Kyunki Tulsi can't catch a break. New episode, old misogyny
In one scene, the driver tells Tulsi he can't take her to the temple because he's waiting for Mihir's office run. Tulsi smiles, with tears in her eyes of course, and tells him to wait for Mihir because, "Kaam zaroori hoga." And just like that, 2025 collapses into 2001.The reboot of 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' promised nostalgia, but delivered domestic dysfunction. Even after 25 years, Tulsi is still the default problem-solver in the household.The reboot continues to romanticise the idea of an all-sacrificing woman. While their chemistry is nada, the dynamic between Tulsi and Mihir is lopsided. Women still want to sabotage other women for power and validation. Gayatri kaki - remember the dancing one? - is back, and now she is furious that Tulsi is in charge again. Her prayer? That a "toofan" arrives to show Tulsi her place. How very 2025 of her.Do we want women in 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' reboot to be fighting over control and status? Do we want to see 'Kyunki' normalising the idea that Tulsi must hold it all together? Are we in for all this emotional burden? The show wants the audience to reward its rivalry, and still looks obsessed with control. Also, is someone in the writing team allergic to female autonomy, unless it's in the service of the family?The show introduces new faces - hardly any worth remembering, but that is a story for another day. In the reboot, only the faces are new, their conflicts and rules look ancient. A girl is scared to even talk about her boyfriend, because what if someone hears? What if she's judged? What if Tulsi is judged for being a bad mother? The horror, you see. The supposedly modern or younger characters are boxed into the same regressive roles.advertisementIs it nostalgia or just recycled patriarchy? What we feared seems to have happened: another daily soap, this time one of the most hyped ones, continued to treat control, sacrifice and obedience as key virtues for women, shaping the same regressive cultural expectations of them.Funnily, a scene featuring a conversation between Tulsi and Savita's spirit sums up the problem - unintentionally, of course. Savita's ghost tells Tulsi that a father gives all his business, money and power to his son when he retires, but a mother gives the responsibility of the kitchen, household, relationships and her son to her daughter-in-law when she retires. And that, right there, is the legacy 'Kyunki' wants to proudly uphold. No questions asked. No roles reversed.Why can't the father-in-law hand over the business to the daughter-in-law? Why can't the son take charge of the kitchen and emotional baggage of the family? Why are the women still cooking while the men are "getting ready" for an evening gathering?advertisementReboot a classic, fine. But must we also reboot the misogyny?If the show really wanted to reboot something, maybe it should've started with its values. Oh, and please someone let Tulsi sit down for five minutes, maybe let the woman catch her breath for once!- EndsMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#Smriti Irani
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