Week 22 - Reality just ahead

The story has now moved to the pivotal plot. And this week, it was all from Ishwari's point of view. This week can probably be termed as a prelude to the upcoming twists in the story.

Ishwari's insecurities are at its peak. Her possessive side has resulted in hatred towards Sonakshi. However, Sonakshi has no idea why Ishwari is behaving so differently towards her.

For Dev, its all about satisfying his mom's request to be with her. Little is he even aware of her changed reactions towards Sonakshi.

Supriya very easily brings out the childish possessiveness of a mother. She acts like a toddler who refuses to share her toy with anyone and goes on to brag that its hers! Her eagerly getting ready to go out with Dev and snapping at Sona's one question of where she is off to was enough for Sona to get the message that things are not the same between them!  Ishwrai's explanation to Dev about how in his childhood, he refused to leave her hand even when she had to go for a bath, and his fighting with mama ji that Ishwari will tie Rakhi only to him was all a cute childhood memory.

Throughout the first half of the week, whenever she gets a chance, Ishwari keeps telling Dev how much she has to share him and his time with everyone..how she enjoys when he spends time with her..and every now and then, she even manages to tell others in Dev's presence, that he will share everything with her, even if he has a girl friend. But Dev quietly maintains silence or diverts the topic..All those scenes were done with finesse by the actors and I thought the story moved really nicely, just in the right pace, this week..

Unaware of any of her discomfort, Dev does everything as usual for his mom. However, with Ishwari's repeated complaints about him not spending time with her, he feels guilty and tries harder to be with her more. He is completely clueless as to why she feels low and attributes it only to her poor health.

Sonakshi's role this week was pretty much that of a confused girl who had no idea why Ishwari was behaving like that with her. To add to her confusion, she was also longing for some alone time with Dev which was always somehow interrupted...

Just as Dev and Sonakshi, the audiences were also longing and were restless for their favorite couple to share the screen space! And the moment they come together there surely is a spark in everyone's eyes 😍😍 The audiences would like to ask them "restless pe aap ka copyright hai kya?? do you know how restless we were?" 😄 But, in spite of all the policing around by mom, we all managed to sneak and meet up and even witnessed a DevAkshi Tatoo..❤️😍  The "Be my sunshine" part was a very cute romantic scene, but unfortunately had to be seen by mama ji...

Dev and Sonakshi's relationship is not at all finicky about simple things like unable to spend time with each other or one giving more importance towards other things..They both are so matured to look beyond these things and yet so child like and innocent in relating to each other. This is what makes them a unique on screen couple ❤️ Sonakshi is genuinely happy that Dev takes care of his mother's physical as well as emotional needs and Dev is genuinely appreciative of Sonakshi's every action.

A dubbed version of this show is happening in a Tamil channel and I happened to see that today. The sequence that is currently running there is the one where Sona suggests Nikki to buy a video game for Dev as a gesture of giving back a bit of his lost childhood..Even long before the two confessed their love to each other, Sonakshi had tried to heal his wound..this gesture is something even Ishwari wouldn't have thought about..She would have never thought that Dev's wound can still be healed.. That way, Sonakshi fills all the gaps left in Dev's life (Ishwari has filled most) with the same kind of care and love.. If only Ishwari can realize this...

Ishwari's heartfelt, emotional discussion with mama ji was ok up until a point. I had all the sympathy for her when she said Dev sat in the pooja only because of Sona and not because of her. But I lost the sympathy when she spoke about how she has no problem walking with him in any new path that he takes and that she feels bad if in that path, he holds a different person's hand leaving her behind. Knowing Dev and his love for her, how can she even think that he will leave her behind..Unfortunately, in the world we are living, we see that the younger generation does not support the older generation physically and emotionally..and this universal practice might have made Ishwari to think so...But you have a gem as your son Ishwari ji and the girl he has chosen is a gem too and she will never compete with you..

The Neha-Ranveer track also moved to the next stage this week when the two decided to move to their own house. Although Neha was seen making a genuine effort to be a good daughter in law of the house, her underlying thirst for a comfortable life cannot be hidden for too long. And slowly her frustration builds up, as the two can afford to take only careful tiny steps in improving their lifestyle..

A well made sequence this week was Dev getting sick. It was extremely well made by the creative team as well as all the actors. This, I thought was also an important sequence that pushed everyone to a point beyond which its hard not to express themselves and realize the reality..Sonakshi and Dev, however matured their relationship is, had to totally express how much they needed each other (beyond all the hiding and secrecy of their relationship) and how difficult it is for either of them to be without each other even for one day. Ishwari, however strong she is and however sure she is of her belief that her son has not fallen in love with Sonakshi, had to witness how the two needed each other. Even mama ji had to witness and even emotionally accept the genuine care Sonakshi had for Dev.

