RAKT AUR GULAAB

“Blood and Roses”

INTRO

“This is just how things are supposed to be”

This is such a common thing to hear in India. About love and marriage, about wealth and ambition, and especially about the role of women in society. 

And in small towns - isolated from the larger world, women so often are told to be secondary to the dreams and desires of their husbands, fathers, brothers - that they aren’t even capable of doing more. And that status quo remains… at least until something, or someone, comes along to rock everyone out of their comfort zone. 

This is a series about two women: DIVYA, a woman who has accepted her place in life - accepted that she’d always be repressed, abused, subservient, destined to live and die without leaving the town she was raised in. 

And JHANVI, an outsider who doesn’t accept that. A woman who is ready to do anything to get what she wants - wealth, love, power - in other words, AGENCY over her own life - in a world determined to stop her. But she’s realized she can’t break the system - she has to work within it, corrupt it from the inside, to get the life she dreams of. 

All it takes is a little casual murder. 

SYNOPSIS / LOGLINE

A young mother Divya in a wealthy isolated town in India is living in despair, trapped in a loveless marriage - until a mysterious woman Jhanvi comes to town and shows Divya she can live the life she wants… as long as she is willing to do whatever it takes to take power from those determined to keep her down. 

TONE AND THEME

We imagine this as a fun and thrilling six episode series - dark at times, but playing heavily into the soapy interplay of gossip, indiscretions and murder in this beautiful mountain town. We’re imagining the the audience both falling for Jhanvi even as she’s doing horrifying things in the vein of a show like “You”, feeling empathy for her willingness to do anything to change her life like “Gone Girl” or “White Tiger”, but really grounding it in the soapy dynamics of small town India like a South Asian specific “Desperate Housewives” or “Big Little Lies”. Every episode is full of twists and turns, and revelations both bloody and emotional, keeping audiences on the edge of their seat at every episode’s cliffhanger. 

As mentioned above, this series highlights in a fun, addictive package the way so many people, women especially, feel trapped - like they don’t have any way to change their life, like the system wants to keep them from having power and AGENCY in their lives. And even more importantly, the way society UNDERESTIMATES women - and how Jhanvi uses that to her advantage, uses that to get what she wants. Like Joe in “You”, Amy in “Gone Girl”, or Balram in “White Tiger”, we want audiences to both be deeply invested in our two women and rooting for them, while often horrified at their actions - and questioning for themselves, what would THEY do to change their fate? 

THE TOWN AND THE CURSE

Nestled deep in the mountains of northern India, Landour is an idyllic town. Beautiful villas separated by lush forests and foggy mists, a sleepy town where the main excitement is the gossip of who’s marrying who. A town where women are told to be happy with their place in life, and to keep hidden any longings, marital problems, even abuse, and accept that this is the way it is. But like all small towns, there’s so much more under the surface - affairs, jealousies, and secrets long hidden. 

The town is a mix of religions, some Hindu, some Christian, but mostly they focus on the day to day. Still - the Desai family that Jhanvi marries into has had its share of misfortunes. They may be one of the wealthiest families in town - but their kind son ADIT has had two failed marriages - the first died unexpectedly, while the second ran off with a man from Delhi during her engagement to Adit. 

This has led many to believe the family was cursed - stories are told of crimes committed generations before when their family built their fortune, and the spirits of those souls still lingering, punishing anyone who comes from the outside. 

CHARACTER AND CASTING

We see an opportunity here to cast two incredible powerhouse actresses in the leads of Divya and Jhanvi especially - two women fighting for a better life, complex and sophisticated as they grapple with their escalating situations. 

But the town also lends itself to such a rich array of characters, from the entitled wife SETHIA, our resident “mean girl” and wife to the police chief HARESH, to the powerful matriarch of the Desai family LAKSHMI, to the sultry SHEFALI married to a much older man, and many more. 

DIVYA

DIVYA grew up in Landour - she’s never really known any other world than this, a place she’s repeatedly told is so perfect why would anyone want to leave? She’s a bit of a wallflower, the person who says something in a group but people cut her off without even realizing it, and she doesn't try to speak up again.

