Well if things seemed a little on the happy side there, that's what we like
to call "waiting for the other shoe to drop."
We
have an unlabeled flash-forward a few months to find ourselves at the airport.
We follow some strangers around for a bit until we notice Aditya moving among
them. We cut over to the entrance and find Anjali walking into the airport and
sounding somewhat snippy on her cell phone. She's telling Raja that he is not to
go to the hospital to see Aarti, since their folks are there and this is not the
time for an introduction. She orders him to stay away, and says that she needs to go
find her brother in law.
She begins asking people around her if the flight she's looking for has
landed. As it turns out, she's half an hour late. Instead of her finding Aditya,
he finds her first and gives her a start. Anjali seems nervous around him, and
aborts her hug attempt after it was already obvious, making the situation even
more awkward. She smiles and tells him (in English) that she thought she had
lost him, then she repeats herself in Hindi. He smiles at this and compliments
her on how her Hindi has improved, then suggests that they get a move on.
The
awkwardness continues, with Anjali nearly tripping on Aditya's luggage, and
insisting that they skip the flower shop and get to the hospital right away.
Aditya tells her not to worry - Aarti knows how to take care of herself, and
will be just fine if they make a stop for a gift. This cycle repeats itself a
few times, with Aditya making a few odd comments here and there about how well
behaved and well trained Aarti is, such as never speaking out of turn, and
knowing what to do at all times. After getting the flowers, they finally head
out to the hospital.
Upon arriving at the hospital Aditya continues doting on his wife, talking
about how she always handles herself in tense situations and takes care of all
her troubles. They walk down the hallway towards Aarti's room, and that's when
they notice something's amiss. Kabir and Nafisa are sitting out in the hallway,
and both of them look terrible. Nafisa has clearly been crying recently.
With
a dramatic pause to build some tension, Nafisa stands up and tells Aditya
through her tears that he is late. He is very, very late - Aarti did not survive
the delivery. Anjali refuses to believe it and rushes off to the room. Kabir
mutters to himself that his daughter is no more. She's left behind a pair of
twins, but he doesn't know how they're going to get along without their mother.
We fade over to Aarti's funeral. The whole family is there as well as many
other people, all kneeling together in prayer. Another figure enters from the
rear of the hall, and makes his way to the front to pay his respects. Anjali
looks up to see that it is in fact Raja, and he gives her a sorrowful look
before taking a seat a few rows behind the family. The sound of crying babies
reaches Anjali's ears from outside, and she goes out to take one of the twins.
Kabir follows her out, and watches from a short distance as Anjali tries to
comfort the children.
We cut back to the house, where Aditya is sitting outside on a bench with the
babies in a playpen nearby. Inside, the parents are having a chat with Anjali.
They tell her that it is time for her to decide, and that they will support her
no matter which path she chooses. They leave her alone to let her make up her
mind.
In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, I've not left out an
important sentence. They don't exactly spell out what this choice is she has
to make. Basically, Anjali is being asked to decide whether or not to step
in for Aarti. As in, completely take her place. She would have to marry
Aditya, move to India, and raise the kids. We'll see her choice in a moment.
Anjali looks at a portrait of her sister, and ponders for a moment. Her cell
phone rings, and she sees that it's Raja calling. "Ishq Mein To" starts to play
over scenes of Anjali struggling with her decision. During the course of the
song, we move on to scenes of the family in a courthouse, signing some forms.
Anjali has a completely blank look on her face the whole time, and eventually
they all file out. We then have shots of them boarding a plane for New Delhi,
and a quick look at the drive home from the airport.