The subtle expressions of the actors during this sequence have to be applauded.. Dev taking Sona's support, stopping her from touching his leg to remove the shoes and expressing his desire for her to stay with him and not go was so endearing to see. Sonakshi not hesitating to hold a sick Dev upto his room and taking care of him was a very lovable sequence.. And to cap it off was Ishwari's expression of grief beyond consolation when she heard Dev say Sonakshi's name in sleep. She was devastated to finally realize that Dev is also in love with Sona. Supriya portrayed very well, the distress of a mom who was suddenly unsure of whether her dear sick son needed her or a girl who was a complete outsider to the family... She closed all the doors for the Dev and Sona to meet each other atleast for that day.

From this point however, I am scared that Ishwari has lost her rationality..She is become a very possessive and insecure mother. She has forgotten that her place in Dev's heart cannot be replaced by anyone else.

The grand finale of this week was the last scene when Sonakshi completely broke down to Dev and Dev in complete admiration of her love for him. The soul mates waited the whole day longing to be in each other's arms and could not hold any more and had to break down. Sonakshi expressed her feelings very well through her excellent delivery of dialogues 👏🏻👏🏻. And Dev expressed his emotions so aptly even without the dialogues 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 

This finale has paved way for the next part of the story to unveil, in which Dev has to express to Ishwari about his love for Sonakshi.

Week 21 - Disagreements and compromises!

Disagreements - trying to resolve them - compromises are all part of human relationships. The more we value the relationship, the more compromises we will be willing to make. This week was all about that!

When he saw Neha quietly retire to her room, he could not stop himself from following her to figure out her needs..She or his other sisters never really have to tell him what they need. He knows it. He can sense it all. And yes, he was absolutely correct in assuming that Neha misses the lifestyle she had in her home...

Neha is affected by the childhood trauma of being the child who sacrificed the most in the Dixit home. Just like her, Dev is also equally affected by the childhood trauma of climbing on the shoulder of every single person of the Dixit home to the reach the height he is in, today. For that reason, he feels greatly indebted to every person in his family. His thirst to make his sisters and mom happy may never be fully quenched! His desire to make Neha happy and his decision to gift a flat to her cannot be completely blamed as an offense, if you look at it from this angle.

Following Sona's advice, I tried to put myself in Ranveer's position to see this.. Its not his ego that is stopping him from taking any of Dev's favors, but it is his desire to do everything on his own for Neha - the woman he loves with all his heart. Ranveer spoke about how he is very particular in the path and journey that he must take in order to achieve his destination.. I respect him for all this and I hope Dev will soon learn to stay away from Neha-Ranveer.

However, I cannot agree with Ranveer at all about how Dev doesn't care what path he takes to reach his destination. Dev is also equally principled man...Dev is also a man with values. I hope Ranveer's frustration was just impulsive and does not turn to a prejudiced relationship with Dev.

The poor Neha.. is just living the life of a typical Indian new bride..trying to adjust to the twists and turns of the new family that she is married into. Although she misses the old lifestyle, up until now, she has not thought any less of Ranveer's love and continues to trust him and love him. She has not thought of asking her superhero brother for anything...And wants to genuinely give her marriage all that she has got. But already Dev's intrusion is causing mood swings for Ranveer and I am very scared for them. Dev will never intend for his sister's marriage to be strained because of him..but unknowingly, he has just caused a bit of it.

Neha has been impressing me a lot these days, by taking that extra step and adjusting to the new lifestyle. Her heartfelt discussion with Ranveer asking him to give her a chance to adjust - was very endearing. Ranveer and Neha are both amazing people and have their own strengths. I wish that their marriage and love lasts a lifetime.

Ishwari's advice to Dev about him staying away from Ranveer-Neha's marriage was a very matured, lovely advice, to be followed by not just Dev but all possessive families of any bride or groom. The bride and groom always need their own space to blossom into a loving husband and a lovely wife. If only all families will realize this truth, many marriages will be happier these days.

Week after week, we see the relationship between Dev and Sona mature and this week was an important milestone. Relationships are not always rosy..there will be disagreements; how you manage those, without giving up is what matters. What started as a beautiful coffee date... ended in a disagreement. Dev avoided the topic, knowing very well that it will surely end in a disagreement and Sonakshi wanted to face it, because she wanted to be his pillar of support in good and bad times. Again, a special mention  - Shaheer's body language, the hesitation he showed even in his dialogue delivery indicating that there is something bothering him, the simple forehead kiss, the quiet irritation he showed when he walked out of the place 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

The fans go gaga over a forehead kissing sequence..I cant blame them..because their chemistry onscreen is sizzling, no doubt! Why on earth will Dev get a doubt on whether he is hot? I guess he just needed to hear it from Sona. The fans will vouch for how hot he is 😍😍 Like I always say, every bit of this relationship is a new experience for Dev and he loves whats happening to him! It was so sweet when he asked Sona to keep aside all her shyness and tell him exactly how she felt for him :) I really love the way how the two click the moment they come together on screen. Even the 1 minute togetherness in the last episode of the week was enough to make us keep smiling through the weekend!!

The chemistry between them is also awesome in the way they resolve their differences! Special mention to the makers for creating the situation between them in which they make every effort to put themselves in the other person's shoes, realize that they still disagree..,are honest to each other about this disagreement and end it by saying "Its ok.. I love you".  Not many couple are able to do this in today's world. This show is unique and lovely in many such ways and I am not surprised at the love it got for completing 100 episodes.

Of late, Ishwari is in complete disappointment with Dev's interest in Sonakshi. And time and again, she sees or hears things that makes it worse for her. Its not that she hates Sonakshi. But her possessiveness has taken over her completely now that she is hardly seeing. Her strong warning to Sona to stay away from her kids, especially Dev (after the halwa incident) shook Sona off. If that was not enough, her very harsh reply to Sona's advice about the leg pain completely established to Sonakshi that something is definitely wrong with her and Ishwari. The realness of the show was established again when, in a moment, the tender mother inside Ishwari realizes her mistake and embraces Sonakshi's soul with kind words. Well done by the 2 actresses.. Sonakshi's expressions were very real in this scene when she decided to get out of the room after she realized Ishwari was upset with her. There is an excellent actress in Erica! Whether it is the emotional scenes like this or whether it is the romantic scenes with Dev, she carries herself really well and compliments the other actors in the scene with appropriate emotions..Really well done 👏🏻👏🏻

The biggest disagreement and the biggest compromise of this week was that between Dev and God. "Man proposes and God disposes". For the person who does not believe in God, its "Man proposes and he disposes too". Dev does not believe in God, because, the miracles he ever experienced were all done by his mother. Ishwari brought up her 4 kids single handedly. Dev, being the eldest had witnessed every single problem she faced and how she solved it every single time. The only super hero Dev ever knew was his mother, because, she somehow made things work out, even when the God that she believed in, had failed her..But Ishwari continues to believe in God. God is her strength. I am a believer, so I can completely relate to Ishwari.

Just like every other time, everyone knew that Dev will not participate in the pooja. As cliche as it sounds, Sonakshi's love will surely influence Dev. Dev himself did not realize this. Dev's disbelief in God is something that grew up with him. Over years even Ishwari was not able to change this quality of Dev. So, Dev was convinced that he will never be able to fold his hands in front of God. Thats why when Sonakshi tried to convince him, he even got mad at her told her very clearly that he cannot change even for her sake. But he made sure she knows that his love for her will not diminish in any way because of this..And she made sure that he understands that even if they are not perfect, their feelings for each other is 100% perfect.

Its beautiful how their differences are disagreements are very short lived - definitely something to learn from..Even the very first time they had a difference, Dev made it very clear that he cannot sleep through the night with that in mind. Every time afterwards, the two are consciously honest with each other and express how much they love each other inspite of the differences they have. And when they have to compromise, they just don't do it in a filmy way..They think through it and if they can make an amendment, they do. If they can't, they don't; but build their love around it.

And in this case of big disagreement with God and mom and Sonakshi, Dev made a big compromise in his mind, for his mother's sake and participated in the pooja to the surprise of everyone..But what actually made this compromise happen - Dev's Love - Love for the sincere efforts of Sona which made him realize that he can actually do anything for his mother's sake.

However, as we came to the finale of the week - What Dev and Sona thought will make Ishwari happy ended up in a bitter feeling. Ishwari found out the truth about why Dev agreed to the pooja..Not her.. but a girl that came just a few days ago in his life has made him change his beliefs about God! She now knows for sure that Sonakshi has come between her and Dev. The helpless mother's strange blessing to Dev was rightly sensed by him. The angry mother's hatred was rightly sensed by Sonakshi. From now on, is the actual story...

Week 20 - Love that hurts

The beauty of the show Kuch Rang Pyar ke aise Bhi is that it deals with all sorts of Love..not just the love between a boy and a girl! And as much of happiness Love gives, there is also certain amount of hurt that we have to endure and this week was all about that.