When we first meet Divya, she is living in darkness - living an upper middle class life, she’s seemingly content with the life she has. She has friends in the community, her husband has a decent job, a healthy young son, and yet we see a deep sadness and despair within her. A sadness she may have felt till the day she died if not for the events of our series. 

So what if her husband is an alcoholic? So what if his temper flares up sometimes and he hits her and her son? Like so many wives, especially in India, she accepts the good with the bad, marriages are always a compromise. Nobody’s perfect. At least she has a husband who provides for her and a roof over her head. Love, dreams, are a luxury. She’s been told by everyone, by her mother, her relatives, her friends, she needs to accept her lot in life. They know what her husband MANU is doing to her, but still, they say she should consider herself lucky to have what she has.

When our show begins, she doesn’t realize that she doesn’t HAVE to live this life - that she could have so much more. Until…

JHANVI

…the arrival of JHANVI. New in town, Jhanvi has recently married a widowed man ADIT, a man well liked by the community, kind and sweet, a man grief-stricken and devastated by the death of his former wife. 

No one thought he would ever recover -- until he brings home from his travels a new wife, Jhanvi. When they first heard about her, the town started whispering, wondering about the family’s bad fortune and what woman would risk that. That is, until they MEET her - and discover she’s a charming, sweet and gorgeous woman. Not just that, but there is something captivating about her presence, she has that “it girl” quality to her. 

The townspeople secretly love her, and so will the audience. Jhanvi has the courage to stand up when others don’t, the first one to admit she made a mistake. Even as most of the women in town, including the police chief’s wife queen bee Sethia who everyone looks to, shuns her for being too perfect, too outspoken, others can’t help but be drawn to her, especially Divya. 

Jhanvi, for her part, just says she came here from humble beginnings, an orphan who managed to find a way to go to school and make something of herself, and is now looking for a place to settle and find a community to belong to. 

The truth of her backstory, however, is far, far different from what they believe. Her parents were servants, her father a driver, her mother worked as a servant in a wealthy household. Abused as a child by her father, she retreated into fantasy, wanting the lives of the people her mother worked for, lives where people worked for HER. From an early age Jhanvi saw that she couldn’t rely on anyone but herself to survive, and ran away from home when she was just a teenager. To Jhanvi, the world is a place where you use people for your own advantage, or they use you. And above all, trust no-one but yourself. 

She’s gone on to become a con-woman - finding towns and families that are isolated, that she can prey upon to get what she wants before moving on, always leaving each town believing anything but the truth about what happened - convinced that she was the victim. These details of her past will be slowly revealed over the course of the season, especially as Divya befriends Jhanvi and their friendship evolves. Jhanvi will start to realize that maybe she doesn’t have to be alone. 

JHANVI AND DIVYA

Divya’s friends never commented on her bruises, on the makeup and salves to cover up the occasional cuts - if anything, they made sure it stayed hidden. They pretended not to hear the shouting that came from her house. After all, she’s not the only one, men have always held power over the women in their lives. As long as they had food and a roof over their heads, as long as they lived nice lives in this amazing place, everything was ok. What alternative was there? 

But Jhanvi is like no one else - she’s not content just accepting her place. And Jhanvi doesn’t react like the other women in their community. She sees Divya’s bruises and becomes worried and angry, she doesn’t want Divya to get hurt. 

She offers her own salves and medicines, offers ways to “calm” her husband down when he gets angry, whether the right words or even the right pills in his drinks. She asks Divya for her opinion and shocks the rest of the women when she calls them out on ignoring Divya’s attempts to speak up. Jhanvi is kind and sincere with Divya like no one else has been, and for Divya’s part - Divya deeply admires Jhanvi. She's the kind of woman who turns heads. She's tall, classy, sultry and strong - no wonder she pulled her husband out of his grief. So her kindness and softness towards Divya is ever more validating for her, and results in her doting on Jhanvi. And makes Divya more worried for Jhanvi’s safety than anyone else, seeing some way she can actually have some control in making the world a better place. 

