Mission Sasural!

Marriage is every Girl’s dream and the most beautiful phase in one’s life. A Girl is considered the “Paraya Dhan” since after marriage she leaves her parents to go and live with her husband and in-laws. Whether love or arranged marriage, it’s a whole new beginning for a girl, as she has to mould herself as per the tradition and customs of her new household. She is not only expected to bond with her husband, but also with every member of the family. This new journey becomes easy when one has an understanding and loving husband and in-laws, but it can turn into a nightmare if she finds herself in a household that is in complete contrast to her upbringing.

Rangmunch.TV brings to you the newly wedded Brides’ of Tellyland, who have recently started their marital journey and are trying to find a firm footing in their new household.

Sandhya in Dia aur Baati Hum: Sandhya is today’s girl with a mind of her own. She has her own set of dreams and aspirations to be an IPS officer and serve her country. However, the sudden death of her parents in a fatal bomb blast shattered her dreams. Her brother instead of being her pillar of strength gets her married off into a household where women are mere puppets and education is given the least importance. Sandhya is shocked to learn that her husband Suraj has studied only till 9th Grade. To make matters worse, her brother not only had lied to her about Suraj’s educational background, but had also told her in-laws that Sandhya had studied only till 7^th grade. Sandhya feels hopeless and helpless realizing that her marriage is nothing more than a nightmare, which she has to live through for the rest of her life. While we understand Sandhya’s pain, turmoil, and frustration, we only hope that Suraj becomes her pillar of strength in the days to come and eventually helps her to realize her dreams. 

Lata in Yahan Mein Ghar Ghar Kheli: Abha’s elder sister Lata, after a traumatic past has eventually tied the knot with Raj Singhania. Though they got married under most unlikely circumstances, Raj promises to be a good husband and son-in-law. However, Raj Singhania is a man of principles and follows a set of rules to live his life, which is quite alien to Lata. She is now trying to know this new Man in her life and also adjust to her unknown surroundings. However, Raj’s Dai-ma puts additional pressure on her by reiterating the fact that she is now the Bahu of ‘The Singhania Family’ and therefore she needs to follow a certain code of conduct. Dai-ma has more layers to her character than what meets the eye which is definitely not favourable for Lata. We hope Lata is able to overcome every hurdle she faces in her newly wedded life and experiences marital bliss with Raj.

Lovely in Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuyein: Lovely is a young, educated, and bubbly girl who falls in love with Karthik and eventually marries him against the will of his family. Least did Lovely know then that at every step she would not only have to deal with Karthik’s mom who runs a Hitler Raaj within the house with stringent rules but also has to put up a tough fight to match the other four Bahus of Mrs Kaushik. Although Lovely is the only daughter coming from a wealthy family, she very willingly accepts the situations at her Sasural. Despite having failed to win her mother-in-laws heart numerous times, she does not give up. She always tries to make others happy, but in the process gets herself into trouble and unintentionally comes up with a lie. Kartik does love her and understands her. Inspite of having a loving husband, she is facing a tough challenge in being accepted as the Panchvi Bahu of Mrs Kaushik. Even though Lovely is fortunate enough to marry the man she loved, she is still struggling to prove her worth like Lata, Sandhya and Priya. We hope Mrs. Kaushik soon understands her good intentions and realizes that discipline, though very essential within a family, when stretched beyond a limit can suffocate and ruin relations.

Priya in Bade Acche Lagte Hain: Priya, born and brought up in a middle class family has always been an ideal daughter, an ideal sister and even an ideal friend. In trying to help her father financially to run the house, Priya sacrificed the golden years of her life. While she had given up on her marriage, destiny had its own plans. Much against her wishes, circumstances caused Priya to tie the knot with the Business Tycoon, Mr. Ram Kapoor. Priya from her small cozy flat lands up in a mansion where family members talk to each other over the intercom, where lighting incense sticks before God is forbidden due to the fire alarms. Much to her surprise and annoyance, a simple request for tea in her sasural is met with options galore that leave her confused. Last but not the least; Priya also has to cope with Ram’s snoring habit which initially gives her sleepless nights. While Priya is learning to adjust and mould herself to this new lifestyle, only thing that binds her and Ram together is their undying love and sacrifices each has made for their families. As Priya is slowly seeing Ram in a new light, we hope that her relationship soon goes beyond “Compromise” and she emerges as an ideal Bahu too.

