Swayamvar Season 2-Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega has finally begun. Fifteen beautiful and very hopeful girls will be vying to win Rahul Mahajan’s affection and admiration. Like the previous season (Rakhi’s Swayamvar), the first episode was a grand event where the aspirants were introduced to their prince charming. Set in one of the beautiful palaces in Udaipur Fatehgarh Palace, the contestants alighted from expensive vintage cars to be greeted by Rahul, bouquet in hand. Most of the girls also carried small gifts in order to make a good first impression.
The fifteen hopeful girls came from all over India. The average age of the girls will be around twenty five years and most of them were visibly nervous as they were out to woo a man (and not the other way round) and that too on national television. It takes guts for a woman to pursue a man rather than the reverse. Most of the girls were either students or aspiring models and there even was a lecturer of a college. Most girls came bearing presents so as to make a mark in Rahul’s heart at the very first opportunity. Twinkle Mukherjee from Kolkata gifted Rahul an idol of Goddess Durga, “jor” and cheli– that marks the 'gathbandhan' (wedding knot) between a bride and groom in Bengali weddings. Charmy from Ahmedabad showered her affection and wished Rahul good luck by gifting him a showpiece of 'Farishtey'(angel). Nikunj Malik, an accessories designer from Faridabad made Rahul's day truly special by gifting him a wallet especially designed by her with her picture in it. Rashmi from Lucknow gifted him a set of a Lucknawi Kurta-Pajama.
Tannu from Faridabad and Mrinal from Nagpur gifted the Dulhe Raja a statue of Radha Krishna and a Bhagwad Gita respectively.Rahul was visibly overwhelmed and touched by these warm gestures and could not suppress his joy and happiness as the girls made his way to him one by one. A lovely party had been organised where the girls tried their best to spend some one-on-one time with Rahul. While some made him dance, others sang to express their joy and some even spouted poetry. It was very evident from the behaviour of all the contestants that they meant business and were serious about their efforts to woo Rahul.
The coming episodes will be interesting to watch as we will get to see the girls more up close and personal. The kind of chemistry each girl is able to strike up with Rahul will determine the length of their stay in the show. There will cat fights galore as the girls have already started back biting about each other from the first episode itself. Whether Rahul’s Swayamvar is as successful as Rakhi’s only time will tell, but viewers can certainly look forward to many entertaining episodes full of drama, romance and excitement.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Rahul Mahajan begins his swayamvar with a bang!
Naitik and Akshara - Trouble in paradise to be resolved soon?
Askhara and Naitik are perhaps one of the most loved on screen pairs of Hindi serials nowadays. Viewers have been glued to their unique love story which blossomed after their marriage was fixed by the respective families. In fact the distinctiveness of the story lay in the fact that it was attempting to capture a very basic reality of Indian marriages and families- the way love blossoms between two completely unknown individuals once they tie the knot. Akshara and Naitik came to symbolise those millions of young people across India who first marry and then fall in love and not the other way round.
After a very elaborate marriage the couple settled down to domestic bliss. There were hiccups along the way but these two very much in love individuals seemed determined to not let anything come in the way of their own private heaven. Even Naitik’s mother who had concerns giving up space in her son’s life to this new person was handled very nicely by the young couple. However these two lovebirds are now facing the toughest challenge to their relationship. Misunderstood by her marital family who thought that she had deliberately mislead her sister-in-law (Nandini), Akshara tries to plead her case before every family member but without much success. She had expected Naitik to support and stand by her. But his inability to do so breaks her heart. She leaves for her father’s place and Naitik does not stop her.
Initially, Akshara’s family were unaware that she had left her in-laws house. Once they come to know about this, Akshara’s father, Vishambharnath, goes to his son-in-law’s house to sort out matters. However once he is apprised of the situation he lays down a condition for the Singhanias (Naitik’s family) that Akshara will return only when Naitik goes to fetch her back. His reasoning is that given the nature of this misunderstanding, it will be better if Naitik and Akshara resolve their differences first and get together because they want to and not due to familial pressure. This angers the Singhanias as they take it to be highhanded behaviour on the part of Akshara’s father.
The writers’ of the show need to be congratulated for the stance that Akshara’s father has taken. Even though he is humble, he is not willing to compromise his daughter’s sense of dignity. He wants to be assured that she will be able to retain her earlier position of trust and respect before he sends her back. He also respects the fact that marriage is ultimately between two people and to this end wants Akshara and Naitik to resolve differences first. Whether the lovely couple are able to find their way back to each other only time will tell. Till such time, viewers will have to keep their fingers crossed.
