Friends,
I would say this Episode was a mixed Bag. It can be enjoyed in parts. If we dissect the happenings and then analyze it in segments, it was a fine episode. Otherwise, it was not a very good timing to show Birbal's introduction coinciding with the unbelievable treatment, the Creatives are 'showering' on a Royal Queen, who is about to deliver twins. On one side, we had the Diwan-e-Khas in Agra where the Mughal Royalty was enjoying Birbal and his lucid answers, and on the other hand we had a Queen, who was suffering so hard in the rain, in the 8th month of her twins pregnancy...!!!
As i said in my yesterday's episode writeup that Birbal is 'putting up an act' ; i was correct, it was on similar lines. He was indeed acting and deliberately pretending to be a rabble rouser, by speaking(gentle mockery) up against the Shahenshah. All was done, in order to get a chance to meet the Emperor. He was successful, as he was picked up by the soldiers and brought in the Diwan-e-Khas. He cracked up a few "puzzling jokes", in his trademark style, and i wanted it to be this way ONLY. The jokes had an impact on Malika-e-Azam and other Begums as well.
Jalal is impressed by Birbal's hunar and give him a place in the Royal Court.. This infuriates Sharif-ud-din, who is NOT able to digest entry of yet another Hindu in Akbar's coterie..Well, I am waiting for Badayuni, and it will be interesting to watch his frustration with Birbal..!!
Historically(or better say in folk-tales) , Birbal and Akbar met when the latter was out on a hunting trip. In present situation, we saw a bit dramatized version, though here also Akbar went on an 'inspection' and then met Birbal. We had high expectations from Birbal. I was expecting a subtle sense of humor, not the BIG LAUGHING FACES and Jokes being cracked in Diwan-e-Khas. To me the treatment was Royal. It was plain humor, in my language. I am looking forward to his role in future..He was a soldier, a singer, and a poet. It's too early to decide now.!! At present, in our show, Akbar is around 22 and Birbal is 37..!!
Meanwhile, we saw, Jodha in labor pains, in the Jungle. While Ruqayya and Moti try their best to support her. They shift her from the palanquin to a dilapidated bullock-cart with some straw. I did NOT like the fact that so much drama was shown to us, with scenes from Amer, where Shaguni Bai was constantly harping with her MA's curse obsession.
I found this scene, straight from a typical Balaji Production. It was a WAY TOO MUCH dramatized for extraction of maximum possible TRP juice.. And, about MA's curse obsession - Well.! like yesterday, i choose to ignore this, as i am a believer in the Karmic theory, which i explained in yesterday's post. Why to discuss it more, for one's own sanity..!!
In the end of the episode, we saw Jalal worried about Jodha and the entourage, as it was getting late and the queens had not arrived. Hamida and Salima were praying for the 'Salamati' of Jodha and her kids. The episode ends with Ruqayya entering before Jalal, informing her about "Jodha and her children....... in a choking voice" . Jalal is shocked to see the blood stained hands and clothes of Ruqayya.
I wish that at least the delivery of twins is shown in the Royal Palace of Agra, with all arrangements. I am hopeful of this.
Precap:
The twins have arrived and we saw twins, in the hands of 2 different ladies. And, as usual, we have Shaguni Bai, side by side who harps again on MA's curse..
One historical point i would like to mention here, based on Precap. We saw two ladies holding the kids, and taking care of the twins, while their mother was recovering.
Historically, i have read names of two ladies in this regard, they were Berijah Begum(mother of Asaf Khan, not to be confused with Nur Jahan's brother) and wife of Zain Khan Koka. Husain was taken care of, by the former and Hasan, the latter.
You all are welcome to share your views, and discuss the episode...
This article has been posted under the Jodha-Akbar section of history_geek's BLOG.
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Great writeup!
ReplyDeleteThe episode was not bad but it was not good either.
What I liked:
Ruqaiyya's concern for Jodha (and her baby, still in Jo's womb)
Jalal's sense of humor in his interaction with Birbal
Hamida and Salima's concern for Jodha's safe return
Dadisa's concern for Jodha's safe delivery
A ray of positivity in the otherwise gloomy atmosphere of Agra in the form of Birbal
Actually, it's good that Birbal has been introduced now. He will be able to offset the gloom that will descend upon the Mughals when the twins die.
But I found the humor a bit crass and forced. It wasn't subtle or witty or dazzling. Hope things improve down the road. But what saddened me was that Birbal has been reduced to a court jester whose job is to make people laugh. He was a poet and singer and adviser to the king. Akbar trusted him so much that he took him on military campaigns too. It was perchance that his wit and humor exhibited in his daily interactions with the king; but that was not the only reason why he stayed close to the king.
At least in future episodes, I hope to see an intelligent and wise Birbal and not a caricature. : (
Thanks for your views Radhika..
DeleteI was fine with Birbal..Lets hope that in future we get improvement in his role, as he was not only there for his humor, but employed as a poet and singer initially. :)
We haven't seen the best of Tansen. The first time he sang in December, I didn't like the song he sang. He was such a great classical singer who could light diyas with his voice! And what did EK make him sing - a Hindi filmy type song.
DeleteEven now we hardly hear him.
Birbal - I am totally cynical now about the portrayal of this brightest jewel in Akbar' court.
I am dreading the advent of the other jewels like Fazl. The ones who are already present have nothing to do and just stand around like glorified extras.
Radhika,
DeleteLets hope for the best.. There is still sometime left..I guess, we will see improvement...Lets see how this turns out to be..
Till now the CV's focused on MA and other vamps. I think the ' congregation ' of the jewels will give a new lease of life to the show. :)
Wonderful write up! great comments by Radhika. I plan to watch the DEK scene and skip the rest. My expectations from Birbal are high and wish to watch subtle intelligent humor...not OTT comedy. Hope we won't be disappointed this time. CVs can always consult Amar Chitra Katha comic books if they run short of ideas :)))
DeleteNeedless Jodha torture....and glorification of superstition....I don't enjoy watching either. Hope all of that comes to an end soon.
Ok...I dont know what that emoticon means...I wanted a smiley.
DeleteCleo , i agree.. with what you said in short.. I don't want to see the LOUD laughter as we read in Akbar Birbal stories..But a subtle plain one..
DeleteAs for Birbal he had multiple roles of a soldier, poet and singer..
I don't want him to be reduced to a jester. I liked his entry. :)
I found the intro of Birbal very dissapointing:( . The humor was also not upto the mark.Hope it will improve in future.The most unacceptable part was Jalal giving him a place in his court as an entertainer !,a joker. In olden days, king's court would hv one joker.a vidushak. but I would certainly not want to see Birbal as a Vidushak. He rose to the level of chief minister, I presume.
DeleteGeeta,
DeleteI liked Birbal due to the fact that, his looks and dialogue delivery match , for what it should have been for Birbal..
Also, though Akbar has kept him for "entertainment" , but i liked the fact that he was not reduced to a joker. We should wait.
Yes, he rose to good position. He was a mansabdar of 2000 rank. He was a soldier, poet and singer. I think, next we will see his poetry and singing qualities. I am hoping for this.. :)
Coming to Jalal
ReplyDeleteHe returned to the palace and went about his work, while the queens were still not back. I would have thought he would have gone looking for them himself or at least sent Man Singh now.
I don't say a king should throw everything and take care of his wife. But when the wife is 8 months pregnant with twins and is out in foul weather, won't a husband be worried?
Why was there no doctor with the entourage, in case of emergency?
Somehow Jalal's attitude has been far too casual towards Jodha during her entire pregnancy. : ( Now if he shouts at her for being careless with the kids, I will not be able to stand it.
I concur.
DeleteI mentioned this point in yesterday's writeup that a MAIN Royal MALE / trusted counterpart was always sent with the ladies. I had given example of Raja Bhagwan Das..
The points you have raised are most valid..Hoping for improvement. :)
A royal queen in labour in a bullock cart!!!
ReplyDeleteThis was the height of crudity shown in the serial so far. And all that blood! It was terrible. Why is no dignity ever accorded to the character of Jodha? As it is , she will be traumatized by the loss of the twins. Then to subject her to this kind of a situation wherein she is forced to deliver without any hakima, any resources, any emergency aid is disgusting.
Why couldn't the delivery have been shown to have been a beautiful scene in the palace with everyone from Hamida to Jalal and even little Rahim waiting eagerly for the babies? The babies could have died later. But at least the birth would have been beautiful.
Even Bakshi had a better delivery scene than this. : (
And I wonder if Mainavati is dead?! I haven't seen her even once since Jodha was declared pregnant. She didn't come to meet her or gift her anything. Even now, it is dadisa who is sitting with Shaguni Bai. Where is the Mother????
About Shaguni Bai, the less said the better. Was she brought in only to keep reiterating that the babies will die because of the curse? She was terrible and her shells didn't reveal anything today.
I hope today was the last day we saw her in this track. Why can't she do something constructive instead of shouting about the curse all the time?
I can understand the angst after the episode. I have become immune to Shaguni Bai and her re-iterations to the curse of MA..
DeleteRoyalty while dealing with Jodha is too much to ask from the CV's..That is solely ignored for the sake of TRP's..!!
I can not forget the Khyber Drama..
I agree with Padhika. I don't know what to say abt this new indiffernt attitude of Jalal, who they say, is eager to hv baby, worried abt the curse, n not calling a hakima to the palace?What was the hurry in intro of Birbal amidst this? They could hv shown delivery at the palace, even if they wanted in the 8th month, to hint the survival risky.Now a days it's become fashoinable to show the gory scenes to cater to TRPs
DeleteAgreed...It was Height of carelessness , courtesy - Creatives of JA...this is all that can be said in this regard. Sending her to the Hakima itself was unrealistic for a Queen..
DeleteLovely write-up. It was an OK episode for me. Better than Monday's.
ReplyDeleteI really didn't understand Birbal's joke about patis doing seva and patnis not happy with their husbands because of Shahenshah's lavish gifts to their begums. His joke went above my head. I understood the second joke, were I saw begums smiling and Salima blushing too (God knows why).....Honestly I am mighty pissed with Jalal for not seeming that worried when his pregnant Jodha is out and has not returned due to rains. In the beginning he was enjoying Birbal in DEK (despite knowing it was raining outside), after that they showed HB-Salima worried.....It was only in the end that they showed Jalal a bit worried BUT only after he asking if they have come (Why did he not check onto that information ASAP or send a team to look searching for pregnant Jodha and Ruku).......I am really angry with his behaviour......Ruku on the other hand was trying to help Jodha BUT constantly reminding her about her promised baby.....I only felt for Jodha who had a pregnancy that I would not wish for others and a delivery that is hard to think for a queen. Hope the delivery is in the palace (I think that will happen as Ruku has entered palace -- that means Jodha is also there).......Shaguni Bai and even HB were reminding about the curse (that was OTT and unacceptable)....Hope they show some beautiful moments of Akdha with babies before they perish.........Thanks for the info about the two ladies carrying Hasan & Husain.
I can connect to your writeup Pallavi..I agree more feelings could have been shown from Jalal's side...About Shaguni Bai, lets leave it..Creatives are harping on an un-necessary curse.
DeleteAbout the first joke of Birbal - He said that the Shahenshah lavishes costly gifts on his wives. Hence, after seeing this, Birbal's wife also demands same types of gifts from him, and since Birbal is not so rich, he is not able to purchase those gifts for her wife, consequently, she becomes angry with Birbal, and hence his life has become hell..
So, ultimately it's the Shahenshah due to whom Birbal was suffering..LOL :)
Pallavi,
DeleteWonderful!!! I agree with you about Jalal's attitude towards Jodha and her condition.
Birbal's jokes went over my head too. : ) They were the usual ones that earlier hasya kavis liked to recite at hasya kavi sammelans and nowadays stand-up comedians do. Guess they are the kind of jokes that appeal to men. : )
Hope the comedy in future episodes is more sophisticated.
The episode was OK in parts. It was a bit disjointed but we can understand that if we are able to interpret what the CV's are planning to do.
ReplyDeleteThey want to end the "Child Batwara and death" track as quickly as possible because it is distasteful and is not getting the good ratings expected. Also they are aware that things are going to get very gloomy pretty soon.
They were planning to introduce Birbal, and what better time than now to offset the gloom, the vile curses and the tragic death. I have high hopes from Birbal. Gopal Singh is an established movie actor, and a very good one too, in the few scenes we have seen of him.
I am confident he will get a lot of screen time. All the writers have to do for this role is pick out the choicest Birbal stories already published and adapt it to script. Surely that is much simpler than writing the stories themselves. And because many Birbal stories are really very good, it will be difficult for the CV's to make a blunder in this.
As for the twins, I want a heroic death for them. Something which Abhay has already alluded to, I want them to save Jalal or Jodha in some fashion so that their death becomes a sacrifice for their parents.
Well said..
DeleteThe episode was fine in parts, if we analyze ONLY some segments. MA's curse has become a never ending tale. Everyone seems to remember it.
With the presence of a fine actor and readily available stories, CV's need not do anything but script the drama well within the limits of royalty.
About the twins, i am eagerly waiting, how this turns out to be. As we all know the happenings superficially, only need to see how it's picturised on the screen. I got many interesting views on that twins post. Still continuing.
I don't know how much screen space Birbal will get, considering even the leads sometimes don't get much themselves. LOL
DeleteI do hope the CVs use the traditional stories, adapted to the show, rather than inventing stuff themselves, like they did yesterday, when the jokes fell flat.
I feel nervous and sad for the poor babies. No one is going to be happy at their birth, considering we know they will die soon. : ( Hope we get to see some beautiful moments of the babies with AkDha before they die. The babies in the precap were very cute.
Fabulous write-up Abhay!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see this. I honestly tell you the forum made me lose it yesterday. I was cursing it endlessly. We are supposed to have such analytical episode posts but all we get there is criticism and only criticism which can be overbearing.
The episode yesterday was good. Paridhi's acting was really good. But I feel Birbal's entry could have been postponed to after the birth of the twins. It was way too out of place. It took away the focus from the important issue of Jodha's delivery. It seemed to potray Jalal in a bad light; as the husband who has no tension for his wife.
As for the curse, it is just ridiculous. However, I do feel that since it is the 16th century, the belief in such things was more. But there is no need to focus on it endlessly. The 'curse' has become a constant worry for everyone even after it was retracted. And we all know that Hassan and Hussein did not die due to any curse. But the main issue here is the countless people who watch the show and accept everything that is shown in the name of history, will believe that this is how the twins had died.
As for Ruqaiyya, I have never seen anyone as short of intelligence as her. You do not possibly take an 8 month pregnant woman for a check-up when you do have the facility for calling the hakima to the palace. She had all inexperienced people around her, at least Ammijaan could have gone with her. I wonder where is Jodha's mother in the midst of all this? A girl needs her mother the most during her pregnancy and subsequent delivery.
Congratulations for creating this blog! I will frequent myself here, as I would prefer an unbiased analysis which I know you would give!
Hi Samanika,
DeleteThanks.
Very nice to see you here. Join all of us more frequently, here. There are positives as well as negatives in any episode. We can choose to discuss and elaborate on anything. I choose the elaborate on the best aspects with a subtle touch to the other areas..
A balanced post. Everything you said is fine. :)
Regarding the curse, my view is also similar, that being those old days, curses were given importance, though it was not required to given so much importance to them. Hence, i ignored and chose to leave that point.
Also, it was tough to enjoy Birbal's entry coinciding with the pathetic depiction of a Royal Queen..Let's hope for improvement. Things will change soon..
By the way, Is it only me who saw improvement in the Background Music.?. The old Ameri music was back in parts..!!!
Hi Samanika,
DeleteSo good to see you here. : )
Wonderful post! I will tell you what I liked in your post the most:
1. Birbal's entry took away the focus from Jodha's delivery and showed Jalal as an uncaring husband.
But somehow I am also glad he came when he did, because otherwise, the CVs might have tortured Jodha even more in those few moments also.
Hope Jalal is more concerned and considerate today.
2. Many people will believe that the twins really died because of the curse.
True, in a country where superstitions still abound, such harping on curses can strengthen belief in such notions. : (
3. Inexplicable absence of Jodha's mother from the scene.
This mystery is bothering me too. (See my post above. ) She has not been seen since Jodha became pregnant. Even yesterday, it was dadisa who consulted Shaguni Bai and Mainavati was nowhere on the scene. Do you think aliens abducted people in those days also ?
Hope to see you more here. : )
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHey Abhay!
DeleteThanks for the lamba chauda reply! :D
The Ameri music really made me nostalgic and reminded me of the old days :X The BGMs actually got better, hope they remain that way.
I am hoping for an improvement in the content they are showing us, mainly the screen time given to the leads!
Hey Radhika!
DeleteThanks for the reply!
I am glad that you agree with me on some of the points that I posted above!
I am glad to be here! Will frequent myself for sure! :)
Welcome Samanika.. I too hope for the same, and i could also remember the old days of JA....I am optimistic on this front..
DeleteBy the way, Going to post today's update in a few minutes. :)
Samanika,
DeleteI agreed with your entire post. : ) Would love to have you for company! : )
Loved your take. g-)
ReplyDeleteI was cringing throughout Shaguni Bai's live commentary! and I felt showing parallely Birbal's jokes and Jodha suffering labor pain was wrong...I mean with Jodha they created high suspense...stormy night, palanquin breaking, Jodha falling, having unbearable pain, no help, Shaguni Bai's curse harping...audiecne on edges of their seats..in between Birbal's humor on DEK! thoda ajeeb hai na? audience Jodha ko dekh kar tensed ho ya Birbal ke jokes par hasse? :-SS
But I am happy twins will born on in palace :D I know I will forget everything after seeing JJ holding their babies in their arms in tonight's epi...a happy family y-)
but Shaguni Bai's harping about curse (precap) did ruin the affect!! :@
Thanks Tamy..
DeleteGlad to see you back after a break...
Your questions-cum-answers in the first para of your writeup said it all. This is what majority of members here are saying. I too hope the twins see the light of day, in the palace..I can sense your excitement. Hoping for good times ahead. :) { Before the demise of twins.}
It would be lovely to see JJ with their babies, if Ruqaiyya is not present to spoil the party. Her constant harping of "my baby" is as jarring on the nerves as Shaguni's chant of the curse.
DeleteHoping that the negativity will be toned down and some well-balanced moments of happiness followed by sadness will be shown.
Hi Abhay ,
ReplyDeleteRashmi here.
So I got it Birbal was older To Akbar,But tell me why was he called Raja Birbal?
Hi Rashmi,
DeleteHis original name was Mahesh Das. Akbar bestowed upon him the title of Raja "BirBal". Bir means Courageous and Bal means Strength in Hindi. This name is derived from VirVar, as per some texts.
I mentioned this in my Entry of Birbal's post.. You can see here..It contains some folk tales also..Some are posted by me, and some by members in the comments below this post.. >>
Entry of Birbal in Ekta Kapoor's Jodha Akbar
Abhay, Great post...
ReplyDeleteFor me the episode was average..
The DRAMA was OTT and I have a question for CVs=))
"Why do they have such a fantasy for colour vomits and patches of blood??Damn the NR man,please, this is a family show,for God's sake!!"
I have a question for you......
Did this Ruqaiyya really did involve herself in Harem politics??:-?
Hi Lasya,
DeleteNice to see you here..Continue...The questions you have asked to the NR Man are most relevant....I agree with you....
Yes, politics was a part and parcel of Life in Mughal Harem. :)
Could you just elaborate the thing??
ReplyDeleteLasya,
DeleteI mean that Mughal Harem was just like any other "department" of Akbar.
It had its own fixed budget and was run ' separately ' , without anyone's interference by the ladies. There were separate soldiers for it. There were separate regiments.
There were spies in the Mughal Harem..!!!..The queens used to have separate spies and kept an eye on the proceedings of the harem. It was a well-knit and sophisticated system of hierarchy..The Chief Queens used to wield their 'hukms' on all the junior ones.Infact, you can see this just like a parallel proxy government running in the Mughal harem. The Ruqayya Begum of our Show is on similar lines..
HI abhay!! So sorry for late review of episodes... Its always pleasure to read ur wonderful post which includes the maximum positivity filled with some unknown historical facts.. Thanks a lot for creating this session..!!
ReplyDeleteNo issues Archana. Please feel free to post whenever you get time.
DeleteIt is always a nice exp. reading your takes. :)
Abhay such a wonderful write up for an equally disappointing episode... Sorry Abhay for delay in my reply.. I am caught up between my studies, internship and Durga Puja preparations... Even though I read it in the morning itself..
ReplyDeleteAcha coming to your questions on Jauhar and suicide .... I simply hate suicide... The life is given to us by God and if we do not have neither the power nor the right to give life than we surely don't have any right or power to take away not even our own life... Life is a beautiful gift of God and we should value it... But Jauhar even though being a kind of suicide is slightly different....
Suicide is committed by a vulnerable person who has lost his will to live completely.... Who is frustrated and disappointed with life and breathing for a few more moment is punishment for him.... To free himself from all kinds of pain, frustration disappointment he kills himself...
Jauhar is also a kind of suicide but here a group of woman chooses death not because they are fed up with life but because they want to protect their chasity and honour... Okay but this does not mean that I support Jauhar but the thing is that being a girl myself I would rather choose to die than living without my Maan... Kisi bhi insan ke liye sab se zyada important hain uske praan but ek ladki ke liye praan se zyada important hota hai uski Maan...
If we look it from 16th century point of view Jauhar is completely. Justified.... I can't remember where but I have heard somewhere ki Yudh purush karte hai aur uska parinam ek stree ko bhogna padta hai.. So true the statement is.. After defeating the enemies in the war those hungry men comes and satisfy their greed by capturing the women of the enemy camp.... To protect themselves and their dignity and honour women chose to burn themselves alive rather than getting captured and exploited by the victorious men...
Hi Surochita,
DeleteNo issues in late replying.. :)
I am in concurrence with your thoughts, i agree with them.
Abhay in Today's episode .Jiziya tax was shown imposed only on Hindus .Were there any other religions those times ? If they were then were they paying the taxes
ReplyDeleteHi rashmi
DeleteExcept Muslims all have to pay this tax. :)