This is part of what causes Jhanvi to open up to Divya in a way she never had before, to be vulnerable and willing to slowly reveal more of her childhood to Divya, and what she’s really done in her past to survive. She finds someone who might actually be a partner in crime, so to speak. Not unlike “Thelma and Louise”, the push and pull of their dynamic, of both of them growing and learning who they are and who they want to be, will be the driver of our series. 

SEASON 1

Episode 1

The town of Landour, a beautiful hill station in Uttarakhand. Wealthy houses nestled among the mountainous forests, an isolated but idyllic community. We meet DIVYA, 30’s - she’s with a group of women at a WEDDING RECEPTION. Nearby, her 10 year old son VIKRAM is playing with the other kids. 

Divya’s chatting with SETHIA - queen bee, resident town “mean girl” and wife of the Police Chief HARESH, and a gaggle of other women, all discussing the impending arrival of the mysterious new bride from far away. This woman was engaged to marry the son of the wealthiest family in town, ADIT DESAI, 30’s, and they are discussing how big and lavish the wedding was, especially since this is his THIRD marriage. This new bride's name is JHANVI. 

Adit’s first wife ran off with another man, and his second died unexpectedly - he’d been grief stricken, and had found comfort unexpectedly when at school. The poor man’s Father ARUN was sweet like his son… but Adit’s Mother LAKSHMI was stern, frustrated that he’d chosen to marry someone outside the town, especially a girl with no family. 

The group of women whisper that the Desai family was CURSED - who in their right mind would marry him? Jhanvi must be desperate. Still, Divya wonders what might happen to her? Her thoughts are quickly cut off by JHANVI’S arrival. She finally makes her wedding entrance and she is STUNNING - beautiful, charming, nothing like they expected - Jhanvi wasn’t scared, quite the opposite, she looks around with the shyness of a bride, yet the disarming confidence of a wife. No one can take their eyes off her - Sethia gives her a cold look, already feeling herself upstaged, and tells the other women to be careful. She has the other women give Jhanvi the cold shoulder, lest they incur the same EVIL EYE that rested upon the Desai household. 

But Divya sees Jhanvi take it, sees her smile through the obvious shunning, the obvious uncertain looks, and admires her for it. We see Divya glance at her own husband MANU, subtly flirting with SHEFALI, the young wife to a much older man - but Divya does nothing, just bowing her head and accepting her fate. 

The next day, we reveal that Divya lives next to Jhanvi’s new household - she brings her a wedding gift. Jhanvi appreciates it, especially as none of the other women had approached her, and she couldn’t figure out why? Divya tells her about the curse - and about Sethia’s influence as well. But Jhanvi only laughs - she doesn’t believe in such things, that was silly. 

What Jhanvi does see are BRUISES on Divya’s arms - Jhanvi asks what happened but Divya quickly pulls down her sleeves, saying it was nothing, she had just bumped into a door frame. Jhanvi doesn’t push it, but brings her a salve - she tells Divya it helps with bruises in case the door frame ever “got angry” again. Divya is embarrassed, leaving her quickly. 

Divya tells her husband Manu how much she admires Jhanvi, her confidence, how she just didn’t accept what she was told. It’s clear Jhanvi is everything Divya wishes she was - but Manu tells Divya not to get any ideas, the menace in his voice clear, and says Jhanvi would learn her place soon enough. 

Several days pass, and Jhanvi continues to be an outsider - Divya the only one speaking to her, telling her the other women would come around soon enough. One day Divya takes Jhanvi into town, hoping to introduce her properly - but Sethia still refuses to even speak with her. She does call out to Divya, saying she should be careful spending time with Jhanvi - but Jhanvi bristles at this, coming to Divya’s defense, saying Divya could spend time with whoever she chooses and didn’t need to be told what to do!  

Their friendship grows - Jhanvi appreciates Divya for coming to her, and Divya appreciates Jhanvi for being such a breath of fresh air in this town. Still, it’s lonely in this big house. Adit travels frequently for work and when he is home, he’s always… tired. And her mother in law is overbearing and only speaks to her about kids and “doing her duty.” Divya understands and laments about how the townspeople tell her similar things. To be grateful for the life she’s been dealt.

