S̳h̳a̳k̳h̳i̳-̳l̳a̳c̳i̳o̳u̳s̳

EPISODE 10: "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"

After finding out Shaurya's real name and what her mother did to his family, Anokhi breaks down in tears as she confirms that he's Karan. She cries over and over, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry..." Shaurya crouches down and holds her hand, and gently tells her that it's okay. He narrates that she cried like that for over an hour, and they just kept repeating the exact same words to each other: "I'm sorry," and "It's okay." After a long while, he wipes away her tears, and she stands up with determination. She asks for his story and promises to listen to all of it. Shaurya narrates that he told her his whole life story, and she listened-sometimes with tears, at other moments fired up with anger. It's nighttime when he's done telling her about his past, and she sniffles back a few more tears as she guesses that he must've hated her quite a lot throughout the tears. He says matter-of-factly that he did, and she starts to cry again in earnest, as she guesses that he doesn't even want to look at her anymore, and she'll just go ahead and disappear. He practically rolls his eyes and sighs like she's being a melodramatic teenager, which is maybe the best reaction to noble idiocy ever. He tells her to stop crying because she's ugliest when she cries, and complains that she's been bawling for hours and he's going to freeze to death trying to comfort her, pfft. He tells to stop blubbering so they can go inside already, and says definitively that when he was Karan, he did hate Anokhi and her mother. He always intended to leave when Grandpa got better, but that's not the case anymore: "I'm Shaurya now, and I have no intention of throwing that name away." That reassures her, and her tears finally stop. She starts in on one last question, but stops herself, though the hiccups just give her away when she tries to deny that she's curious about something. She asks why he's keeping his identity a secret from Yash, and Shaurya asks if she can keep a secret. She immediately says not to tell her then, because she can't keep secrets and he knows it. It's adorable that she's sorry he can't share the burden with her. They head back down, and Anokhi starts to leave for the station, knowing that if she goes home like this, Dad and Grandpa will just grill her with questions and she'll end up spilling everything about them and Mom and Shaurya's past. But Shaurya insists she eat dinner at home, and says he'll make it so that they don't ask her anything. So Anokhi comes inside five minutes later and joins the family at the table. And just as Shaurya promised, Dad tells her gruffly to eat and says he won't ask her a single thing. Grandpa shows off his brand new high-def TV, and Shaurya wonders where he got the money, realizing halfway through his sentence that he got it where he always gets it-Shaurya's piggies. He runs to his room in a panic and all we hear are his cries from the next room. On their way back out to the station, Anokhi asks what Shaurya said to keep Dad and Grandpa from asking her anything, and he says it's not a big deal-he simply told them she was on her period and super irritable, and would bite their heads off if they asked her stuff. HA.

Okay, I see now why dating your not-an-uncle is a bad idea.

She's pissed, but he points out that they got to eat in peace, and she agrees begrudgingly that it was a good tactic. I love that their tone is still argumentative as he sticks out his hand for her to hold as they walk away. But uh-oh, Dad comes out just behind them to take the trash out, and sees them walk off holding hands and smiling starry-eyed at each other. And then he gets extra worked up when he sees Shaurya sneak their hands into his jacket pocket. Notably though, he seems peeved at the behavior, not shocked at the show of feelings. The minute Shaurya walks into Shubh Savera, Shaan stops and asks for the tie pin recorder. Shaurya says a little too urgently that he'll return it himself, even blocking Shaan's hand as he reaches to unclip it. That just makes Shaan more determined, and he yanks the tie pin off. Crap. Over at Jagruk Nation, Anokhi can't hide her disillusionment and refuses to get into an elevator with Mom. And in the background, Yash is there again, still stalking her every move. Mom turns to her cameraman to ask what he said to her earlier that day, and he spills the beans about telling Anokhi what happened thirteen years ago, in an effort to warn her about how dangerous Yash is to her mother. But Mom is just angry that he told her anything, and refuses to listen to his fears about Karan. Shaan listens to the tie pin recording, and says that it's not evidence that Yash killed the plant manager, but it's motive, and enough to get the police to start an investigation. Shaurya panics and blocks the door, and Shaan notes that he seems to have made his choice already. Shaurya asks why they can't bury it-the world thinks Yash is a hero, so why can't they just leave that alone? Shaan surprises him by handing over the tie pin, but says that it's not because Shaurya is right. He's giving him some time to figure out that the truth will always come out in some form: "And watching that with open eyes, whether pretty or ugly, is a reporter's job."
He's a good boss.
At home, Dad is lost in thought as he remembers Little Shaurya vehemently refusing to search for his parents. And in that conversation he had with Shaurya about his feelings for Anokhi, Dad had asked one more time about his past, saying that he's not nervous about Shaurya because of his lack of money or education, but because he doesn't know about the family he came from. But again Shaurya had refused to talk about it. He sighs now, wondering what to do. He asks Grandpa what should be done if a family member keeps secrets and won't talk, and suddenly Grandpa takes a 50,000-rupees bill out of his pocket and fesses up to taking it. HA.
At this point, it's really everyone else's fault for leaving their money lying around so temptingly for Sticky Fingers Gramps. In the morning, Shaurya finds Shagun with her stethoscope on Anmol's door, and they listen in as Anmol presents his case to his boss. He says he's connected the dots between Yash, the missing plant manager, and Firefighter Dad, and suggests that Yash could've kidnapped the manager, or worse. That makes Shaurya gulp, but for now, Anmol's boss says it's a flimsy reason to start a dangerous investigation into a hero of the people. This could end in nothing but embarrassment for their precinct, so Anmol is warned to leave it alone until he's got something more definitive. Shagun asks Shaurya why Cap gave him Karan's phone number the other day, and Shaurya glosses over it, saying it's nothing. She hilariously chooses to pry it out of him with her feminine wiles, and offers to eat a meal with him if he talks, and when he turns her down, she upgrades to a selca. He turns her down again and she scoffs, thinking that he's trying to play her hot and cold. Shaurya takes a moment alone, as Anmol's suspicions, Shagun's questions, and Cap's warnings swirl in his head. Anokhi and Ahir spend the day manning the tip line at the station, and after taking a million prank calls, Ahir declares that the dirty precinct is better than this. When Mom comes by, Ahir reports that they have nothing except a bunch of pranksters and callers asking for apologies, and Anokhi says she ignored the requests for an apology thirteen years ago too. Mom points out that she did apologize, and repeats the line she said in her broadcast after Yash became a hero. Anokhi asks bitterly how a person could apologize with so little sincerity, and says that Karan's anger is understandable. Mom grits her teeth and asks defensively, "What did I do that was so wrong?"