IPKKND: Tough Times Ahead

Fans of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, grab your tissue boxes and get ready to yell at your screens because it’s going to be bumpy ride. 

                          

The stubborn, narrow-minded and frankly oblivious Dadi has finally done what she set out to do, destroy Arnav and Khushi's happiness.  To do this, she reveals Garima’s secret to Arnav on the day of his wedding, mere hours before it was to begin.  Then, she drops the bomb on the rest of the family at the wedding hall, sending everyone into shock.  Let the hate on Dadi begin, or in this case continue, which is to be expected.  How can a grandmother be so cruel, so full of hatred and revenge that she would sabotage her own grandson’s wedding.  Yes, sabotage.  I say sabotage because this has been her plan all along, to get rid of Khushi from the family, fully based on what only Shyam told her.  Since she's entered the house, she's never approved of Khushi and did whatever she could to get rid of her from Arnav's life but was unsuccessful until Garima's past came to haunt her.  This gave her the golden ticket to finally complete what see set out to do.

Dadi has just revealed Garima's past to Arnav and like expected, he is shocked, stunned and utterly surprised.  Every fan has been waiting to see Arnav and Khushi's wedding since they fell in love and time after time, obstacles, misunderstandings and separations were thrown into their path.  Just as they're about to finally get married, Dadi drops a bomb on Arnav that literally changes his life.  He needs time to think, to understand, to make a decision because the decision he makes today, will be the biggest decision of his life.

As diehard fans of the show, we've waited days, weeks and months for Arnav and Khushi to have their share happiness but every time they have the slightest bit of happiness, it's taken away from them die to curcumstances.  Well, with the latest bombshell, presented and well thought out by Dadi, we're going to have to wait a little longer for Arnav and Khushi to finally be happy.  Trouble and tough times lay ahead for the couple who will ultimately have they're love and faith tested to the fullest.

Gear up for the rollar coaster ride of emotions because the show is about to bring some high dose drama, tears and a lot of heartbreaks.  As a fan of the show, I too want to see Arnav and Khushi finally get their share of happiness but I understand why twists and turns like this are brought into a story.  Due to it being an Indian serial, twists and turns must be incorporated into the story in order to draw audience attention, prevent it from "becoming boring" and bring new light into the show.  Yes, it's frustrating at times to see the same old thing on screen, but if you stick with it, you're bound to see the happier times that lay ahead.

Still to come is Garima's side of the story, what really happened the night his parents died, Shyam's ultimate plan and of course, the permit removal of Shyam.  Once these issues are taken care of, Arnav and Khushi will (and should) be given their deserved share of happiness.  Until then, get your tissue boxes ready, be prepared to yell and scream at the writers and your screens and be prepared to possibly (or almost) quit watching the show because heartbreak, and a lot of it, are in store for the show. 

Episode Review: September 24th, 2012

Buaji and Garima arrive home with bags and start to go through what they have left to do.  Just then, Khushi walks in talking on the phone to the caterer, demanding that everything is perfect.  She then calls up the florist to make sure she gets roses instead of jasmines.  Before she can call another person, Buaji takes the phone from her and tells her to relax.  They remind her that it's her wedding day and ask her to get ready.  Buaji jokes around with Khushi about her being a special type of bride who is marrying a special type of groom.  At the Raizada house, Anjali, Nani, Payal and Mami wake NK up, who is seen sleeping on the couch.  NK gets up and tells them he was up watching Indian movies to learn about Indian weddings.  They see that he has Arnav's shoes and he tells them he took them quietly in the night.  The women tell him that it's the bride's side of the family that steal the shoes and not the groom's side.  They all then go to get ready for the big event.  At the Gupta house, Khushi is double checking her jewelry when she notices her earrings are missing.  Garima hands them two her and the two have an emotional conversation.  She thanks Khushi for allowing her to be a mother to her and for giving her happiness and respect.  Garima tells Khushi that when she took Khushi in at first, she was scared that Khushi would not accept her as her mother but was relieved when she did.  Khushi tells her to stop crying as it is her wedding day and Garima asks her to forgive her for any mistake that she may have done.   

Back at the Raizada house, Nani goes to Dadi's room to find her praying.  She tells her to wear the sari she picked out for her but Dadi seems lost in her own thoughts.  Arnav is getting dressed and Akash and NK discuss whick turban Arnav should wear, but he refuses both of their choices.  Anjali comes in to make sure he is ready and his phone just happens to ring.  They see who it is and NK picks it up.  Akash and Anjali take turns talking to Khushi, keeping Arnav away from the phone.  She finally asks to speak with Arnav when she hears Nani's voice in the background.  Nani tells Arnav that he will arrive at the hall with Dadi while the rest of the family departs now.  He tells them all to leave while he talks to Khushi.  Arnav asks her if she is okay, referring to their romance the night before, and she says she's okay and does not regret a thing.  She informs him that she called to remind him to reach the mandap on time and not to keep her waiting.  He promises to get there on time and not make her wait.  At the hall Payal is helping Khushi to get ready but Khushi is still walking all over the place.  Just then, Nani and the family arrives.  They informs her that Arnav will arrive with Dadi, in band baaja style.  They all share a few jokes and Anjali tells Khushi that there are only a few more hours before she and Arnav become one.  Khushi puts down a jewelry box and when she turns around, red glass bangles fall to the floor, breaking in the process.  Khushi fears this is a bad sign and hurries to pick them up but she later calms her nerves down, reassuring herself that nothing will go wrong today.  Arnav is staring at a silver bracelet and places it in a box.  He sees that Dadi has not gotten ready and asks her if she is attending the wedding.  Dadi informs him that she is not attending the wedding and needs to talk to him immediately.

Arnav informs Dadi that it's his wedding day and that he is getting late.  Dadi tells him that she needs to talk to him about something very important so he suggest they talk about it in the car on their way there.  Dadi refuses, leaving Arnav even more angry.  He says he doesn't want to leave Khushi waiting and begins to leave the room when Dadi tells him that after he hears what she has to say, he won't want to marry Khushi.  Arnav says that if that is the case, he does not want to hear anything that will separate him from Khushi.  She hands him a photo and asks him to look at it but he returns it to her, refusing to fall for her trap.

She tells him that it's not a trap but 100% true.  Arnav tells her for the last time that he is leaving for his wedding and that no one can stop him from marrying Khushi.  Dadi blames Khushi for putting a spell on Arnav and he defends her, saying that he won't hear a word against her.  Dadi then asks him if he can tolerate seeing his mother hurt, which is what he'll do if he marries Khushi.  She tells Arnav that the other women, who was responsible for his parents deaths and the reason he and Anjali became orphaned was because of Garima.  Dadi then shows him the picture of his dad and Garima and Arnav is left stunned.

What worked: The red glass bangles breaking.  The scene may have been short but foreshadowed the future in the best possible way.  For once, a bad omen was recognized as the coming of bad news.  Previously, we saw how Arnav had misplaced his ring, Khushi complained about her mehendi not being dark enough and Arnav constantly getting Khushi to promise him to never leave, with the fear of losing her.  All these incidents were pointing to something larger, foreshadowing something bigger.  When Khushi saw the glass bangles break, she felt scared for the first time that something bad may actually happen on the biggest day of her life.  What she and the rest of the family don't know is that the bad news has just begun and the storm will soon find its way into their lives.

What didn't work: Shyam nowhere to be found.  When the biggest bombshell has just been released, where on earth is Shyam?  This is the moment he has been waiting for and he is nowhere to be seen.  I thought he would've loved to witness this moment.  Hopefully we get to see his reaction tomorrow.

Highlight: Dadi revealing Garima’s truth to Arnav.  So, she finally did it.  She revealed Garima’s secret to Arnav on the day, the hours, the moments before his wedding.  Really goes to show how much hatred this women still has built up in her, how much revenge she has left.  The real question here is what Arnav does.  After learning about such a huge secret, one that changed the course of his life, what will he do?  Will he still marry Khushi or will he leave her waiting at the mandap?  Will he honour his promise to stay with her or will he once again let his anger rule his mind?  Will Arnav be able to fix the damage he did six months ago or will he prove to Khushi that he has not changed at all.  All in all, fans of the show can expect to see Khushi suffer once again for something that is of no fault of her’s.  However, even though the secret is out, it does not mean that’s the end of it.  It’s now time to start digging into the past to figure out what really happened.  There has to be a lot more that happened that could’ve lead to his mother committing suicide.  In addition, Garima mentions that she never knew he was married with kids until she met Dadi so there has to be something there too.  All we can do is wait and watch.