One night Jhanvi comes to Divya - she’s distraught, worried - Adit still has not touched her, and she couldn’t figure out why? Her mother in law was insisting she drink a special PREGNANCY TEA - she couldn’t face it that night, and had left it on the counter. She’s tired of feeling like a failure. Divya understands, she’s heard Lakshmi berate Jhanvi about “being a good wife” and doing more for her son… Jhanvi only hopes she can find a way to be the wife Adit needed. 

BUT THEN - tragedy strikes, when Jhanvi’s father in law Arun is FOUND DEAD, seemingly of a heart attack. Still, we also see a strange symbol formed on his chest - the dirt around him in swirled patterns. And the same tea meant for Jhanvi spilt next to him. 

Episode 2

We open on Jhanvi with Divya - they are in the town market, speaking, but Jhanvi is terrified, rattled. She’s telling Divya, that was meant for me, wasn’t it? Was it the curse? Or was someone out to get me? 

We meet Sethia’s husband, the Police Chief HARESH - he’s investigating at the Desai house, trying to keep people from overreacting. Meanwhile, Sethia holds a kitty party at home with the ladies who are “shocked” and “scared.” The town is officially spooked - gossip flying, increased fear about the supposed curse and especially uncertainty about Jhanvi. Families cross the street to avoid her, and people whisper even more about who she was and where she came from? 

Adit is in shock - he’s signing papers to inherit the house, to the frustration of his mother, Lakshmi. Not only that, but Lakshmi is angry, convinced that marrying Jhanvi brought this down upon them. Jhanvi for her part is overwhelmed, trying to be there for Adit even as she faces down Lakshmi’s withering look and the knowing whispers of Sethia and the other women. 

The only one there for Jhanvi is DIVYA - Jhanvi confides in her that she grew up in an orphanage, grew up just hoping to meet a nice man one day and find her way to a better life, to a family, a real one. One that she’d never had before. She knew she was lucky a man like Adit had even taken a liking to her, and was determined to show him she didn’t cause his father’s death. If it wasn’t a curse - then maybe someone was out to get her? Maybe they had put something in the pregnancy drink? 

Divya tells Jhanvi she wishes she was as strong as her - as able to stand up for herself. Jhanvi softens - she tells Divya she had that strength too, she didn’t need to just take it. But she needed Divya’s help, to find who might have done this… she wondered, was her mother in law Lakshmi capable of such a thing?

Divya and Jhanvi investigate - they look for poisons that might have caused the death. Divya discretely watches Lakshmi, following her from the market. But rather than discovering anything about the murder, Divya sees Manu leaving the local bar but NOT heading back to their home - instead he goes in the opposite direction, and discreetly arrive at the home of the young wife Shefali whose older husband always fell asleep early - she lets him in the back, and in horror Divya sees Manu kiss her as she pulls him inside. 

That night, Manu comes home, drunk. He’s angry - he’s been seeing Divya spend time with Jhanvi, and says she was making their family look bad by even associating with that cursed woman. Divya says Jhanvi was the only one who even SAW her - Manu didn’t even look at her anymore… she looks at him, with a courage inspired by Jhanvi, and says how could he say SHE was making their family look bad when she knew about him and Shefali. She’s wondered - but now she KNEW. 

THEN - Manu grabs her arm so hard he sprains it. He gets close to her - and says that she was telling lies. But if she ever said these words outside this house, he would kill her. And she would deserve it. Then their young son comes in, crying, and Divya goes to him… 

AND WE SEE - watching this from outside, empathy for Divya and anger at Manu evident in her eyes - JHANVI. 

Episode 3

We open in Sethia and Haresh’s household. It had gotten colder, snow now falling outside. 

Sethia’s frustrated, saying it was CLEAR what had brought this on! That woman, Jhanvi - she should never have come here. Haresh clearly loves his wife, even as he sees her flaws, and tries to tell her to think rationally. He slyly says she was still the most beautiful woman in town, she didn’t need to feel threatened - we can see that they are actually a loving couple. 

Haresh says it makes more sense that was an accident or natural causes, Arun was an old man after all, rather than a curse or even some “killer”. But Sethia doesn’t want to hear it - she pushes Haresh, saying he needed to find out more about Jhanvi. 

Jhanvi meanwhile speaks with Divya - she tells Divya that she knows about the cheating Divya had discovered with her husband. Divya smiles sadly - the truth is, she’d known for a long time, now she just had confirmation. And it didn’t change anything anyway - in this place, you accept your place and you DON’T challenge the men. Jhanvi says she could leave him, not just for that, but also the ABUSE - but Divya says, and then what? Who would provide for us? I have a son, she couldn’t let him down. 

Jhanvi says she feels trapped as well - Adit still hadn’t touched her, and she had discovered his previous wife had not been able to get pregnant either, she’s guessing for the same reason. And she feels the logic points to Lakshmi - who else would feel each wife wasn’t good enough? Who else would cover up what was looking like an obvious truth about her son Adit? 

Divya says there was no evidence, they couldn’t go to the Police Chief Haresh as he would never believe them - when he literally arrives at their door, looking for Jhanvi! Haresh wanted to ask her some questions about the night Arun had died, just like Sethia had suggested. Jhanvi nods, of course - she’ll bring them some tea. So she goes to make it, then comes back and answers the questions as best she can. 

After Haresh leaves, Jhanvi’s scared. She tells Divya, first someone tried to kill her, now they were blaming her for it? Jhanvi says she needs to tell him, needs to at least try and convince him Lakshmi was behind this - Divya nods, agreeing, she had to try. What option did she have? 

The next day however, a shocking discovery. Haresh had never come home that night - and then his police car was found in a RAVINE! He had skidded off the icy roads, and been KILLED in the crash. Sethia is torn apart with grief, he was always careful, how could this have happened?!

Jhanvi is equally as shaken. Has the curse struck again? Divya makes her some chai to calm her down but that is when Divya makes another shocking discovery. In the back of Jhanvi’s kitchen - she finds kitchen shears, smeared with what looks like vegetable oil, but smells completely different. She then finds the same liquid outside, where Haresh’s car had been parked, and realizes in shock what it was. Brake Fluid!

Jhanvi had caused the death of Haresh! Which could only mean one thing - the true killer of Arun was JHANVI. 

Episode 4

Divya begins this episode quickly putting the kitchen shears back where she found them - and just in time, as Jhanvi comes in. Divya leaves before Jhanvi sees her, just barely not being caught. 

The town is reeling from the Sheriff’s death - both Haresh and Arun were beloved figures in the community, Sethia torn apart with grief as the ladies of the town come to comfort her as best they can. Divya is there as well, but Jhanvi keeps her distance. 

Later, Jhanvi tells Divya she didn’t want to hurt Sethia, she knew Sethia didn’t like her - but she hoped maybe an accident like this would show Sethia she had nothing to fear from Jhanvi. Divya says no such luck, Sethia is far from convinced it was an accident, and demands an examination of the crash site. Others in the town start to get involved, the town mayor, other business leaders and wives. 

Jhanvi also tells Divya she’s afraid Lakshmi would try again, could she stay at Divya’s that night? Now she was even wondering if Adit was somehow in on it! She pleads with Divya, genuinely telling her that Divya is like a SISTER to her. The family she never had… Divya falters at Jhanvi’s vulnerability but keeps her cool, going along with the lies, and tries desperately to figure out what to do. 

Then - Divya’s son Vikram gets sick, and needs to go to the local clinic. Their car is gone - and she angrily calls Shefali, demanding she send her husband Manu home, he may not care about her but at least he could come help their son! Shefali is taken aback - she didn’t know Divya knew, and had never known Divya to stand up for herself like this. 

At the clinic - Divya finally goes to Manu. He may hurt her, he may cheat on her, but he was her husband. She had to TRY. So in a last ditch effort, she tells Manu that she believes Jhanvi was behind all of it. The killing of Arun, the death of Haresh. That she might be some kind of sociopath, manipulating the town. 

