#this is not me dragging her btw its literally the exact opposite i fucking love how messed up she is 💙💙💙

[hecksupremechips]

Rebecca Gales and her “I’m the most mature person in this friend group I know what’s best for everyone here why don’t they listen to me” attitude that she has despite being the most fucking immature person in the friend group 💙

[theincorrigiblemagpie]

Rishton Ka Chakravyuh (Episodes 65, 66) - Can we calm down with the Bollywood music?

October 23 & 24, 2017

Listen, all I want to do is keep up with my daily dose of Anami and Satarupa. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR.

Anyway, we’re doing 2 episodes together, cos whattodo about my asli dunya.

Right off the bat, fucken Harry, nincompoop cousin of the nincompoop Avdhoot, shows his kameenapan by grabbing Poonam with 2 of Avdhoot’s lame friends and trying to rape her in a billiards room.

Hereon, if there was ANY doubt about how they’re subverting (admittedly hamhandedly but I’ll take it) the traditional hero-heroine roles in a desi soap, may they be forever laid to rest.

Anami A) finds Poonam’s bracelet that she’d given her on the floor outside the billiard room.

B) bursts into the room in silent, shaking rage and a teary Poonam runs to her and hugs her for comfort.

C) after the two chelas run away, knowing what’s good for them, thrashes Harry within an inch of his life.

D) grabs a reluctant Poonam’s hand and drags them in front of everyone and makes Harry apologise to Poonam.

(LMAO that girl in blue at the back is the same Mean Girl who’d picked on Anami on her first day of college and later claimed to have befriended her. Good to see we invite friends and not complete randos.)

Ofc Kamini plays the typical upper caste/class bitchy slut-shaming aunty and humiliates Poonam and tries to blame it on her. Anami tries to talk sense into her but Kamini threatens to blow it out of proportion. And THEN.

Everyone’s Godmother Satarupa steps in. She gives Kamini false hope by saying, yes, it was Poonam’s fault.

And then finishes the sentence with “it was her fault ki Poonam didn’t give him a tight slap the very first time Harry tried to molest her and that she didn’t do what Anami did.” (Which is a very problematic thing to say, but very dramatically effective.)

Man, she put the fear of GOD in Harry by stalking toward him. Matlab, I could momentarily SEE a genetic resemblance between Narayani Shastri and Mahima Makwana, I tell you. What powerhouses.

She finished the whole scene by telling Kamini that she should thank her lucky stars Anami found Harry and not Satarupa herself because...

She literally leaves off there and we must infer that Kamini knows about Satarupa’s tendency to quietly get people who sneeze wrong bumped off.

Ofc Pujan tries to smooth things over while Kamini leaves with Harry. Ngl Kamini is a real babe and deserves better than to be married to this useless scheming Pujan and have a useless grown ass son and nephew. She shoulda gotten herself a sugar daddy instead.

Pujan promises deep vengeance (ofc because the Durga idol falling and breaking will be the ultimate apshakun and hence, revenge). Rolled my eyes so hard, they almost fell out of their sockets.

So, we have full band baaja and they’re bringing the idol in with shots that have come out of a white person’s wet dream of colourful, exotic Incredible India.

And OMG IT HAS A HALF OF A SECOND EXPRESSION ON ITS FACE. I mean the very pointless Baldev ofc.

Anami, our local Spiderman, notices a thorn stuck in one of the palanquin bearers feet amid all the chaos and bends to pick it out. Giving herself the perfect vantage point to also hear the loosened screw drop out and immediately dive under the palanquin to save the idol.

After a moment of panic, everyone is reassured as she emulates the Flavour of the Season, Baahubali.

No, seriously.

Like, people don’t even TRY to help this skinny SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD girl who has been FASTING all day to carry this massive idol that probably weighs more than her for the first 5 minutes. For show.

Then, we get Baldev grabbing one end and Satarupa grabbing the other end and Dadaji Vikram clearing the dropped embers in her path with his stick.

Not before he’s had time to process the whole thing and question his entire life and worldview, though.

How Hum Saath Saath Hai. If it was made by Ram Gopal Verma.

This is the face of a man who has messed up very badly all his life and only the tip of the iceberg has become visible to him and he suspects the presence of the Titanic wrecking monster below the surface.

Gayatri makes obvious statements about Anami being deviroop and being sent to protect Lal Mahal etc etc. Lady, I don’t think it’s quite going to pan out like that.

Anami places the idol in its spot and when the pandit wants her to start the pooja, Vikram is all “no, Avdhoot must do the puja.”

