Uttara Masi begins to see the true face of SSP

Left: Uttara Masi (Kamya Punjabi); Right: SSP Bhramanand Jhakkar (Vishwajeet Pradhan)


Today on Maryada:

Uttara Masi begins to see the true face of SSP. After the party that almost ended in disaster, SSP yells at Uttara and tells her that now he understands why her husband used to abuse her, and that she "deserves nothing but blows and curses". She asks him "If I am only deserving of abuse, then why were you showing me so much sympathy up till now?" Of course, he immediately backtracks and says that he didn't mean it, the words came out in anger.... but it looks like Uttara is finally beginning to wake up to reality.

I think the creatives are trying to redeem Uttara by showing that she was taken in by SSP and now that he's treating her badly (showing his true face) than she will wake up. While one can see Uttara being victimized, I feel that it is going to be very difficult to bring her character back into the viewers' good graces. No matter how badly her late husband treated her and how nice her brother-in-law was to her, what kind of a woman will have an affair with her sister's husband? How could she believe that a man who is willing to cheat on his wife with her own sister in the same house would truely treat her with respect and love? In my opinion, whatever happens to Uttara now is just the consequence of her own actions.

Mantri Ji is suspicious of Gaurav's sexuality!

Left: Gaurav (Daksh Ajit Singh) and Karan (Karan Singh) share an intimate moment; Right: Vidya (Vindhya Tiwari), Gaurav's wife

Today on Maryada:

Mantri Ji (mantri is hindi for minister), the mother of Gaurav's boyfriend Karan, is beginning to get more and more suspicious of Gaurav's sexuality ever since her personal assistant told her that he overheard Gaurav on the phone mentioning that he's gay. She's hoping to use this information to embarrass SSP, but little does she know that Gaurav's partner is none other than her own son.

Her suspicions are heightened when she realizes that she's never seen Gaurav and his wife (Vidya) together. She also comes upon Karan and Gaurav talking--Karan is trying to discuss something and Gaurav is telling him that they shouldn't talk about it here. When he notices her presence, Karan swiftly changes the topic to business, but it won't be long before Mantri Ji finds out their secret.

I'm really liking the way the writers are dealing with the homosexuality issue and with Gaurav and Vidya's relationship. Gaurav doesn't come across as a bad guy, just someone who is trapped by a bad situation. He never wanted to marry Vidya and he feels bad that he hasn't been able to give her the love she deserves. Vidya is also a very sympathetic character, going through all the emotions that a wife would in this situation. At first she didn't understand, she didn't think there was anything wrong in Gaurav "loving" his friend, and didn't think that he could love him in the way that a husband loves his wife. When she understood, she was saddened and disgusted. Then she confronted her mother in law for lying to her and giving her false hope that Gaurav would come to love her in time, knowing that he could never love a woman romantically. Even Karan is mostly a sympathetic character. We can understand his jealousy of Vidya and wantingGaurav to be only with him. However, Karan's actions are not justified. For example, his betrayal of Gaurav by not telling him that Vidya's mother had called and Vidya was on her way back. His discussion with Vidya caused her to leave her in-laws and attempt suicide (he couldn't have known that was going to happen), but he shouldn't have lied to Gaurav in the first place.

The reveal to the parents should be interesting. Let's see what's in store!

Maryada 101

"Maryada: Lekin Kab Tak?" (Keeping To Our Limits: But Until When) is an Indian soap opera that airs daily on Star Plus (a Hindi channel). It is set in Haryana, a state in northwestern India, which is one of the most conservative in the country. The show revolves around the family of Senior Superintendent of Police Brahmanand Jhaakar. The main characters are Brahma's wife Deyvani, her sister Uttara, and the family's two daughters-in-law Priya and Vidya. The show focuses on the stories of these four women revealing the hypocrisy behind what looks like the perfect family.

The highlights of the plot so far:

• Brahma attempted to rape Priya, who later turned out to be his son's fiancee. When he didn't manage to call off the wedding, Brahma threatened Priya saying that if she ever tells anyone what happened, he will ruin her life. He didn't hesitate to send his own son Aditya (Priya's husband) to jail just to show what he could do.
• Brahma is having an affair with Uttara, his sister-in-law, whom he manipulated into thinking that Deyvani didn't treat him properly. Priya told Deyvani about this, but it is difficult for Deyvani to break her habit of keeping silent and protecting her family's image and her place in society.
• Brahma and Deyvani's first born son, Gaurav, is gay and in a relationship with Karan, his best friend and the son of a prominent politican in the town. To protect Gaurav's secret from Brahma, Devyani got him married to Vidya, an innocent village girl. When Vidya found out her husband was gay, she went back to her parent's home. However, she couldn't tell her parents the real reason that she left her in-laws and her father forcibly sent her back to her in-laws. Being unable to go back home and not wanting to go back to her in-laws, Vidya attempted to commit suicide by drowning herself, but was saved by Priya's brother Cheenu, who is a doctor in a an army camp. Word of her location got to her in-laws, and Deyvani came to take her back home. However, the twist is that she has realized that marrying Vidya to a gay man was unfair to her and she tells her "I'm taking you home not to save your marriage but to break it."

Below is a video of the "Maryada" Theme song: