Made in Heaven Character Discussion Post: Ahil/Jim and Faiza/Kalki

Last character post! I have a lot to say about these two, because it feels like there are a lot of interpretations of them, and the series never really landed on one or the other.
(oh, and index of all my Made in Heaven reviews is here)

In the first episode, we are offered one view of the two of them. Ahil/Jim is the opaque perfect wealthy husband, Kalki/Faiza is the supportive divorced friend, and at the end we see Ahil go off to be with her instead of his wife. They seem like casually cruel cheaters. And then we are given a different idea, we learn Faiza comes from an abusive relationship, that Ahil and Tara/Sobhita took her in afterwards, and that Faiza is still super messed up from the whole experience, especially the way her father failed to support her. And we see Ahil casually and guiltlessly lie to Tara/Sobhita about what is happening.

New idea, Ahil is full of privilege and is taking advantage of Faiza’s messed up feelings towards men right now in order to be her savior, to have a little escape from his marriage. And that idea shifts slightly to a suggestion that it is all about Tara/Sobhita after all, Faiza loves her as a friend and that closeness is what drew her in to Ahil, some kind of confused closeness to them as a couple. Ahil is trying to hurt Tara, resents her perfection, and lashes out by having an affair with her best friend. Once Tara finds out about the affair, there is no more value to it for either of them, Faiza has lost her friendship and Ahil is no longer keeping an exciting secret from his wife.

But then Faiza loses everything else, in the aftermath she is thrown back into her nervous breakdown as (once again) her father fails to support her and she loses her friends. She responds by clinging to Ahil, and he can’t resist her desperate need. That is what drew him to Tara in the first place, that she was so sweet and needy and innocent and weak, just wanted to love him like the humble secretary she was instead of his cool and casual fellow rich person fiancee. Faiza needs him even more, gives him even more validation, makes him into her hero, and Ahil gets off on it, on having someone who needs him and makes him feel powerful while his business is in trouble and his sperm count is low.

Image result for made in heaven kalki

All of these interpretations set up Ahil as a user, a cheater, one who is willing to hurt both the woman he is cheating on and the woman he is cheating with in order to feel good about himself. And they set up Faiza as damaged, another “bride” who was destroyed, married off to the appropriate man who was supposed to guarantee her happiness, abused by him and then by her family after she returned home, left to feel she has no value at all because she is not a wife. Ahil is bad, Faiza is a confused victim.

But the last episode throws us a curve. We have already seen that Faiza was Ahil’s friend first, she is the first to welcome Tara and tell her she is glad Ahil’s engagement to another woman failed. We even saw Tara have a tinge of guilt when remembering how she talked to Faiza before her engagement and encouraged her to marry a man who would end up abusing her. But in this episode we get another flashback, one in which Ahil is starring at Faiza with her fiance, looking distressed. And that was when Tara struck and played on his emotions to get him to propose to her. With this interpretation, it’s not that Ahil is a permanent cheater, it is that he is permanently longing for Faiza (who he cannot easily have because she is Muslim). He married Tara with a broken heart because Faiza was engaged. He was casual about his first engagement because his heart was still being pulled towards Faiza. His marriage to Tara was only good so long as Faiza was unavailable, once she got divorced and back in their lives, Ahil had to be with her. Ahil is the victim, not Tara or Faiza. Tara blocked him from being with his true love, Faiza broke his heart, Ahil wants to be a good husband but has to come when Faiza calls.

I don’t know if I like this last idea. We will see if they stick with it, or if they go back to Ahil always wanting what he doesn’t have as the central driving force, and Faiza always needing male approval.

What do you think? Which version of these characters and their relationship do you like best?

9 thoughts on “Made in Heaven Character Discussion Post: Ahil/Jim and Faiza/Kalki

  1. I completely disagree with this view: “it’s not that Ahil is a permanent cheater, it is that he is permanently longing for Faiza (who he cannot easily have because she is Muslim). He married Tara with a broken heart because Faiza was engaged.” No. He is a permanent cheater. He didn’t have to get engaged right away; he’s a MAN. He could have waited. He didn’t want a waifish, artist who doesn’t really do anything as a WIFE. Not just the Muslim part would have made her unsuitable. She does not meet HIS criterion. He wants them both. And when a third younger one comes along, he’ll want her.

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    • The last episode really seemed to point towards the idea of Jim being broken hearted over Kalki and Sobhita taking advantage. However, the flashbacks have all along been representing what Sobhita or Arjun suddenly remembers as similar events occur, not just random. So maybe in this episode it is Sobhita remembering that moment and interpreting it in that way which leads to her guilt and her final decision that there is nothing to save in this marriage. But a later episode will reveal that this is just a fairy story Sobhita was telling herself, that Kalki and Jim “fit” together. I could see season 2 walking that back, making Sobhita see that Jim will always want what he doesn’t have, he was only interested in Kalki fleetingly, when she was engaged and seemingly moved on.

      On Wed, Mar 13, 2019 at 5:31 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  2. I hate Jim and Kalki. Both the characters and the performance. There’s a definite ‘acting’ feel to their performance-especially Kalki. He’s a cheater who gets turned on by crying woman. I liked the part where Jim advises her to start something bon her own and not be dependent on her parents.I dont know if he really meant that or it was just meant to get Kalki to kiss him. Either ways,they don’t get any sympathy from me. They both look down upon Tara and are selfish.

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    • Yes! I loved that scene, because it was such a blatant “Kalki, I am the only person in your life you can trust, all of your self-worth should flow down from me” moment. Plus, it gave you a glimpse of how Jim saw Sobhita’s business, as something he “gave” her so she could feel some independence. But he doesn’t want her to actually be independent, just independent of everyone besides him. All those subtle threats all along about wanting to check her profits and so on, it was just a way to remind her that she didn’t really have anything of her own, it was all just a gift from him.

      Here’s a thought for the ending. Darkest possible interpretation, Sobhita planned out the whole confrontation and her emotional burst that Kalki and Jim “fit” together, so that she can punish them by forcing them together forever and ever. Worst thing she could do, stick Jim with weepy emotional demanding Kalki who will never let him go, and stick Kalki with manipulative self-esteem ruining Jim.

      On Thu, Mar 14, 2019 at 5:02 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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  3. So basically the thesis of your final paragraph is that
    Jim = Prince Charles
    Sobita = Lady Di/Princess Di
    Kalki = Camilla Parker Bowles

    Obviously not an exact match, but the similarities are uncanny 🙂 Strong work!

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    • Or maybe it’s a modern greyer reboot of KKHH, focusing on Rani, Wicked style.

      Jim = SRK
      Sobita = Rani
      Kalki = Kajol

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      • Now, this one I had thought about! Rani’s line on how she started to think she had come between someone else’s love story fit exactly with Sobhita’s reaction in the finale episode, deciding she was in the way and in the wrong.

        On Sat, Mar 16, 2019 at 9:27 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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    • Hadn’t thought about it that way! But really, the only we we (the public) can forgive an affair is if a) the wife is horrible or b) the couple was in love and meant to be even before the marriage happened, so in a way the bride was the one in the wrong. Which is the spin Charles and Camilla gave (plus it seems to be true), so it makes sense for the scriptwriters to drag it out for this too.

      On Sat, Mar 16, 2019 at 1:14 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:

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