voiceovers were the worst part of the episodes. When deeper issues are brought to light,the director should leave it to the audience so that it sinks in. Kabir's voiceovers are like Godspeak,the moral of the story and I always hate stuff like that- its
virtue-signalling at its best and as a grownass adult I dont want someone preaching me the moral. Zoya/Reema have a voiceover hangover lol. They did the same in DDD and honestly it stops you from taking stuff seriously.