Once a chauvinist piece of trash, always a chauvinist piece of trash.

He does look shifty while saying it, though so Gayatri swoops in and tells him that this puja wouldn’t even be happening if not for Anami so he can stop being  a jackass. And also tells Pujan to shut it when he tries to intervene. With the happy result that Anami gets to do the puja. Which we’re made to suffer through with dramatic intercuts of Sudha wild-dancing with dhunuchi at her asylum all set to Jai Maa Kali from Karan Arjun.

I wish I was making this bit up.

Just going to leave these screencaps here because truly what cinematography but what jaatra-level writing, shyah.

(Note that Baldev has reverted to his usual stony glum-face. Like, why do they even pay an actor for his role.)

Dheeru makes a lone entry and skulks around. He joins the family conclave that forms after the puja where the adults talk about the future of Lal Mahal. Gayatri, Satarupa and Dheeru are all heavily and vocally pro-Anami and want Vikram to change his mind about Avdhoot. They use major puja metaphors to make their point. Pujan is stuck because he doesn’t want to be seen rooting for his son for selfish reasons while no one cares about what Baldev has to say (nothing), as usual. The man is an irritating cardboard cutout.

But THEN, I am reminded of why I fucken love this show and am still surprised by it when they tone it all the fuck down and VIKRAM makes the most logical point of all.

He points out that he’s willing to back down from all his prejudices and accept Anami as heir. But that will not change that Anami will not accept this family as her own. Royal Steel and Lal Mahal need stability which she will not provide because she has been uprooted from the only place she considers home (Benaras) and she will leave the moment she is legally able to. They need to accept that.

Yeah, Gayatri, even I hate it when chauvinist men make sorta vaguely legitimate points.

But then, Dheeru points out that he hasn’t given Anami that chance even. He’s sentenced her without allowing her the slightest room to prove herself.

AND THEN, Vikram finally relents because “Dheeru has never made a wrong decision for Royal Steel.” Whoa I think he’s referring even to the unexplained fall Dheeru took and went to jail for.

He says ki since Avdhoot has been given a chance to prove himself (LOL WHAT WHEN DID HE PROVE HIMSELF HE’S LITERALLY DONE THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF PROVING HIMSELF ALL THROUGH GODDAMN SAVARNA PATRIARCHS), Anami should also.

Vikram will personally test the two of them and judge based on their capability (sure) and not their gender and take it from there. I can’t explain how much all this talk of (fake) meritocracy and inheritance gives me intense michmichi.

But it does lead to this hilarious scene which explains exactly how the two main interested parents feel about this situation.

Satarupa is like “I’ve already fucking won this just give Anami the crown and don’t go through this farce.” And Pujan is like “GOD FUCK ME SIDEWAYS.”

Oh btw, while this intense conversation is happening, Adhiraj and Tanya have arrived and all the kids start dancing to Nagada Sang Dhol (INCLUDING ADHIRAJ which is EXACTLY as awkward as you imagine it is). Can’t even screencap, I’m telling you. Avdhoot is genuinely at least in lust with Tanya? (YUCK) Harry is giving him advice upar se! Matlab MEN ARE TRASH. He was beaten up not 4 hours ago for being an almost-rapist. I hope Adhiraj beats both Avdhoot and Harry up solid (I won’t even consider it police brutality). Where is Ila, man? Why is she missing the awkward fun?

Also, I was mistaken. Everyone is aware of everyone’s identities, it seems. There is no surprise at Adhiraj’s appearance and Avdhoot clearly knows Tanya is his sister so they know he’s Dheeru’s son? Dheeru also had figured out that the girl he met on the road is Anami of Lal Mahal. I dunno, I may have missed stuff when I tried to catch up on 40 episodes together. But then why were Pujan and Baldev treating Adhiraj as just a CBI officer when he brought Anami home after the chemistry lab accident? Surely they should’ve brought up his connection to Dheeru to taunt him better?

Possible continuity errors, methinks. ANyWay, tomorrow we have nutty Sudha’s desperate bid to force Anami’s hand and come to Lal Mahal by trying to commit fake suicide. Fun. Not. Honestly, Sudha and Baldev deserve each other and Satarupa needs an intense, powerful, interesting man who has some conflict of interest with her but is also drawn to her. And while we deserve decent women friendships, I also am teetering on shipping Anami and Poonam because that was some relationship-y symbolism in the beginning. 

Whatevs man, just give me Satarupa and Anami (and Gayatri) dealing sick burns to the men and I don’t care about anything else.