Drama serial Ruswai took its much-awaited dreadful turn in last night’s episode when Sameera (played by Sana Javed) was kidnapped by unknown assailants a few days after her nikkah with Salman (played by Mikaal Zulfiqar). Her father (Mohammed Ahmed) had to make a tough choice as he left his daughter’s hand so as to save his daughter-in-law. Though the distressing situation was captured poignantly by director Rubina Ashraf, what ensued was a stereotypical tale of shame and disgrace to family honor.
Mohammed Ahmed portrayed a father’s misery very convincingly: it was a mix of despair, shock, disbelief, remorse and caution. What left us flabbergasted was this very caution. Firstly, he didn’t let his son Hamza (Osama Tahir) lodge an FIR, then he hesitated to give her name, declined to provide her picture for the procedure and then reasoned that the police will circulate it in the media which will dishonor their family name. All of it was an expected reaction from a man who was in agony, but did that justify his actions? Certainly not!
Read: Sana Javed’s latest serial ‘Ruswai’ paints a grim picture
 Sameera and her father
One may argue that he was not in his right mind, but why a doting father like him raised questions about honor and prestige when he had already assumed the worst i.e. the kidnappers must have killed Sameera. His emotional response wasn’t irrational, but his plan to hide the incident and let Sameera’s fate dwell in uncertainty was indeed implausible because even his wife (played by Seemi Raheel) insisted on finding their daughter.
After watching a supportive father like Rehan Sheikh’s character in Inkaar, who stood by his daughter (Yumna Zaidi) like a rock, this portrayal was a letdown. Sameera’s mother-in-law, Salma (Irsa Ghazal) has already made up her mind that she won’t accept Sameera as her daughter-in-law in case she returned alive. The promo of the next episode suggests that Salman will be kept in dark; hence with an ashamed father and apathetic in-laws, Sameera’s future paints a bleak picture.