Neha's wedding day was the beginning of the week. This is the first time I have seen a TV show with underplayed wedding emotions. Usually in the visual medium, especially in the world of TV serials, its melodramatic, very exaggerated. However, in this show, right from the background music up until the facial expressions of the actors..it was very realistic. Whatever I write about this, will be less for the genuineness of this show, especially this week. There was laughter and joy in everyone's faces as the rituals happened.. and there was sadness slowly building up in everyone's faces as the episode progressed.. 

Last week we left at Sonakshi locked in Dev's room. Even though Dev was participating in all the rituals, he was extremely anxious about leaving Sona in his room. With the wedding rituals getting busier and busier, with the guests coming by, he could not get to her, even though he tried his best. Finally, Sonakshi did manage to get out of Dev's room, but Ishwari was the one who let her out, and there was a lot of discomfort in both Ishwari and Sona's body language and conversation. It was only after Sona came out, was Dev able to focus on everything 😄

There is an ongoing discussion among fans on why Sona did not text Eleena or why she did not come out of the other door leading to the garden from Dev's room.. We don't have the floor plan for Ishwari Niwas..so no questioning that or if you are sure there is another door, lets assume that door was closed from outside... and lets assume, the phone did not have charge 😄

I have utmost confidence in Dev's loyalty towards Sonakshi and vice versa. They didn't have to really take that Oath to prove their sincerity to the audience... However, the conception of that scene was extremely nice and was an opportunity for Dev to see for himself how much Sona has taken him over - even as he is performing the most important duty of a brother - the "kanyadhaan" of his sister, the person that has occupied him is Sonakshi. For Dev, this whole love saga is a new experience that is teaching him something about himself everyday😄❤️ I especially liked the way both Dev and Sonakshi talked about respecting each other, of all the promises. The unlimited wifi connection was installed between Dev and Sona on June 14th, so they completing each other's thought on cooking was no surprise to me! But, the dialogue writers know how to make us smile 😊

The promises of the actual people, who it was meant to be for - Ranveer and Neha, were also very sincere. For some reason, this week, I am getting some confidence in this couple. I am positive, they will make a sincere effort to keep their promises, if there is no external influence.

Being a woman, I was extremely affected by the event of Neha's departing for her husband's home. The scene itself, again done so calmly with very little background score or melodrama. But the intensity was huge! Shaheer was at his best that day! Whether it was being restless and engrossed in an unexplainable sadness, or whether it was breaking down to Sonakshi about how selfish he was  in giving more time to him and her and not to Neha on her important day, or whether it was crying like a child even after Sonakshi's consoling.. "par..Neha chali gayi..mein usko roz nahi dekh saktha.." Awesome Shaheer 👏🏻👏🏻you really really rock. Thank you for giving us a Dev to dream about.

When a woman gets married and leaves her home, she is busy in getting to know her new family..in doing the wedding related rituals..that even though she misses her family, she doesn't get much opportunity to express it.. And because of that, she probably never realizes what happens in her parent's house after she leaves them.. Most of the shows don't even show the emotions from the bride's parents' point of view.. Will a family miss their girl so much? Will a brother miss his sister so much? Will the sisters miss their sister this much? I started imagining the state of mind my own family and my own brother when I got married.. and may be because of that or may be because of the extraordinary acting by the team of actors...I could not stop my tears...It will be too less a compliment if I say it was the best ever "Bidaai" shown on a small or big screen.

Love that hurts...With Neha's bidaai -  It was sibling love that hurt..the love of a mother for her daughter that got hurt.. and the love of a lover that got hurt - who is unable to stop her tears seeing her "stronger than lion" man break down in her lap. 

Makers - if you guys haven't realized yet, this is the time to realize that you are doing an amazing show called Kuch Rang Pyar ke aise Bhi..

The 2 little sisters need a special mention for bringing in the much needed fun of the wedding environment. Their missing Neha was not surprising to me, but Dev coming with an ice cream to cheer them up was surely a surprise! Dev has completely soaked in the colors that his Sonakshi brought with her and his every action proves that.

Even though he consoled his sisters, neither them nor him can get over Neha's absence so quickly.. Sona's call later at night to see if Dev was ok and her way of getting Dev to fall asleep was something only two hearts in love can understand. Beautiful 😊❤️ Dev's being blunt and honest with Sonakshi about their love taking away his quality time with Neha is also something only people who have felt true love can understand. Being in love is being able to be yourself without having any filters for right or wrong. You have to be honest. 

