Why Maan’s memory loss track was a huge mistake


In Indian television shows, we witness a lot of characters losing their memory, and pretty much every single time, their memory comes back. One character who lost his memory was Maan in Geet Hui Sabse Paraayi. But unlike most characters, he didn’t get his memory back.

Allow me to explain why this has bothered me so much.

 

To begin with, let’s talk about why this track was ill timed and completely unnecessary in the first place. Memory loss tracks usually come along after couples have finally come together after facing a number of trials and tribulations, and this was the case in Geet too. However, the specific point where they chose to implement the memory loss was unnecessary and ill timed. This is because the drama level was already high because of the antics of Maan’s mother and they could’ve played with that track some more or just concluded it gracefully and then move into the next plot.

So that’s my first issue. The memory loss was introduced at a time when it wasn’t needed. They rushed the end of Maan’s mothers track because they launched into the memory loss. What they should’ve done was really pick at Maan’s mothers story, shown Dev really pulling his crap together to support his brother against his mother. Though they started doing that, it was a diluted attempt which was later rushed because of the memory loss track.

If they really wanted to play with a memory loss track, they should’ve waited until they fully developed Maan’s mothers track or until it had concluded. Instead it felt like that track had to be concluded because they had already started with the memory loss. It just felt like they dropped one story because they came up with something else.

 

My next issue and main issue is that Maan’s memory never came back. See in other shows, I don’t think it is as vital for the memory to come back as it was in this instance. Usually it’s just a case of the lead forgetting how they met their significant other and how they came together. And sure sometimes there’s a great story behind it, but in terms of how significant it is, usually it’s not that significant. Either they met and hated each other and then learnt to love each other. Or they met, fell in love and then had to fight to be together. I guess one could argue each story is significant in their own way, but I just feel the way Maan and Geet met and their backstory is far more significant than other pairs and it was far more important for Maan to remember how they came together.

Maan’s memory loss meant that he completely forgot everything related to Geet. This meant that he forgot how they met, but more importantly he forgot what she went though because of her family, because of his brother and what they went through as a couple.

If Geet was alive, it was because Maan saved her life that night in the jungle when her brother was just about to drop the sword on her. But he doesn’t remember that.

He doesn’t remember the fact that she was cheated and became pregnant, hence why her family was trying to kill her.

He forgot that he was the main reason she began to stand up for herself and that he was the catalyst to her fighting for her child and to become independent.

He forgot that he accepted her child as his own, and the heartbreak they went through when they lost their baby.

For me, it’s such a disappointment that he forgot all this because this is all so significant to their story.

They showed us that Geet explained the Balwant Singh story for him and she explained the whole Amritsar track, but she never told him about anything that happened before that, nor did he ever ask about their relationship and how it came to be.

Now I understand why they chose to do this. It was probably because if they went into all of that again, it would mean we’d have to experience Maan hating Dev again and it would be repetitive and would’ve caused more layers in the narrative that they would’ve had to deal with, but at the same time, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth knowing that Maan doesn’t remember all these significant events that happened in their relationship.

 

But for me what made it worse was not the fact that he forgot and that he never remembered, but because he only accepted her again as his wife because he kind of had to?

When the track started, he didn’t like Geet. We didn’t get to see him soften towards her because he started to fall for her as a person. We saw him soften because he saw how she was being his wife. Granted he didn’t know she was his wife to begin with, but when he was made aware, that’s when he actually started to look at her with anything other than distaste. Moving forward, he only really bought himself to accept her because he felt like he had to, because he owed her that as she stood by him.

Now while I understand his thought process, it hurts my heart a bit that he only really took her back because he felt like he had to, not because he actually fell in love with her as a person.

Overall it just felt like Maan accepted her because he felt like he had to. And that sucks because Maan fell for Geet because she’s amazing and strong. But we didn’t get to see him experience all that all over again. After the memory loss, even when he looked at her, it just didn’t haven’t the same vibe as it did before the memory loss.

 

All in all, Maan’s memory loss track just felt like an ill planned addition at the end just to extend the story. And let’s be honest, Four Lions tend to do that with all their shows. But for me, this one just really irked me because it messed up the entire original narrative. For me, Maan’s memory loss track and the way it was executed was a colossal mistake and one that either should have been planned better, or should have just been avoided. Maan’s memories were vital to their relationship and this was one case where we really needed the memory to return. 

 

*****

 

Author’s Note: 

So you guys probably saw this and though huh? What’s going on? If you’re someone who follows me on my other social media platforms, you know that I have recently watched Geet properly for the first time and I am utterly obsessed. You also probably know about how strongly I feel for Maan. This post is a summation of all my feelings about this particular track because this was something I really wanted to speak about in detail and just put out there for people to read and hopefully engage with.

So a little different to my usual content but it’s something I wanted to do.

Please so leave your thoughts and comments and if you’ve watched Geet then PLEASE also let me know how you feel. I would love to discuss this topic further because I just have so much to say about it. Also let me know how you feel about me posting such analysis posts on here.

Analysing content and just speaking about things is something I love to do and I would like to make it a regular section on my blog aside from my creative writing projects. And I would love to speak about different shows and topics that are separate to my creative writing ventures. Please let me know what you think!

That’s all for today. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and I’ll be back soon with more of my usual content.

Lots of love, hope to hear from you all again very soon!