But Manu just laughs at Divya - you can’t be serious? He says there’s no way a WOMAN could have done all of that, she’s not capable of either the planning or the violence of it. (nailing another key theme of our series, the way men underestimate women, especially in these communities). 

Divya bitterly says she thought he’d understand, since he had so much experience hurting innocent people. Manu hits her - HARD, enough to draw blood on her cheek and cause her eye to swell. He tells her he wouldn’t accept talk like that again. They hear a cry and Divya finds Vikram in tears staring in horror at his mom - seeing his father treat her that way.

We return to Divya’s home - we see Manu bring Vikram into the house, and put him to sleep. He goes back to the living room, pouring himself a drink when Jhanvi steps out of the shadows - and hits Manu HARD over the head with a skillet. Manu drops - out cold. 

THEN - Divya comes into the room. We expect to see her horrified - but instead she is calm, looking down at her husband, and we realize she was in on doing this to him as she turns to Jhavni and says “What now?”

Episode 5

We open on a flashback - Manu arriving home with Divya, taking Vikram out of the car and into the house. The poor kid’s cried himself to sleep. Divya drags behind - she’s bleeding from her cheek, her eye swelling. That’s when Jhanvi approaches her - her voice is soft, asking if she could help? But Divya had had enough lies - she had reached a breaking point. 

Divya tells Jhanvi that she knew everything “I know what you’ve done”. Divya knew Jhanvi had killed Arun, and Haresh. Knew that Jhanvi had been playing all of them. Jhanvi’s face goes cold - she comes clean, saying Divya was smarter than she let on - and she was right about all of it. Except for one thing… she DOES love Divya. She is her family. Her only family. But still - Jhanvi’s fingers twitch, her eyes laser focused, wondering if she may now have to kill Divya. 

But Divya looks at her, clear eyed, with a strength we’d never seen until now, and instead says “I need you to teach me”. 

We now return to NOW, just minutes later - and find Manu tied up in their basement. He starts shouting for someone to let him out, pleading - but no one can hear him, not through the stone and snow. Upstairs, Jhanvi speaks with Divya - she tells her her REAL story. But as Jhanvi starts speaking - outside, we see someone watching them! But who is it? 

Jhanvi tells Divya she didn’t grow up an orphan. Her parents had been servants in a wealthy household - she’d seen riches all her life, but her own life was dirt poor, a struggle - coupled with a father who abused her, physically and sexually. She ran away, determined to make something of her life, to change her fate whatever it took. 

So she started her new life as a con-woman. She’d find a rich family with a widowed son, play on their grief to make her way in. And do what she needed to, exploit superstitions or long held family feuds, kill whoever she had to, to inherit their money, place the blame on someone else, and leave without any suspicions. Divya is shocked - and this worked? Jhanvi tells her yes - because men always underestimate women, never believing she’d be capable of doing this. 

Meanwhile, in the present, we see Sethia visiting the same village. The village Adit took her from. Going market to market, door to door, she’s trying to find out more information about the mysterious Jhanvi but to no avail.

Even as Jhanvi tells Divya she did this because she REFUSED to just accept her lot in life - refused to accept that she had to be poor, abused, that she couldn’t have the life so many others just received without even thinking about it. And now she had found someone, a partner, a SISTER, who understood her pain.

Back in the other town, just as Sethia is losing all hope, a chai wala ushers her over. She reveals that she’s never heard of a Jhanvi, but her description matches someone eerily similar… but her name was Gina? Sethia shows the chai wala a photo. He nods… yes, that’s her.

But even as she’s telling Divya this, as we’re seeing flashback images of past Jhanvi’s describing, we see someone listening. See someone make their way to the basement. Is Sethia back?

Until we realize - it’s Adit! He finally put the pieces together and suspected Jhanvi, and now he had proof. He frees Manu - and the women watch in horror as the two men dash out into the snow! 

Episode 6

Jhanvi reveals to Divya that she has a gun - and they couldn’t let those men take away everything they had worked for. Divya hesitates for a moment, but nods, convinced, as they dash out into the snow as well. 

Divya is horrified - she could never have imagined when Jhanvi came to town that she’d be hunting down her husband in the icy forests. But it had come to that - and when they finally find them, Jhanvi shoots Manu in the leg and confronts Adit. 

Adit is pleading - he was a good person, he didn’t mean any harm. Jhanvi knows - she’s genuinely sorry, she knew he only married these women to please his mother. That he had no interest in them, but couldn’t reveal his true self. It was tragic, actually - she preferred killing those who deserved it, but like she told Divya - she’d do whatever she had to for the life she wanted. She’s already killed Adit’s previous wife, to clear the way for her - killing him wasn’t that different. 

And off Adit’s shocked and horrified look - Jhanvi KILLS Adit. 

Divya has watched this - listened to this, her face bruised, her cheek bleeding, her husband pleading, bloody, on the snowy ground. Jhanvi turns to Divya, asking if she wants Jhanvi to kill him? He truly did deserve it. 

But Divya says no - she can’t let Jhanvi shoot Manu. He doesn’t deserve it. For one moment, Manu looks relieved - but then, Divya says SHE has to do this herself. This is for her, for HER family. As she steps forward, picks up a rock and smashes him across the head. Blood from the crack in his skull pools onto the white snow, spattering a lone WHITE ROSE growing in the snow with blood, the life draining from Manu’s eyes.

Jhanvi looks at Divya - with shock, and, oddly - PRIDE. She has found her partner. She isn’t alone anymore. 

We CUT TO: the police station. The new Police Chief JAYENDRA is giving a statement to the town - alongside a grieving and horrified Jhanvi and Divya. He says it was now clear what had happened. They had found Lakshmi DEAD in her home - seemingly shot to death by her son Adit for refusing to accept who he really was. They found evidence, secret letters, emails, WhatsApps, detailing the friendship between Adit and Manu - how Manu had planned to help Adit inherit his parents money by helping murder them for a share of it, with the intention of running away with Shefali. 

But then Adit had tried to cheat him, resulting in the two men fighting and ultimately killing one another. The Police Chief’s brakes had indeed been cut - by MANU, because Haresh had been getting close to the truth. 

And these two poor women had been caught up in the whole sordid affair - it was a miracle they survived. Jhanvi and Divya receive so many prayers and blessings for making it through all of this. 

After all this - in private, Jhanvi and Divya can’t believe they actually got away with it. That everyone was fooled! It was incredible. They smile, holding hands - Jhanvi saying Divya had changed her fate. Had taken her power back. And she was proud of her. 

BUT - in the final moment of our season, we see someone watching them. Someone who, unlike the rest of the town, is decidedly NOT fooled by their story. 

SETHIA. She now knows the truth about Jhanvi but unfortunately doesn’t yet have enough proof. But she will… and she is determined to make them pay for her husband's death.

SEASON TWO

We have a lot of potential ideas for season two, but our initial thought is: Jhanvi and Divya have become like Thelma and Louise, bonded. They are con-women together now, and they travel to a NEW town (not unlike the way “You” changes its setting each season) pretending to be sisters, to marry into and then work together to inherit another family's wealth. 

But they didn’t count on two factors complicating their best laid plans. First, that Sethia has followed them to this town, determined to find just the right way to enact her revenge. And second - that just as Jhanvi had FINALLY found a partner, finally found someone just like her - the unthinkable happens. Divya falls in love with her mark, with the man she’s conning, and this threatens to ruin everything. Pitting the two women against each other once more in a complex game of cat and mouse, about both still fighting for the life they wanted against incredible odds against them. 

CONCLUSION

Above all, we want to create a fun, sexy, exciting, emotional show that is also a very real commentary on women and their place in Indian society. We want this to be the kind of show that is talked about in the same way “You” was when it broke out - that it was pushing boundaries, a show you were sometimes horrified by yet couldn’t look away, endlessly entertaining and made you desperate to watch the next episode.