Episode Review: September 21st, 2012

Khushi brings a pile of saris to Payal's room and Payal asks her if she knows what the guys are up to.  Khushi informs her they are hosting a bachelor's party and knows that they'll have fun.  Payal tells Khushi that the bachelor's party is not what she thinks it is.  She tells her how at that party, there'll be other girls (not them), dancing and even alcohol.  Khushi is shocked to hear this and can't believe she said yes to Arnav having a bachelor's party.  She vows that if this party comes true, she won't spare him at all.  NK and Akash are seen drinking in the farmhouse (just the two of them) when Payal and Khushi walk in.  Akash is stunned to see Payal there and pretends to act like nothing happened.  Khushi begins to yell at NK on how he could plan such a party like this.  NK thanks her for the compliment, mainly because he is drunk. Akash questions Payal on why they are here and she drags him home to give him a piece of her mind.  Khushi then turns her attention to NK and demands to know where Arnav is.  NK doesn't quite tell her exactly until she raises her hands to strangle him.  Scared of her, he points to a room that Arnav is in.  There, Khushi sees a shadow of Arnav with a girl.  She storms into the room and begins searching for the other girl.  Arnav asks her what she is looking for and she demands to know where the "witch" is.  She tells him that she never thought he'd have this kind of party and he reminds her how it was her who said to go to the party and have fun.  He then shows her a manikin bust of a girl and asks her if she really thought he could do anything like this.  She realizes that he was playing around with her and she is shocked to hear that the party didn't happen.  She tell him that he scared her but he says that she has to be punished for ruining his bachelor's party.  He approaches Khushi and whispers something in her ear but she refuses to do it.  Arnav tells her it's no pressure and approaches her again for a kiss, but she pushes him away, causing him to fall on the bed.  A few minutes later, Khushi appears, dressed in a black sari.  She then dances to the song "Namek Ishq ka" in front of him.  She tries to dance in a sultry way but she either trips or goes back to her fun dancing style.  Just then, she bumps into him and the two fall onto the bed.

Arnav asks her the real reason as to why she came here and she tells him that only she has rights on him and no one else does.  He asks her what she'll do if someone else comes close to him and she tells him that she'll kill the girl.  He then tells her he wants to show her something and takes her into another room.  They enter a dark room with a white blanket placed on the floor.  He asks her to sit and lay back with him.  She's nervous with what's about to happen next but he turns on the projector and a space like view is shown on the ceiling via projector.  Khushi is surprised at what she sees and asks how he did this.  He tells her he got the idea from her, every time she was thinking about her parents.  He tells her that now the two of them will be able to see their parents.  He points up and shows her where their mothers are and Khushi asks him what he thinks they are talking about and says they are probably saying how lucky we are to have found true love.  Arnav asks her how she knows it's true love and she says that because every time there is a tear in her eye, it hurts his heart several times.  The two then talk about the time they spoke to each other through the stars when Arnav was kidnapped and realize they both are really weird.  Just then, Arnav's leg hit the projector switch and it turns off.  Just as Khushi is about to get up, he pulls her back down and kisses her hand.  He moves closer to her for a kiss and notices she uneasy.  He apologizes, remembering that she won't do certain things until after marriage but Khushi reassures him and says she trusts in his love.

As the two share a hug, Arnav asks her to promise him to never leave him.  He tells her that he can't live without her.  Khushi reassures him she will never leave his side and gently kisses his cheek.  He then removes her bangles and kisses her arm and moves closer to her before she shy's away.  He continues to move closer to her and she ends up hugging him.  He carefully unties the string on her blouse and then lightly kisses her forehead.  As he moves in to kiss her, he says something to Khushi and she says she knows.  The two then share their first kiss.  The next day at the Gupta house, Khushi wakes up remembering the romance she shared with Arnav the night before.  She prays to Devi Mayya asking for everything to be okay as today is a big day for her.  She then realizes that today is her wedding day.

What worked: The love between Arnav and Khushi.  The pure, simple and passionate love between Arnav and Khushi was shown at its best in this episode from her crashing the party to them sharing their first kiss.  Khushi and Arnav are unique, different and odd.  They don’t do things normal couples would, like crash your husband’s bachelor party while he plays with your mind for a little while.  The scene where Arnav shows Khushi the projected stars was beautiful.  He created for her a remote world of her own, just like he did with his garden.  He even shows her where their mothers are, fully believing in the stars.  They have their own way of expressing their love, their own way of teasing each other and their own way of fighting with each other.  This passionate and intense yet pure love of theirs is what sets them apart from other on screen couples. 

What didn't work: N/A

Highlight: Arnav to Khushi: "Promise me you won't leave me.  I can't live without you."  Arnav’s biggest fear was finally admitted; being left alone by the person you love the most.  Throughout the last few episodes, Arnav has constantly got Khushi to promise him to never leave him but today, his reason behind those promises were revealed.  He can’t live without her.  Khushi has become his soul, his breath, his reason for living.  Without her, he feels empty, incomplete and lost.  She has become a critical part of his life that losing her for a minute will feel like an eternity.  Barun and Sanaya executed this scene fabulously, displaying the perfect emotions.  With this performance, they have taken the characters of Arnav and Khushi to new heights.