At Rangmunch.TV, we would like to know from our readers, which of these Bahu’s do you relate to the most and what would be your words of wisdom to them.

Swati Ghosh

Rangmunch.TV 

SAB Ka Evening Shows!

Starting November 5th, SAB TV will add fresh comedy entertainment to your Saturday evenings with the launch of SAB Ka Evening Show that will feature a one and half hours Maha Episode of a new family comedy every Saturday from 9pm onwards.

With this unique programming initiative the channel promises to offer a new story every week that has fresh, innovative and entertaining storyline and has varied flavours of comedy i.e. romantic comedy, family comedy, satire, comedy thriller etc with fresh cast.

Mr. Anooj Kapoor, Executive VP & Business Head SAB TV said that, “We wanted to offer viewer’s alternative entertainment platform on a Saturday evening. Never before have viewers got an opportunity to sample a new comedy story every Saturday something that would impart a unique entertaining experience to their weekend family viewing.”

He further added that, “We are associating with most prolific directors, producers and artists who with their fresh concepts & light hearted content will delight the viewers across India.”

SAB Ka Evening’s first show titled Oye Bunty Babloo Oye will be directed by ace Director Ravi Rai and Produced by Vipul.D.Shah from Optimystix. Starring Nitesh Pandey and Gaurav Gera, the story revolves around two small town innocent souls Bunty & Babloo who with their inherited values, selfless and lively nature rekindle the lifeless hearts of the so called modern heartless souls of Mumbai.

Kya Hoga Is Desh Ka is a slice of life comedy that revolves around prime character Desh, a compulsive social worker who in an attempt to help solve the problems of a young man puts his personal and professional life into chaos thus creating hilarious situations. But it all ends with everything getting resolved leaving all happy and content. This story is being produced by Siddharth Tewary from Swastik Pictures and directed by Rajan Wagdhare.

Produced by Rajesh Beri another light hearted evening show Gaadi Bula Rahi Hai, is a story of two families from different backgrounds travelling with one another in Indian railways. It has a stellar cast of Ranjeet, Rakesh Bedi, Shweta Kwatra, Varun Badola, Amita Nangia and Arupa Bose.

JD Majethia from Hats Off Productions will be producing another Saturday evening show for SAB TV.

SAB Ka evening show promises viewers across India an entertaining, fun, family time together on every Saturday.

Tune in to watch a new story every Saturday on SAB TV from 9 to 10:30 pm.

Edited by:

Swati Ghosh

Rangmunch.TV

I Find Story Telling More Challenging: Gorky!

Is it true that accounts become easy if you are good at Maths? Is it wrong to assume that every person who has a beautiful handwriting also draws well? Today, we at Rangmunch.TV, bring to you a person who captures faces not just in stills but in moving pictures as well. A person who is known for his sense of humour, intelligence and his ability to turn reality into imagination and vice versa.

Sunidhi Chauhan's snap taken at the Coke Studio @MTV

Gorky, the Director of Channel V’s High School Drama Humse Hai Liife, is an ace Photographer who has to his credit prestigious projects like MTV Coke Studio, Ishaan on Disney and also the movie Men Will be Men!

We caught up with him during our Rangmunch Set hopping sessions and needless to say, the conversation was worth capturing within the frames of our portal, for all of you to see.

Manish Malhotra's picture taken at the Chivas Studio 2011

Story telling v/s Photography:

I find story telling more challenging. Photography is more of luck. It all depends on what you capture in that second or micro second. When you are telling a story, it is more of a journey you are showing.

Primarily, I love to shoot people, so it’s their expression or their setting or their environment and what it conveys at that point in time that captures my attention. I personally hate to photo shoot those typical pictures that have a green or a white backdrop even though they are the most sought after ones, since you can shoot with a white background and replace it later with whatever setting you like. I like to have people guessing as to where the picture was taken and that is why you will always find an element of mystery in all my pictures.

Tricks of Photography in the Digital Age:

I do edit my pictures. As you know there are many pluses and minuses to it. The biggest minus is that you become overtly reliant and lazy. I think most people have become that way post advent of the digital age. In a certain situation, you become complacent. For example if the right balance is off in a picture, you can work on it later and adjust it. The discipline somewhere goes missing. However, for me it also acts as a check, because I keep going back to my basics to see what I have actually done. The good part about this is that, anybody with a decent sense of framing and composition can actually take up photography. Your tools are diversified. It gives a great amount of freedom. If you don’t have the resources, editing helps you. You may not be at a particular place at a certain time, but having the editing tools certainly makes it easier to establish the look and feel of what you can’t do otherwise. I would say edits have just extended the reach of what you can do as a photographer.

