Shaurya Aur Anokhi ki Kahaani Rant Review

All's Well That Ends Well? Nope. Not Really.

It's been nearly 3 weeks since the #Shakhi fandom heard of SAAKK going off air and needless to say it's been a rough couple of weeks for us. Not only did the twitter trend tire everyone out (Not on twitter, so didn't take part in it), it was also a plea to deaf ears since neither was the slot for the show changed, like everyone wanted, nor was it shifted to Hotstar as a hail Mary. I myself had mixed feelings when I heard that they'd pulled the plug on the show. I was sad that I'd have to bid adieu to easily, one of the best soaps Star Plus, or even Indian Television at large has produced. I was also happy that the penultimate weeks of the show were just as crisp and fresh as the episodes  were when the show was in its 'rising action' phase. Especially when Star Plus has ruined multiple shows in the past, where they've tried to change the story line of a soap to increase their ratings  and failed to do so (think Kahaan Hum, Kahaan Tum and Manmarziyaan), thereby ruining the original essence of the show right before it concludes. Hence, I was satisfied in a bittersweet way of sorts, that SAAKK would walk out with its head held high. But as the finale episode finally rolled out today, I can't say that I loved it. It was severely flawed in many ways. I liked some things - didn't like many others. I guess I'm just here to talk about the various opinions I had while watching it.

 Let's start off with the finale week, shall we? 

First off, was it really necessary to include a completely new sexual harassment plot in the last couple of episodes? My first reaction was that they should've dedicated this time to wrap up the existing plot threads hanging loose instead of introducing a new plot (and especially one that needs a lot of screen time because it's a very important issue). Instead of using Priyanka as a catalyst to expose Alok's true nature, couldn't they have exposed his kidnapping scheme/ his exam timetable tampering scheme? Each of these incidents could have served up the same results since Anokhi would have realised that Devi and Tej are just as complicit in the scheme as Alok is and she would have made the decision to leave the house. When it comes to Shagun, why didn't they explain her motive behind coming back to marry Shaurya? I was sure there was one and the writers seemed to think so as well. But they conveniently forgot about this. Moreover, instead of making her Alok's accomplice, they could have dwelt on the fact that she was probably the one who spread the news of Shaurya and Anokhi's marriage in SIAC in a demeaning fashion. I really wish the writers had gone down this route instead of the track that we got.

Eventually, I made my peace with the sexual harassment plot because it is a meaty topic, and it's great that a show like SAAKK decided to tackle it. Especially since SAAKK at its core can easily be mistakenly construed as a show that promotes relationships between two individuals where there is a gross imbalance of power. If they show a genuine romantic relationship between Shaurya and Anokhi where there is no coercion (there's a bit of a grey area here too, since the sindhoor was forced), then they should also educate the public that more often than not, this isn't the case. Teachers or members of the management are definitely more likely to engage in sexual relationships with students by pressuring them rather than it burgeoning from mutual consent. Thus, in a way, I was glad that the show decided to pursue such a topic since it would be a serious slap on the cheeks of all the haters of the show who dismiss it just on the basis of the dynamics of the core relationship.

However, I do wish the makers had done a little more homework on POSH regulations. The management kept saying that they'd investigate the matter, but never really put their money where their mouth is, as the students started protesting rather amateurishly. The first thing that's necessary is that you constitute a POSH committee to investigate the matter (and there must be a larger proportion of women in it than men), but here for minutes upon minutes, they just showed Shaurya, Shaan, Alok and Tej going back and forth on the same matter. They could have at least got some female teacher extras to sit in on the discussion (like seriously, even Shagun). Also, Shagun's two letters which she used to make Priyanka choose her own fate- one of them was titled 'Apology letter' and the other, 'Blaming Letter'. Like seriously? What in god's name is a 'Blaming Letter'? I might be sounding rather nitpicky, but for a show that's logical for the most part, these moments of carelessness really stick out like sore thumbs.