Originally posted by: sanfan
Priya I rarely watch ITV showsโฆ the last I watched seriously was a cute show Yeh un dinon ki baat hain and before that a show called ek duke ke vaaste
same here - IPPKND and Imlie are the only 2 shows i've watched from beg till end...IPPKND watched after it aired and Imlie relegiously from day 1 - first promo drew me in. I also watched parts of a show - ye rishta hai pyaar ki.
am roughly aware of the fare being dished out coz I tend to surf a max of 30 mins in a day for a particular time slot so anything in that time slot if interesting gets my attention and if not I just move on to something else for that 30 mins and thatโs it
I watch only one show at a time. But the one I watch - I like to analyse thoroughly and try to predict the writers thoughts abt the story progression - so i spend at least 1-2 hrs everyday on J. Leena confounds me most times; but I think I have respect for the way she is able to at churn out fare that is difficult to predict but in a strange way logical. Everyday I ask myself; am I wasting time on something of no specific value; will I be accountable to God for the time wasted, but then I tell myself we are all entitled to some entertainment albeit nonsensical... 
My fascination for Jhanak was gradual and after an initial watch I almost didnโt watch until March this year seriously and the.n went and binge watched the older episodes..Tbh for me the draw was Aniโs peculiar characterisation
I started Jhanak - the day of her wedding with Anurag...after much lobbying from a friend. I did not want to watch it as I did not initially think hiba was a good actress, and after Imlie - acting chops mattered..Usually 3 episodes and I quit. This show drew me in like IPKKND and Imlie. The scenes that cinched it for me are Ani and J trip to Rahul's dairy farm and J and Ani garden scene where Ani gets J's number....in both instances, you could subtly see Ani's core trait of manipulation; and I love grey MLs. I started watching for Krushal and his characterization and acting.
To put it simply, I take Aniโs traits as purely a personality trait that someone can develop for not particularly deep reasons. I know a lot of others have talked of his childhood trauma and emotional neglect and while I take that on board, since I am a person who only looks at what the narrative tells me in clear terms I am only inclined to believe that Aniโs nature is merely that - his nature ( could be a result of emotional neglect but since I have not seen him crave his family approval much I just read it as a traitโฆ and to put it simply sometimes in life you meet someone who is say committeemen phobic.. you donโt necessarily assume a deep backstory though there could be one, for me I simply see Ani as a non confrontational person
This is partly why your posts resonate with me. I dont see Ani as how he should have been and how the writer messed up. For me writer is God...while watching a show. I will try to predict what Ani or J would do based on their respective char sketch to date; but Ani is everything Leena makes him to be...warts and all. No...writer was sloppy...this is not Ani... etc...even if it is the reason; the story is the story, one cannot consume the story based on one's impression of what Ani should do. Its a bit like forecast and actuals :) You can forecast but once it airs; its actual; cant be disregarded, erased - as this is not Ani. Ani is everything he does. Same for J.
I see Ani as someone who was coasting in life - happily. Yes some issues at home, but nothing too out of the norm; his parents were dysfunctional but then jeth Bodo Choton and Appu fill that void. Then J enters his life and - from day 1 there is a force that is pulling him towards her continously that he does not even try to resist out of deference to Arshi. Things did not happen unintentionally. Ani made them happen. Ani is not dumb enough to think he is not doing wrong to Arshi by running behind J; using sympathy as an excuse. No otherwise normal human is. He has assumed this ignorance to excuse himself for his behavior. He went to get her for the dance comp; he wiggled himself an invite to get milk; he followed her to the garden to speak to her he made sure he got her number, it was not a natural progression, it was all intentional - he even asked her why she could not accompany him to the wedding; the day on houseboat - he went intentionally seeking her out. For me this is love at first sight..recognized acknowledged or not...not sure yet. Not Ani doing sympathy or things just happening to him; without his control. Thats his excuse to maintain his righteousness. I dont think most people see it like this - but I do - and this was further validated for me in SR dream where he said he was hers at first sight. It is true.
Did Leena write him as I read him - I donโt know Same
When I see Ani handle this new situation, I will discover that I can see how this can bring it out but very skeptical that Leena will commit; she will make this track ambigous as well. Its her signature trait - she will never let you decode Ani. He will be unpredictable and volatile till the end of the show.
As for feeling apologetic for watching the serial.. I am clear in what I look for in art and imitation of real life or vice verse is not my thing. That said, my irritation is trying to get what the writer wants to say about this character whose transgressions are borne out his confusion and indecisiveness. The toxicity you talk about is more around the other angles in the show. With Ani Jhanak on whom I am focused I feel it is a case of two unlikely people who would have otherwise passed by never really seeking out the other except in the circumstances they met and if not for the overreach by Ani. Their circumstances are causing the complexity to appear toxic else left to themselves they had decided to move on. Even now if Jhanak hadnโt called asked Adi to call, Ani would Ani have known her fate?
I like watching stories where love...as I said above is intentional. From the beginning of the show Ani intentionally went behind J (everytime she tried to leave) till he half married Arshi. It was conscious choice regardless of consequences. After Anishi wedding drama, Leena had Ani prioritze responsibility over love and he dropped looking for her. He decided to give up on love that drove him thus far and suddenly don the mantle of respectabilty that he never had or cared for before (deceiving Arshi left right and centre). Arshi's accident made him acknowledge his wrongdoings to Arshi and out of guilt he overnight became a gentleman by trying his best to be a husband to Arshi. Till he was running behind J; Ani had zero care in the world for his image in society. He opened himself to criticism from his friends, boss, ad producers, neighbors, family. He married Arshi and suddenly J's accusation of making her pregnant, having a societal impact bothered him? What made Leena change Ani here? At this point is where Ani was willing to permanently let go of J for Arshi; his one deception/defiance/ nod to Runak that redeems him a bit...was to accept Arshi as wife without marrying her.
MAybe J leaving without telling him hit hard.
What happens after this is all divine intervention. From this point its hard to credit Ani for his love.
J I can. She gave up dance comp for Ani for love (very difficult esp when ask was extremely unfair & had survival consequences for her - Ani could have with this request made her penniless and gone back to Kalcutta with Arshi); she took the decision to go to BH to get her childs rights; she humiliated herself to a great extent to get Ani to see the truth. Now was J doing this with an ulterior motive for love? Likely yes - bcos of her last comment to Mini before she left. She informs him of her situation - I think with the slight hope that he will come. Jhanak as always is very open to showing her love. Her acting on it is however based on her prinicples and beliefs.
Ani acts on his love when he is not consumed by jealousy and disregards all principles and beliefs for J.
For the second and third time Ani chose to let J walk away. second intance - on leaving Mumbai bcos of his own choice to accept Arshi as wife and prioritize her. At this time Ani had the gall to want to tend to J while married to Arshi. Unfair to both and J told him time to ride two boats was over - rightly so; and sent him packing with advice to stay faithful to the choices he made.
third instance - when she left Kolkatta. Ani could have been more trusting or even respectful of her as a fellow human, but no, again he had to hurt J and show his priority for Arshi.
Three times Ani has abandoned his love J for Arshi. His excuses - commitment and jealousy???...commitment is new found, when he was running after J it was missing. This is why I asked what love?? when Runak is happening only because of God and J willingness to honor his rights as her husband; even after his behavior. Ani's love existed but it was not #1 priority for him. With his running out on Arshi yesterday he finally showed J is his priority now.
I feel writer has justified J love via actions categorically and will now feel the need to reward Ani for his mistakes in letting J go 3 times; to justify his love.
This is how I see Runak love. Sorry got carried away as always.
About what is love? You asked if such a destructive love is if any use? Wellโฆ letโs just sayโฆ people understand love differently. In a different setting, Ani would have secured a good hostel for Jhanak and when chastised by family for his over involvement in her life, made discreet arrangements for her safety or better still, Jhanak would have found a way out for a better life and most certainly met a lawyer to sort the wedding mess ( better still there would have been no forced wedding at all) ๐๐๐
But this is fiction, so Ani couldnโt resist the lure of beautiful Jhanak and had to complicate his life and ours ๐๐
I started responding to your other post and got distracted by the abrupt change in show dynamics....I wonder if my response will get muted by the bts we are getting of Ani's reaction to J's surgery. 
Will have to give Leena that 
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