One Creative Quirk:

Music moves me a lot. I listen to a lot of Western Classical Music and have developed my music taste buds lately for Bollywood music too. Old Hindi melodies somehow do it for me! Off late, I can’t get enough of the Inception track. But if I were to pick from Television, the music of Humse Hai Liife is also fabulous. It is not conventional. In the very first episode, there is a number with Raghav that has a rap-hip-hop feel to it. It’s a song, at the same time it’s not a song as well. Similarly, there is also Arjun’s song in the second episode that I really like. Well, as you can see, I love music.

Heli  Daruwala aka Saloni of Humse Hai Liife

The Passion:

I didn’t per se always know this is what I wanted to do, but I have always indulged in things that have moved around the camera. It is only in the recent few years that I’ve taken up photography professionally. I was getting very fed up of not doing anything creative. So when I was called to do a look test for Red Chillies Entertainment, I gladly took it up. Then we did a show for Disney. From there on, I’ve been shooting and this is where I am today. But, when I don’t want to take up too much work, I end up over quoting and over charging (laughs).

Creative Corner:

My “Writing Desk” is my favourite Creative Corner. You will find all my paraphernalia there including my computer. I am a huge internet junkie. My computer and my internet are my inlet into all those places I cannot be at. I generally like browsing through tech stuff, watch music videos on Youtube, visit Photography sites. I am also a gadget freak!

When I see the video-mixes that the fans make of their favourite actors, I don’t know what to say at times. It is absolutely a great labour of love. I understand the spirit behind it is pure and honest. One can go into the whole copyright issue but keeping that aside, to make so much of an effort, at times I wonder how they manage it. Do they all have editing suites fitted into their home? How do they manage to collect all these videos? It’s crazy and amazing at the same time, considering they are not getting anything in return.

"The picture that started all the madness" - Gorky

Photographers Delight in the Industry:

I have not had that kind of body of work, but amongst the people I have shot, I really like shooting Drashti Dhami (who plays Geet in Geet-Hui Sabse Parayi) a lot. I like the colour of her eyes and the way they catch light. 

I have just started shooting the girls on Humse Hai Liife, since I have been caught up with directing them. I always carry my camera with me. Especially the day we were shooting introductions, I thought it was important for me to shoot and have three signature pictures for publicity as well as for the website. I shot pictures of the fight sequence as well. I think Abigail’s smile can light up a room.

Handling Pressure:

I turn extremely funny when under pressure. When there is no other outlet for pressure, you have to be the one who takes the load and does it in a positive way. I don’t believe in shouting at people. I just have a word with them and ask them to stop screwing around. When you shout, it eventually leads to more confusion and erratic behaviour. Hence I prefer talking to them in person when pressure is building up because of someone!

Motivation Mantra for the Team:

I don’t follow any particular cheering up exercise to motivate my team. However, when an actor performs well, I ask everyone to clap for them. Especially in Humse Hai Liife, since they are all new, I ask the unit to clap for them or I go and talk to them separately. That becomes more important sometimes. If someone doesn’t perform well, or you have a problem with an actor’s performance I don’t say anything, in front of everyone, I call them later and talk to them personally. That always helps! Like for example in the scene where Sia had to leave home, I thought Aby(Abigail) was very good, I went her and gave her a  hug to let her know she did a good job and later Mama too demanded a hug which I had to eventually give him!

Television Today:

Television today is no longer a platform where you can nurture talent. Earlier you were raw, you would come here to hone your skills, sharpen, polish and then move on to a bigger better platform. That’s why you had an Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali, Anurag Basu. On Television, you do have talented people and you are working under different kind of pressures in order to deliver your best. Creativity is compromised at times with quantity taking precedence over quality. Earlier on Doordarshan one episode was like a film. Nowadays, day-to-day scenes are shot by people who don’t know the background of the story. The person who knows the background of the story and the person executing it on a day-to-day basis are not the same. So when there is a disconnect problems do crop up at times. Even for the actors, it’s not humanly possible to be on their toes all the time. Their personal life takes a toll; at times they have to continue shooting despite failing health!

Television viewing today has become more of a habit. You set your mind to tune into a certain channel at a particular time every day. When you don’t get what you want, there are so many other options. There are many shows, which people don’t even watch. There is so much emphasis on audio and the effect that you grasp the essence of the scenes even without watching them. Tumhara show koi dekhe na dekha, you understand the scene. Unfortunately Seasons, like what the Yashraj Banner experimented with, didn’t work too well. 

However, the notion that Television is a lesser medium than films is slowly changing; in fact, I would say it has already changed. If you look at the kind of budgets involved in Television today, and the kind of shows that are being made, you will vouch for the same. It’s about time an initiative is taken up to do a variety of shows, and then we will surely get to see all kinds of shows on Indian Television.

Rangmunch.TV would like to thank Gorky for candidly sharing his Creative Journey and Work with us.

Interviewed by:

Niharika Vidya Sagar

Swati Ghosh

Edited by:

Niharika Vidya Sagar 

Nostalgia: The Pee Loon Moment!

Today Colors Channel aired the Global Indian Music Academy (GIMA) Awards 2011, which felicitates Music Fraternity for all kinds of music, Films as well as Non-Films.

During the award function, Irshad Kamil was announced the Best Lyricist for his song “Pee Loon” from the movie Once Upon A Time in Mumbai.

As they played the song, my heart skipped a beat and mind was no longer interested in watching the GIMA awards. Pee Loon is probably just a melodious song for many, but for Maaneet Fans, its more than a song…it’s a “MOMENT,” that evokes thousands of emotions that are beyond words. Today I experienced the “MOMENT” all over again.

Infact, I did not like this song for the simple reason that I could never take a liking towards Imran Hashmi and nor did I find the song extraordinary. But then as they always say, Expect the Unexpected.

Friday 10^th of September 2010, the Promos of Geet Hui Sabse Parayi that ran repeatedly throughout that week suggested that it was going to be the REVELATION time for Geet. She was no longer willing to hide the truth about her pregnancy from Maan. That afternoon Saas Bahu aur Saazish on Star News also played the Sone Pe Suhaaga role by airing the “Making of Pee Loon.” That whole evening I waited with bated breaths. It seemed as though the clock was moving at snail’s pace. The Geet FB wall had also become much tensed; every one including myself, hoped that the episode would not end at a cliffhanger making it the longest weekend ever. It was no less than a National Emergency on the Geet Forum.

The episode started at its usual time 9.30pm IST. With every passing second, my heartbeat increased. Then came the most awaited and breath-taking “Pee Loon Moment.” It felt like I was hearing and watching that song for the very first time on screen. I experienced a pool of emotions as Drashti and Gurmeet brought Maaneet alive in every frame of that song. They were sensuous but not sleazy. As much as I could feel Maan’s Love and Passion, I could relate to Geet’s pain and turmoil too. I actually had tears in my eyes and was praying to God to let them live the MOMENT before all hell breaks loose.

Finally, the heart breaking Revelation left me speechless and restless just like Maan. I don’t think I ever cried over two fictional characters, but that night I did and I am sure many others did too.

Today on behalf of Rangmunch.TV, I would like to thank Irshad Kamil for writing the lyrics of Pee Loon, the MAKERS of Geet Hui Sabse Parayi for giving us the beautiful and mesmerising “Pee Loon Moment” and “Maaneet” for making us Live and Re-Live this moment over and over again, even today.    

Pee loon mein dhere dhere jalne ka yeh gham pee loon, 

in gore gore haathon se hum dum pee loon, hai pee ne ka mausum…..

Tere sang ishq tari hai, tere sang ek ghumari hai, 

tere sang chain bhi mujhko, tere sang bekarari hai…..

Swati Ghosh

Rangmunch.TV

The Aww and Haww Moments of the Week!!!!

Like last time, Rangmunch is back with some of the awww and Hawww moments we got to witness this week ...

Mera Pati Beimaan-Fir bhi Mahaan !!!

Maryada-Lekin Kab Tak: After Devyani slaps Uttara for being mean and conniving, she is in a totally helpless state. She asks Priya to stay away from her and says, she is ready to go back to her husband and do anything to save her marriage since she cant imagine being without him. While she realizes she has been wronged she doesnt want to lose what she already has. 

This tops the list as Rangmunch leaves it to you viewers to decide if it classifies as a hawww moment or an aww one. 

Bheegi Bheegi raaton main.. aisi barsaaton main...

Kuch Toh Log Kahenge- People who have been craving to watch the hearts come closer this week saw a personal side to doctor Ashutosh at a wedding. While this definitely has drawn Nidhi closer to him, the rain sequence for sure has had everyone entranced. Its only a matter of time before you see them falling irrevocably in love with each other.  A perfect scenario of how opposites attract against all odds! 

The rain sequence  makes it to the list of Rangmunch's awww moments of the week!

Mad House Romantic Thriller Comedy?

Geet-Hui Sabse Parayi- So Dev and Lucky Paaji get drunk, and come back home miffed with their wives, only to wake up next morning to find  a girl sleeping next to them! Mamaji as usual only make matters worse...!!

Hawwww!!!

While the mad house comedy continues, Maan and Geet stand tall, in the department they ace at- love, romance and understanding ...

Awwww...!!!

But... But ... But ... we hear, Geet now has a stalker????

Hawwww!!!!

Zeherili Goli ka Asli Swaad...

Saath Nibhaana Saathiya- Thank god for small mercies, the cat is finally out of the bag. Jigar doesnt believe Rashi anymore and all her best laid plans for over a year, have not only begun to fail but have started to backfire revealing her true self! Read the Tiger !Tiger! story anyone????

A big Hawww to Rashi !!!

Main Master Chef India Jaungi, only for Ishaan !!!

Sasural Genda Phool- This surely goes to Suhana Kashyap the adorable imperfect wife, who attempts at cooking for her husband and fitting into the bill of the adarsh biwi. While the plans flop miserably, a hug to Suhana for trying and showing she loves and she cares ...!!

An Awww moment indeed!!

Is concoction ko main kya naam doon?

Iss Pyaar Ko Kyaa Naam Doon?- So, Khushi Ji decides to teach Arnav a lesson because she thinks he has been practising black magic on her. She mixes Khus Khus in his juice impairing his speech! His future better half soon realizes it was indeed Anjali who had asked him to tie the lemon and chillies to the tree! Khushi wastes no time in not only drinking the rest of Arnav's Jhoota but also ruins her own throat as an act of repentence! 

Is repentence ko main kya naam doon ??? Awwww....!!!

The new promo aired two days ago on the show has taken the fans by storm and every one has just one things to say ....

Take a guess what ??? ... well... its Awwww!!!!

On that note, we at Rangmunch.TV hope you enjoy your Sunday and let this day peacefully pass off before your favorite shows hit the screen again tomorrow!!!


Niharika Vidya Sagar
Rangmunch.TV

International Segment: Rangmunch.tv Recommends Humsafar! Episode # 6 update

“She is actually quite different” ~ Ashar to his mother about Khirad

Discovering the person you have wed, your ‘humsafar’, can be the most exciting journey of your married life. Ashar sets out on this journey with patience, understanding, and hope prompted by overhearing her confession that her self-respect and pride are deeply hurt due to being forced on him. As Ashar starts spending quality time with his mysterious wife, Khirad unwittingly reveals different layers to her personality.

Ashar is pleasantly surprised and even thrilled about the fact that his earlier assumption about Khirad is turning to be far from the truth. He now finds her stunning, simple-minded, honest, and innocent with a mind of her own. To his utter disbelief and wonderment, she is also a graduate majoring in Mathematics wanting to continue her academic pursuits.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!”

Beware of the woman who does not get her man. And to lose him to another woman who she believes to be below her standards and unworthy of him, is an insult a woman can hardly bear. As Sara sees the changes in ‘her’ Ashar, and realizes, as only a smart, blindly in love woman can, that Khirad has begun to forge a foray into his heart, she begins to scheme to remain the most important person in Ashar’s life.

“Keep your friends close, enemies closer!”

Terrified of losing Ashar to the undeserving Khirad, Sara uses the age-old technique of befriending her ‘enemy’ to manipulate the situation and the equation between Ashar and Khirad.

Every time Sara hints at something more than meets the eye between her and Ashar, Khirad subtly steers the conversation away or plainly ignores her.

Will Sara succeed in using her ‘pretend’ closeness to Khirad in creating a wedge between Ashar and Khirad will be interesting to watch in the upcoming episodes.

