Parothas and Locks

That scene in Episode 22 where Arnav is walking down from his cabin and simply malfunctions upon seeing Khushi in the red sari? Yeah, that scenes is so satisfying to me idk why. 

I think it’s because that’s the scene where Arnav starts seeing Khushi as a WOMAN, and not just an annoying female-creature-thing that he felt some strange compulsion to engage and challenge. 

IPPKND is my comfort show! Throughout the last couple of years its been the show that I’ve always come back to whenever I was in need of a pick-me-up. Thus, I decided- why not start a blog summarizing this show that I’ve watched so many times over?

So without further ado, here are my Episode Summaries for Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon! :)

Episode One:

(A)

The show opens in downtown Lucknow. The streets are overflowing and peoples of every kind passing each other on the road. It’s chaotic, but there’s something striking about these brief seconds of introduction. We flash to Khushi’s home:

The Gupta Family’s Gomti Sadan is beautifully made-up. It’s Payal’s wedding day and exhilaration is in the air. Bua-ji appears clamouring out of the house all the way over to the women seated in the courtyard. We get a feel for Bua-ji right away, with her loud, boisterous tone hinting at a good-heart underneath all the noise and theatrics. (If there’s one thing that IPKKND did well it was create such characters. Mami-ji’s another example of this).

(Note: for all intents and purposes the Guptas are a lower-middle class family. Taking into consideration the size of Gomti Sadan, the wedding arrangements and the general surroundings- it’s important to note that while the Guptas weren’t wealthy by any means- they certainly weren’t impoverished, and it was the closure of their family sweetshop that really led to the financial problems they ran into once the family moved to Delhi more permanently).

The camera flies to Payal’s tear-streaked face. She’s obviously worried- and this is where we get our first glance at Khushi. The show makes a point of revealing Khushi slowly. First her eyes, then her lips, and then slowly but surely the rest of appearance. 

Khushi consoles her sister. (This later becomes a trend in the show- Khushi consoling and emotionally supporting her family beginning of course with her sister.) The sisters are worried about the groom’s side demanding a dowry at the last possible moment, and decide to send Khushi on a pseudo-mission to speak with her soon-to-be jija-ji in hopes of getting the dowry amount asked for waived.

(-> This plan of theirs speaks to the innocent and rather idealistic view-point that the sisters take in life at the beginning of ipkknd. They choose to believe that Payal’s soon-to-be-husband-that-never-was didn’t know about the dowry demands. Shashi comments later that Khushi always sees the best in people, and believes in their goodness to a fault, but arguably I think that the same can be said of Payal. The only difference is Payal is quieter, more introverted and therefore more cautious in her interactions with the outside world. So her idealism simply doesn’t lead her into the same sort of objectively ridiculous situations that it does Khushi.)

Music plays( IPKKND’s soundtrack is consistently amazing- and the use of this particular song to introduce all of the Gupta family one by one was a great narrative tool). Through all the chaos Khushi takes the Sweet Shop’s deed and makes a break for it. She’s a mess of green and pink as she sprints off, with Payal looking on in silent support.

Khushi’s quirky background tune plays for the first time. Throughout the show it’s the tune that plays to indicate when Khushi ‘s entering her “Sanka Devi” avatar, or doing something befitting of that nickname anyhow. Then we get the first real taste of her personality as she stands in front of her certified bestie, Devi Maiyya, speaking at the speed of light, explaining her bestest of intentions to herself, her beloved goddess and the audience. 

[-->These expositions of hers are a main-stay in the series, but notably can’t always be trusted. Khushi’s an unreliable narrator and her words said aloud don’t always reflect her heart. (Especially when it comes to her Lead Governor as we’ll see in future episodes).]

(ALSO- Throughout the show Khushi never loses her flair for the ridiculous. She’ll do things in the same grain of starting up an old scooter and driving half way across Lucknow in a fancy wedding outfit for the rest of the serial. It’s part of who she is fundamentally- she’s kind-hearted to a fault and seeks to fill the buckets everyone around her before she herself takes a single drop. So it’s perhaps a bit poetic that it’s one of India’s wealthiest men that fall irrevocably in love with her. After spending a lifetime of giving, giving, giving- it’s so sweet to see her receive.)

We leave Khushi as she continues to roll her way through Lucknow, determined and hopeful that things will go hers and Payal’s way.  At a red light, she makes conversation with a boy seated in a scooter to her left. Khushi claims that she’s going to a fancy dress competition already wearing her Rajkumari best to explain away the boy’s incredulous stare. When the boy asks, “then where is your Rajkummar”, Khushi’s face slackens as she’s taken by surprise by the question.

And then, overhead flies a helicopter, carrying the answer to the boy’s question: the man that would become her greatest love, support and yes: Rajkummar.

(B)

And then the show immediately shifts gears. Up with the helicopter it goes, leaving behind downtown Lucknow. Gone is the middle-class pleasantry and warmth of Gomti Sadan. Gone is Payal’s wedding music, Khushi’s sanka-devi tune and the sounds of the busy streets of Lucknow. And in it’s place is the background track of ASR mixed with the heavy beat of a swinging helicopter wing. The opulent Sheesh Mahal comes into view. A crowd of reporters stand in anticipation on the lawns of Sheesh Mahal, as the helicopter dips into landing. The door opens, and out comes our hero: Arnav Singh Raizada. We see all of him immediately, but simultaneously see nothing at all. ASR is firmly in place, business man multi-millionaire. The man however, is no where to be seen. 

The Reporters outline ASR’s success- minutes ago we were watching a middle-class family struggle to gather together 20 lakhs for an immoral, underhanded dowry exchange- but with the shift to Arnav’s world, the narrative switches to tales of multinational companies, shady-gossip reporters trying to get the latest scoop on Arnav’s love-life and general speculation of why a man of Arnav’s stature came to Lucknow for “such a small deal”.

This entire section of the episode reveals Arnav’s power, his wealth and his stature in society. He’s fully sheathed in his suit of ASR, and it is only when he takes his sunglasses off that we see that there are tears shining in his eyes.

Colour is sucked from the screen, and we watch Arnav relive the trauma of his past. Wedding music, Anjali’s smiling face, a women dashing into the distance in a sari, and an abrupt gun-shot.  When Arnav blinks back from his dark reverie, he’s seated at a table. He slides a briefcase of money across the table, and within minutes, effectively leaves his Chacha  (his father’s younger brother), destitute in the same way that his Chacha had left him destitute 14-15 years prior.

And if these first couple of scenes represent the ruthlessness of ASR, then it’s the appearance of Anjali at the AR fashion show that shows us the first glimpses of Arnav. After all- Arnav had a companion when he was thrown out of Sheesh Mahal- his sister. And we saw Arnav’s deference to her, and his RESPECT for her up there on the Fashion Ramp, as he answered her questions that we know he would never answer anyone else.

But he won’t engage her when she speaks about his trauma- or the static state of mind he has held himself to for the past 15 years. Anjali, in her knowing Arnav better than anyone, knows he’s hiding pain, and that he hasn’t worked through the pain of his past either. But, again- he won’t engage. Not even with Anjali on this matter. 

(This conversation is so important because this sets up one of the premises of the entire series: the healing of Arnav Singh Raizada. (Which will be inadvertently done by our favorite friendly neighborhood Sanka Devi).)

(C)

Khushi arrives at Sheesh Mahal impatient to meet Payal’s would-be beau. But she’s way-laid, and finds herself taken up by backstage co-ordinators that in the hustle and bustle mistake her for a model and send her out on the run-way.

Khushi’s confused and overwhelmed. She’s running out of time to meet her brother-in-law, and the deed to the Sweet Shop is with her. Her sister’s marriage hangs in the balance and she’s so, SO unequipped for this world of glamour and media attention that she had mistakenly stumbled into.

Meanwhile Arnav is sitting front row. His eyes are shut closed. He’s content for the first time since he was introduced to us- OR alternatively ever since his Chacha threw him and his sister out of Sheesh Mahal all those years ago. AR’s biggest fashion show of the year is running smoothly, and his life is firmly under his control- right where he wants it. But this contentment, this victory of power over his Chacha marks an end of an era for Arnav. He’s gotten his revenge, he’s wealthier beyond his wildest imagination and his sister is by his side, covered in jewels and happy. But, when he opens his eyes he’ll see the catalyst to the total realignment of his universe before his eyes, though he doesn’t quite know it yet.

When he opens his eyes everything changes. When he opens his eyes there stands the woman that will define the next era of his life. IPKKND is ultimately Arnav’s story, and this first encounter with Khushi marks the beginning of the rest of his life.

He looks up at her with a mixture of 3 parts rage, and 2 parts shock and 1 part wonder. (Barun Sobti really outdid himself in this scene- and he only continues to out-do himself as the serial progresses god bless). When Khushi falls into his arms, a ball of walking anxiety bundled up in sparkly green and pink, their eyes meet and hold. And that’s where the epsiode ends. Until next time, y’all! 

(She’s ruined his multi-million dollar fashion show, and caused a scandal in the media. He’s breaks all boundaries of propriety by ripping her dori,  attacking her modesty, and locking her in a Sheesh Mahal room-leading to the breaking of Payal’s marriage.

Nobody ever:

Not a single soul in the whole wide world: