When it comes to humiliating and degrading the new dulhan, Salman’s mom has her own agenda. On the wedding night, she literally drugs her son so that instead of spending time with Sameera, he falls asleep.
The morning after the wedding, he forgets to give Sameera her moun dekhai . Then he doesn’t accompany her to see her family for the first post-wedding ceremony.
He’s constantly on his phone and, one day, he locks bedroom door to take the world’s longest nap, leaving Sameera awkwardly locked outside.
Things get really bad when Sameera is called into work at the hospital. Salman does a total about-face and demands she switch to the housewife life. When Sameera ignores his demands and goes into work to deal with an emergency, he calls her at the hospital screaming and telling her she’s not welcome back home. And, later, when her parents try to intervene and fix the situation, he freaks out on them as well and storms off leaving Sameera at her parents place.
When it comes to humiliating and degrading the new dulhan , Salman’s mom has her own agenda. On the wedding night, she literally drugs her son so that instead of spending time with Sameera, he falls asleep. Another time, Sameera overhears her saas call her a “gandi larki ” because of what she’s been through.
Meanwhile, Sameera’s brother Hamza and his new wife (who also happens to be Salman’s younger sister) are in newlywed la-la-land. But despite being happily married, Hamza is keeping tabs on the way Sameera is being treated by her Salman and her saas .
While it’s frustrating to watch a strong and educated girl like Sameera lose her strength and sense of self, I also understand what Sameera means when she tells her colleague that not all of us can be Mukhtar Mai.
We already know Hamza is one of, like, two people on the planet ready to support Sameera should she decided to pursue a criminal case against her rapists. Now, thankfully, we know that he’s also not going to stand around idly while Salman and his mom walk all over his sister. Basically, Hamza is not scared to shake up the status quo just for the sake of keeping the peace, which at this point makes him the best and most sane part of the show.
I’m seeing a lot of folks on social media irritated with Sameera for marrying Salman and for staying silent while everyone in her life tries to prevent her from publicising her story for their own selfish reasons. Her parents don’t want her to become a burden on them, so they push her into getting married, while Salman doesn’t want anyone to know his wife was raped.
To these frustrated folks, I say that we can’t take issue with Sameera’s decision to stay with Salman for two reasons.
First, Sameera was already married (i.e. nikaah -fied) to Salman before she was raped.
Second, she agreed to keep the relationship intact for a really straightforward, simple reason: love. She has loved Salman and he has loved her back since forever. Yes, the gang rape has fundamentally altered every fibre of her being, but wouldn’t we all cling to the comforts of love at such a time? I just can’t blame her for choosing to stay with Salman.
Also, I agree with the general consensus on social media that both Salman and Sameera’s parents seriously suck because of how reluctant they are in letting Sameera pursue justice.
Which is exactly what makes it a frustrating but powerful watch. Also, the acting...oh, the acting.
"When my Inbox is filled with enthusiastic messages, that’s when I know that the drama is an all-out success,” she says.