Its amazing how the 2 very strong characters that we saw before are both turning out to be so tender inside, 100 episodes later..They melt around each other and melt our hearts every time they enact an emotional sequence. This is true for Ishwari as well. Such a strong lion-like personality gets hurt for a simple reason that her son is not spending enough time with her these days. May be its not simple? I might know when I become older and my son spends more time with his girl friend instead of me 😞

The love that Ishwari always had for her son is causing her huge pain now. That day, inspite of her fighting the different emotions of getting her daughter married and given away, a major portion of her mind is also preoccupied with Dev's interactions with Sonakshi and his overall distance from herself. To add to the fuel, she caught Sona in Dev's room, locked during the wedding. She caught Dev not paying attention when he was called for performing the ritual.  Later, she caught Sonakshi open up Dev's cupboard to take a file - although the reason was Dev really might have thought Ishwari will be resting due to her leg ache.

It was amazing the way the actress expressed the fury on Ishwari's face that implied "Dev is mine - who are you, outsider?" And the same fury was disguised in a silly chiding when she told Dev "thats why you asked Sonakshi to get the file, which is usually my job!" She continued this feeling towards Dev when she reprimanded him for visiting Neha's house without informing her. Inside she is hurt really badly from the birthday saree incident onwards until the blue file incident. And such incidents are only bound to happen more because, Dev's love is now shared between her and Sonakshi. When Ishwari learns all the details, it is going to hurt her more. 

Ishwari, in an attempt to prove to herself that her son Dev has not changed and is the same, decided to bring out her trump card - besan halwa. And she was right, Dev was going to gobble it all up. It was sheer coincidence that Sona asked him to stay away from sweets that day.. I wish Ishwari gave more credit to Dev for letting go of it, in order to take care of his health. After all, she would want the same for her son - good health. But now, she was not playing the role of just a mother..she was playing the role of a possessive mother..Why does love always come with possessiveness? They say, if you really love someone, you must let him/her go..But in reality, its hard to practice, especially for a mother. That night, I am glad that Dev came back and finished the halwa.. Ishwari would have broken down a lot, if he didn't finish it.. Thanks Dev.. Is the halwa really that tasty? I would like to taste it some time..

On the other hand, possessiveness between lovers is cute..The way the two wrote their names.. it was like - "This item belongs to me" 😄 And the humor about meeting on weekends in comparison to a tourist spot was 😂😂 But seriously, Dev - when do you sleep ya? you have things to do at 2AM, 3AM, 5AM, 6AM..Now, even I am worried about your health.. not just Sona..Please sleep well.They say, 8hrs of sleep is necessary.. Neither you sleep nor you let your fans sleep!! Who can sleep after that "aur pass.." moment? 😄❤️😍 Dev, you don't know how much Sonakshi was checking you out before.. If only you knew!! Do you remember the time when the button in your shirt had come off? Or do you remember the time, you were teaching Sona how to play the video game? Those were all times she was checking you out..Ask us, we have a collection of VMs for you!!

I was missing the good natured Natasha..especially talking about "Love that hurts". Her re-entry in dialogues was nice, but unfortunately, it was such an unpleasant sequence..when Mr.Gujral has turned villain to the Ishwari communications and to Dev. Natasha has always been the right kind of girl. Today as well, it was endearing to know of Natasha's stand against her dad's move. Apparently there is a big loss for Dev, but the righteous person that he is, Dev did not want to take any action against Mr.Gujral's company just because he didn't want to hurt Natasha.

The scene where Sonakshi expresses her sadness over Dev's huge loss was an extremely important one for Dev and Sona. Whenever the 2 come onscreen its very important for us! But that aside, the way Dev explains how he is fortunate to have Sonakshi in his life and how he cannot think of a life without her was important for Sona to understand how sincere his love is. And her answer to Dev asking him "to not think of a life without her because its her promise that she will never ever let go of him even if he does" was extremely important for Dev - because, in future, there might be a situation when he has to let go of her, according to the initial promos...

Neha's first day in Ranvir's home was not great as she had to share her room and bed with 2 little kids of Ranvir's brother..But the following day, Dev promptly showing up at his dear sister's place brought big smiles on her face. However was not welcome by Ranvir and rightly so... I hope Dev let Neha-Ranvir bond to grow on their own, without his intervention. An air conditioner might bring a good night's sleep, but a movie and outing with a husband will bring peace... quality time with each other is necessary to develop bonding. Once the mind is peaceful, the sleep will be peaceful. As air conditioner cannot bring peace 😊

Gareeb ki beti was missing in action this week, but did her little part on the last day. and I terribly miss Kichu Bhaiya..anyone share the same sentiment? Hope he comes back soon..