Vikram Thakur of Zee TV's "Phir Subah Hogi" – Principled, straightforward, honest, fearless, a man of few words and mostly action, he was a man after my own heart. Then he fell in love. He rose in love too, to stand by the woman child who holds his heart in a tight grip, to protect her honor, to give her a place in society that scoffs at his union with someone way below his strata. His love for her, his need for her brought out the best in him, until fate threw a curve that threatened to take away that very love.
The slide began when he first denied being in Reva, when Gulabia questioned him after she spotted him the night before, outside Reva manzil. The man, who did not have to resort to lies, suddenly finds himself unable to tell the truth. The web of lies that he began to weave that moment has continued to include not only Sugni and Gulabia but has slowly spread to affect his beloved nephew, Aditya too.
The tangled web of lies that Vikram Thakur has weaved around himself and his loved ones, is going to one day, cost him dearly. It is bound to take away the very thing he started deceiving for, but is also slowly chipping away his character that we have come to respect and love.
Vikram Thakur found himself a mirror image in Sugni. He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. The fire in her to stand by her dreams, to not bow down from doing what is right is what drew her to him. These very qualities of hers that he finds irresistible are the ones that he fears will make Sugni untangle his web of lies and escape. Sugni, with her strong sense of character and justice still intact, will not hesitate to recognize the lies for what it is, irrespective of the intentions.
Aditya Singh, who worships the ground his uncle walks on, is in for a rude shock. His vow to stand by his uncle no matter what, will come back to haunt him. In yesterday’s episode, he assures Vikram of his unwavering support since he believes that his uncle’s actions, however wayward, are always justified with right intentions. It would be interesting to see Aditya find it difficult to accept the actions and justify the intentions to be right.
Right bang in the center of this mayhem is the poor Reva Thakurain who is blissfully unaware of her husband’s deception. She remains a mystery as her characterization is deceptively simple yet complex enough to leave a trail of questions unanswered. Her past, their married past is one of the biggest questions that might throw some light into Vikram’s deception that goes against every grain of his basic character. But then again, the story is so tightly scripted that we constantly second guess ourselves, wondering if we even know what the thakur’s basic character is?
Before I wrap up, I have to mention the chess scene of yesterday’s episode. It was a well thought out addition to the drama and signifies the depth of deception that requires Vikram to be constantly on vigil, considering every move that has been made, and those that he has to make to come out a winner at the end. Interestingly, he is shown to play the game alone, which he is, considering the fact that Gulabia pulled out of it when she seemingly cut off her ties with Sugni, which forces Vikram to back track and evaluate every move he has made till date.
‘Phir Subah Hogi’ is once again at a point where there are more questions than answers and that is how a story is best told.
Neeraja Unni
Rangmunch.tv
Writers Gully