We’ve changed our updates in the Connected Hum Tum TV Blog. We’ll be posting and talking about the latest goings-on of the six women cantering around Mumbai recording their lives with video cameras. We will just be posting every Monday rather than everyday. (Read The Curtain-Raiser post for a quick intro to the show.)
The week began with an episode centred on a theme I had been expecting to see soon enough: mothers. It went on to such themes as hopes, expectations (and the khichdis and other dishes you can make from them, or something) and old wounds.
Preeti’s mom was quite a surprise. I’m not entirely sure what exactly I was expecting, but my idea of ballsy, belly-dancing, contstantly quipping Preeti’s mother was not the cold, nail-painting woman (who seems to require no sleep) that we were introduced to this week. We see the extent of the resentment Preeti bears towards her mother (usually through her private conversations with the camera as opposed to direct confrontations), and she admits that she’s often difficult around her because of the grudge she bears from childhood. Like Abhay, I, too, wonder what happened. But since it’s Preeti we’re talking about, and not, say, Malishka, I’m pretty sure we’ll find out the whole story soon enough. For now, Preeti, impossibly sweet Zohaan and Preeti’s mother are off to Goa on a vacation, where Preeti hopes they’ll get along for a while. Loved the ridiculously fake laugh, accompanied by an I’m-going-to-hurl expression, she directs at the camera when her mother says something unfunny.
Madhavi prepares her house for the arrival of her pregnant daughter, Mishti, and her small granddaughter, Mihika, who literally gambols about a lot. Mishti and Madhavi seem to have reserved a specific spot in the house for hugging and kissing, and they do a lot of it once they assume their positions before the camera. More excitingly, we get to see some old pictures of Madhavi, who, as her ex-husband Avinash says, looked quite a bit like Zeenat Aman, back in the day. We also understand that Madhavi’s softening a bit towards Avinash, and she gets almost giggly towards the end of her footage when she talks about him. We are re-introduced to her neurotic side when she pulls strange faces at the idea of a mess in her house, and implements her “plan of action” of teaching 6 year old Mihika where everything belongs and to put everything back in its place.
Mahima’s busy as always. This week, in addition to her regular round of ‘mittings’ and auditions, she also coins two new words: ghooring, and flirter. Having left her home in Meerut behind, she is back in Mumbai and seems positively overjoyed at the idea of being back “home”. Along with Vaishnavi didi, she goes to the set of a Zee TV serial to stand by and watch, and talks about how soon she’ll have a “special room” to get ready in herself. She seems quite optimistic through most of the week, although she did have a few emotional moments when talking about her parents and family. She also uses a phrase that I honestly think MTV Roadies truly cemented into the minds of the Indian middle class: she tells us that she is in Mumbai “apne aap ko prove karne ke liye”. Annoyingly, Abhay insists, repeatedly, that while she may be struggling to get an acting gig, that while she may think that that’s what would make her feel good, nothing could truly make her happy but the approval of her mother. I don’t know. I think she’d be pretty happy if her career took off.
Sonal’s footage was quite depressing, and reflected the “bechaini” that she’s feeling over Jaanu. We spent most of the week wondering about the outcome of her confession to her parents, only to find out that Jaanu has decided not to tell them after all. Sonal also tells us the story of how her previous relationship ended when her girlfriend’s family forced her into marrying a man, and how difficult it was to trust people for some time after. She insists, however, that this time she has faith in Jaanu.
Pallavi has a minor fight with Dalbir which drags on for a few days. In a lively spirit of revenge, she goes on a shopping spree, only to discover that Dalbir’s waiting at home with flowers and an apology. She quite endearingly rushes into another room and locks the door to make sure she isn’t overheard while telling the camera about this. She and her father-in-law go shopping for Punjabi foodstuffs for their big Lohri celebration. The Nagis love to party.
Malishka continues to bite her lip a lot and give us shots of scenery and sound bites that reveal how vivacious, exciting and full of zany, bubbly paagalpanti she is. Yawn. She went to Switzerland with her friend Naahid and acted very, very odd, calling random strangers Raj and trying to get them to sing Hindi songs. We do, however, find out that she does have some kind of romantic interest waiting for her back in Mumbai, and we see bits and pieces of her phone conversations with this mysterious person. The only clue we have is that we’ve seen him before. I think it’s the ex-boyfriend, Ravi.