Na aana is des laado - More troubles for Sia and Raghav ?
It seems that Sia and Raghav have to traverse a long distance before their love story can hope to see a logical end. Ammaji’s close brush with death that had been closely averted due to Sia’s timely intervention had helped to open a channel of communication between these two individuals. The love that had lain dormant in Sia’s heart and that Raghav had refused to acknowledge found an outlet courtesy the tragic incident. Raghav grateful to Sia for saving his mother’s life has woken up to his responsibilities as a husband; something that he ignored all these months. He not only went to fetch Sia from the hospital, he started to actually care about her well being.
Just as the viewers were expecting things to turn for the better for the pair of them, Raghav’s past has caught up with him. Sonali, Raghav’s girl friend from London has followed him all the way to Veerpur. Unaware that her boyfriend is now a married man, her sole purpose for coming is to marry Raghav. It seems that they had broken up in London but she realised the depth of her feelings for him after this incident. She is now determined to win him back and settle down with him. Her appearance has put on the brakes for the developing of love and understanding between the lead pair.
Sia is once hurt and does not want to experience the same disappointment all over again. Her thawing emotions seem ready to go back on the ‘freeze’ mode as she is convinced that Raghav will once again betray her faith in him. Raghav on the other hand has a tough task on his hand as now he has to begin afresh. On the one hand he has to convey the message to his ex girlfriend that he has moved on; on the other hand he has to convince Sia that he has developed true feelings for her. Given the fact that none of the ladies concerned are willing to listen to him, Raghav really has his work cut out.
To add to all this is Ammaji’s apparent and instantaneous liking for Sonali. In Sonali she sees a reflection of her own self. Sonali like Ammaji is someone who is head strong, willing to grab whatever she sets her heart on, has a liking for power and both of them like Raghav immensely. Ammaji likes the fact that Sonali is someone who can manage both her property and her home. She is already looking ahead and planning for the wedding. The viewers are rooting for Raghav and Sia but whether Ammaji will let her favourite son fall for her enemy (Sia) remains to be seen.
Manav does the unthinkable in Pavitra Rishta !!
The unthinkable has happened. Manav, goaded on by his mother has indeed put vermillion on Shravani’s forehead thereby solemnising the promise he had made to protect her honour and dignity. A tearful Archana could only look on helplessly as her husband took on another woman as his wife. Everyone present and involved is in no doubt of Archana and Manav’s real feelings for each other. However no one is able to do anything to prevent this from happening. But why is this so? Why could no one who witnessed the event unfold step forward and stop Manav from carrying out a senseless act? The answer of course is TRPs.
Every good love story needs a very good obstacle. Manav and Archana have had many. First it was Archana’s mother who refused to accept Manav as her son-in-law and her daughter’s husband because of his humble background. Manav, a lowly mechanic did not match up to her exacting standards. Thus despite Archana’s apparent willingness she refused to accept the sanctity of the marriage and even forced Archana to leave Manav.
Then it was the turn of Manav’s step mother. She has always looked upon her step son as the means to a comfortable life and had hoped that he would bring in a lot of dowry via his marriage. She is unable to stand Archana’s mother’s high-handedness and taunts. She passed on her immense dislike for the mother on to the daughter and now wants to see Archana suffer at any cost. She has been one of the biggest obstacles in the Manav-Archana love story. Archana’s sister-in-law Manjusha and her mother have been the other villains of the story. She along with her mother and brother tricked Archana into being present in a not so respectable part of the city but made it seem as if it had all been Manav’s doing. This act alone made the lovely couple reach divorce proceedings.
The hurdle presented in the form of Shravani is even more surmountable for the duo. Shravani is pregnant with Manav’s deceased younger brother’s child. Now it is a question of an unborn innocent life and a young girl’s honour and reputation in society. Manav reluctantly agreed to shoulder the burden when he and Archana were on the verge of a divorce. But now that Archana has come back to him and wants to continue their life together, this promise made by him has become a cross for him. What justification can he give to Archana for breaking her heart? What justification can he give to Shravani if he is unable to protect her good name? Can he live with himself if his dead brother’s yet to be born child is lost to the shadow of illegitimacy? These are questions that he and Archana as a couple will have to find answers to.