Rangmunch Moment of the episode: Chess Scene

A scene that touches your heart, makes you smile, and compels you to rewatch it a million times gets to be the Rangmunch moment. Chess scene of this episode wins hands down.

During the chess match between Ashar and his father Baseerat, with Khirad and Ashar’s mother as spectators, Baseerat boasts of defeating his son without the slightest hitch. While making his move on the chessboard, Ashar steals a glance at his wife, and to his surprise, Khirad shakes her head to say that his move is not the right one. He quietly withdraws and looks to Khirad before making his move. She once again, with just a couple of subtle nods of her head, points him to the right move, which turns out to be the winning one.

The entire scene is well-crafted to peal away one more layer of Khirad and reveal her in a new light. The wordless interplay between the couple is delightfully intimate and leaves us wanting for more.

Rangmunch Performance of the episode: Naveen Waqar (Sara)

While Ashar (Fawad) and Khirad (Mahira) are busy getting to know each other and make our hearts aflutter, Sara (Naveen) walks away with the Rangmunch Performance of the episode.

Naveen Waqar excels in the scene where she calls up Khirad to subtly inform her that it is on Sara’s insistence that Ashar spends time with Khirad. Her expressions during the conversation are in direct contrast with the words she utters to Khirad on the phone. She has balanced the tone of her voice to reveal her feeling of superiority over Khirad, her immense belief that Khirad is an easy target for manipulation, and her confidence that she can win this game effortlessly comes out loud and clear to the audience while keeping Khirad in the dark about her true intentions.

Precap for episode 7:

I have no words to describe the precap. My heart starts beating faster and frankly, it would be unjust to capture the feeling in mere words.

All I have to say is ‘Watch out for Love’ and leave you with this video.

You can find the links for this episode @

https://www.facebook.com/HumsafarOnHumTv

https://www.facebook.com/HumsafarHumTV

What according to you are the highlights of this wonderful episode of Humsafar? Do you think Naveen Waqar aka Sara deserves to be the Rangmunch performer of the episode? If not, who else and why? And most importantly, what do you think of the precap?

More on Humsafar @ Rangmunch.tv:

http://rangmunchtv.blogspot.com/2011/10/international-segment-humsafar-journey.html

http://rangmunchtv.blogspot.com/2011/10/humsafar-update-episode-5-icebreaker.html

Neeraja Unni

Rangmunch.tv

Fida's Corner: His Wife, Mrs. Khurana!!! (Chapter 23)

Chapter 23

As the car drew up to Priya’s house, he wondered what kind of woman could love a man who had committed such heinous acts in the past.  He couldn’t help but wonder what was it about Dev that made women fall for him so easily, then grimaced inwardly as he realised that somewhere inside him he still couldn’t handle the fact that Geet had once thought herself in love with Dev.  His fingers tightened around hers as he tried to deal with his jealousy, then when she smiled shyly every angry thought left his head as love flooded through him.

He got out of the car, then walked round to help Geet out, taking her hand to lead her towards the main entrance.  As they approached, the door opened; an elegant sari-clad woman stood there, obviously having been watching for their arrival.

Geet took the lead, stepping forward to take the woman’s hand.

“Priya, aap kaisi hain.  Hum aise aagaye, maaf karna, magar yeh aap se kuch baat karna chahte the” “Priya, how are you?  Forgive us for visiting like this, but my husband wanted to talk to you”.

Stepping forward, he shook her hand, then followed the two women into the house. 

Before he could say anything, Priya Paatil spoke “Khurana sahab, I know why you’re here.  You’re wondering why I want to marry your brother, despite what he did in the past.”

He admired her for her forthrightness, and decided to be just as open about his concerns.

“Ms Paatil, let me be frank.  All I want to be sure is that you’re not marrying him because you have to, because you need money or support or help.  If you’re marrying him because you love him, as my wife thinks you do, then I will support you, but I need to know that there is no other reason”

She smiled “He told me you were a good man.  I see that he was right.”

She paused then took a breath before speaking “Khurana sahab, aap se main sirf itna kahoongi ke main aap ke bhai se shaadi karna chahti hoon.  Aap yeh bharosa karlein ke agar Dev ne mujhse shaadi karli to main phir kabhi usse kamzor nahin padhne doongi.  Kabhi phir ussko gunaah karne nahin doongi.” “Mr Khurana, all I will say is that I want to marry your brother.  You must believe that if Dev marries me, I’ll never let him be weak again, I’ll never let him sin again.”

Inviting them to be seated with a simple gesture, she rang a bell then watched as a uniformed maid brought in a tea tray.  As he watched Priya pour tea with a steady hand, he wondered again what this self-contained woman saw in his brother.

After a moment, Geet’s phone rang; as she took it out of her bag, she said “Dadi ka call hai; main abhi aayi.”

As Geet stepped away to take his grandmother’s call, he took advantage of her absence to ask, “You know what he did to Geet, and yet you want to marry him?”

“I know what he did, and still I want to marry him.  I truly believe that he has changed, Khurana sahab, I truly do. I think the realisation that he was capable of such evil shocked him, and made him re-evaluate.  Whatever he was, he isn’t the same person any longer.  And I promise that I’ll make sure he never is again.  Ever.”

Priya looked at Geet, who stood to one side talking on the phone.

“Khurana sahab, when Geet told me her side of the story, I wept.  For her to have suffered so much..........”  She stopped as she saw his fists clench.

After a moment, she continued “And then I looked at her, and realised that despite everything she had beaten him.  He means nothing to her now, doesn’t have any power over her anymore.  She has made her life a success, she has found someone who loves her and who she loves.  And she did that despite everything he did to her.  Dev means less to her now than an ant or a fly.”

She took a deep breath and said “And I love him.  He means a lot to me.  I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but he has become necessary to me.  Aur main uss ke baghair nahin rehna chahti.” “And I don’t want to live without him.  Whatever his flaws, I care for him very much”

He looked over to where his wife stood and thought about the way she still loved him, despite everything he had done to her.  Priya hadn’t experienced anything bad from Dev himself, she’d only heard about it. 

As he looked at the woman he loved, then at the woman who loved his brother, he came to a decision.  Geet was right, it was time to try and move on.

He looked back at Priya and said “Theek hai, Ms Paatil, main aapke aur Dev ke beech mein nahin boloonga.  Agar woh aap se shaadi karna chahta hai, to yahi sahi.  Magar Dev ko raazi karna aur usse samjhane mein na main boloonga na Geet; baat itni bhi purani nahin hai ke hum donon uss se shaadi ke liye raazi karoon.”  “Alright Ms Paatil, I won’t interfere between you and Dev.  If he wants to marry you, then that’s ok.  But I won’t speak to Dev and I won’t persuade him to marry you and neither will Geet.  What happened is not so far in the past that either of us would feel comfortable persuading him to get married”

Standing, he walked over to Geet, waiting until she finished talking to Dadi; as she turned towards him, he murmured “chalein Geet”. He put his hand in the small of her back to guide her towards the door and turned to find Priya watching them. Geet smiled at the other woman and said “Dadi ne aap ko bahut yaad kiya hai, Priya ji. Mere khayal se hum log jald hi milenge” “Dadi said she is thinking of you Priya, I think that we’ll meet soon”

As Priya walked with them to the door, he turned to her and said “Ms Paatil, main aap ke kaam aasakoon to mujhe yaad kijiyega. Dev aur aap ke beech jab koi faisla hojaye to hum donon uss faisle mein aap ka saath denge” “Ms Paatil, if I can be of any help to you, then please remember me. Whatever decision you and Dev come to, then we will both be with you, no matter what decision you make”


“Khurana sahab, aap mujhe abhi jaante nahin hain. Mere khayal se aap mujhe Priya kehne lagein, kyunki faisla to ho chuka hai, chahe Dev abhi maanne ko tayyar ho ya nahin; meri aur Dev ki shaadi hone waali hai aur aap mere Jeiyth Jethaani banne waale hain. Ab sirf yeh dekhna hai ke Dev kitne dinon tak meri baat taalte hain”
“Khurana sahab, you don’t know me very well yet. I think you should start calling me Priya, because the decision has been made, whether Dev understands that yet or not; Dev and I will get married and you are going to be my Jeiyth and Jethaani. Now all that is let is to see how long it takes Dev to listen to me”


As Maan and Geet sat in the car and were driven away, he turned back to look at the woman standing in the doorway. There was a smile on her face and he knew just by looking at her that she would get her way.


Turning to his wife, he said “It seems we had better start preparing for a wedding”