As he admitted to his sister Anjali, Arnav indeed did fall in love with Khushi only after marriage. The man didn’t say it to appease his sister! He may have definitely felt a certain something for our lady here but he never really came down to giving it a name! When he says, he meant understanding why he loved Khushi against all odds. Remember he admitted he loved her immediately after he was kidnapped and he realised he may never get to see her again!
Arnav has always been a flawed man, with heaps of insecurities governing his life at every stage. In his head, the only wrong he did was to marry Khushi and punish her for no fault of hers. When he got married to her, he knew his reasons for doing so, however illogical they may have been. Hence on realizing what a folly he had committed, he has on numerous occasions tried to sooth his conscience by thinking, he did his bit by listening to his heart on many occasions as against his head!
To Arnav, Khushi and Anjali have always been separate, and he would never intermingle the two. It is the misconception on part of both these very women in their heads that’s causing problems at the moment!
Arnav has always lived on his own terms and conditions. If you recollect in the early episodes of the series he tells Nani and his Di how, though he respects them, he will actually do what he wants. Today, the same rule applies to Khushi as well. Khushi thinks she is helping Arnav by moving away from Anjali di and giving her the much needed space as she wouldn’t want to remind her of the infidelity of a husband she loved dearly! She thus walks out on the one man she had promised and confessed undying love for!
Let’s move few episodes backwards! Khushi Kumari Gupta, who always knew her marriage was based on a contract, was hell bent upon proving her innocence to this very man. “farak padta hai, kyunki, baat aapki hai… issi liye hume farak padta hai” She was hell bent upon gaining acceptance from her husband and the man she loved with all her heart.
She didn’t hesitate to risk her own life not just once but twice for his sake! What effect would it then have on a man who has always been deprived of love all his life? Arnav may have really loved his mother, but her going away- angered him so much that it turned him into a bitter, cynical young man. It is no surprise then that he is extremely protective towards his sister who is the only reflection he has of his mother. He has ensured she will not move away from him even for a second, so much so that he wants her to live with him in the same house, even though she is married!
Today Khushi, unknowingly, as always is triggering off that very emotion inside this man that irks him the most! She is someone who has always rubbed him the wrong way, and right now she is just an inch away from driving him crazy! Arnav Singh Raizda knows no text book lover way of expressing his love. He closes up even around his sister when she exhibits too much affection.
How then can one expect him to walk upto Khushi and say, I am your sinner, I am the man who took the smile away from your face, forgive me? If you think he will, forget it, because He will not! He will instead, do everything in his capacity to bring that lost joy back in her life, which is what he has been desperately doing.
On realizing she may move away, he once again resorts to use power and control to get things done his way! Every vulnerable line of his follows a nasty one! He doesn’t want her to know he is hurting, because he then fears she may trample over his heart and walk away! What if she actually does that? He knows he will not be able to handle it, and that’s the reason why he is ensuring the situation doesn’t arise! “Mera naam Arnav Singh Raizada Hai, main kabhi galat ho hi nahi sakta” He is a man who knows tact will never fail him. It is not an inability to express and exhibit affection, but the fear of rejection that forces him to mask his desperation behind arrogance and stubbornness!
Aap aise kyun hai? She asks him annoyed and exasperated… “tum jaanti ho, main yeh kyun kar raha hoon” he says in his defense leaving so much unsaid once more in their relationship with no name.
It is not like Arnav is unaware of Khushi's state of mind. He exactly knows how to make her bend, and right now, though it may seem wrong to many, I am not surprised why The Mighty ASR has resorted to these means! At times you see him chuckle and grin to himself, as he realises his lady love is creating much ado about nothing. Had he felt she is staying away from him because of the pain he has caused her, he would be miserable. He knows this act of astinance is more to do with them, and the direction in which their relationship is headed, which is why, he knows he is bang on as far as his wooing tactics go! You cant take this away from him, he is a smart cookie ... "I cant deny, maza toh bahut aa raha hai mujhe" as he admits to her.
Why blame ASR alone? Why is Khushi allowing him to treat her this way? Why doesn’t she want to tell her family the truth? Since he has wronged her so much, she in reality should have no reason to even turn back and look at him after the way he has treated her and humiliated her during all these times! But then it is us as audience thinking on her behalf, not Khushi herself!
If you sit down to analyze closely you will realize that the reason why we are all hooked to this story is only because, this silly little girl still chooses to be with that flawed man. She runs to his rescue when he fakes an injury, she gets all doe eyed when he is around her and she still somewhere thinks he is the prince in her fantasy love story!!!
If in the real-logical scheme of things they should never be together, whoever said people in love are rational?
For reasons best known to them people in love end up justifying every action in the name of the same and never seem to crib or complain! It is most often the afterthought that hurts!!!
Before I wrap up, the reason for Khushi's exit from ASR's life at the moment seems far from hurt or lack of trust and more for di’s and his own sake! After all that they have gone through and been through, his happiness is of utmost importance to her!
To the audience this particular story is a fairy tale, but what makes them connect to it and stick on is the dose of realism that instills a sense of, this could have happened to me as well! If this fairy tale had the frog turn into a prince so easy, and they would live happily ever after, there would be nothing more to talk about... So sit, back and enjoy ASR, Khushi and their moods as the lovers have loads more to offer in the days to come from the looks of it!
Writers Gully