By now we have established that Muqaddar is a tale of power, position and greed revolving around an influential landlord like Sardar Saif ur Rehman (Faysal Quraishi) and his obsession with a girl Raima (Madiha Imam). For Sardar, Raima’s abduction is a negligible offence and her engagement to Haris (Ali Ansari) is inconsequential. He ‘believes’ he won’t force her to marry him; he will just leave her with no other choice.
Sardar’s love and affection is as such that he will erase her past and force her to embrace a present and future with him. Raima is resolute and won’t budge; she calls a spade a spade and doesn’t shy away from showing mirror to Sardar Saif. However, when all else fails, he kidnaps Haris and his men beat him black and blue, giving him a clear message that he should not bother looking for Raima anymore.
The highlight of episode 7 is the conversation between Sardar Saif and Raima. The two actors have performed brilliantly, making the scene more impactful and hard-hitting. Though Raima is crying her heart out and she is scared out of her wits, she still gives Sardar a piece of her mind. She pushes him away and tells him that he would regret it all as she will never marry him. Later, despite Sardar’s supposedly ‘respectful’ mannerisms, she gives him a shut up call that he isn’t all what he projects himself to be. She shouts out loud that he isn’t a liberal and open-minded man, in fact he is a typical feudal lord. She points out that she is his daughter’s age but Sardar, like a narcissist, rubbishes all her complains, claiming that this wouldn’t have happened if her mamoo would have accepted his requests.
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We usually crtiticize that women in our plays don’t raise valid questions when needed or argue with male counterparts despite of having several justifiable reasons. In Muqaddar, we see that a woman has not only been kidnapped but forced to marry and yet she is not afraid to stand up for what’s right. Similarly, Sardar Saif is emotionally abusive to the extent of disgust — kudos to Faysal for playing it so convincingly — however, he is trying to win her over without physical abuse or slapping her (perhaps he has a twisted justification for the act of kidnapping). Heroines in other plays get slapped by their male or female counterparts for far less.
On the other hand, the story takes another turn when Saad (Haroon Shahid) and his friends find out that Raima and Haris have been abducted. Saad ends up approaching his MNA uncle Sardar Saif for help, who is now confused as to why Saad is searching for a girl he wants to marry. When Sardar brushes the situation, Saad gets curious and informs his chachi (Sardar’s wife) who confronts him, only to get belittled by him.
As expected Sardar threatens Haris’ life to change Raima’s decision, assuring her that neither he is joking nor lying and he will in fact kill Haris. It’s commendable how Sardar’s dialogues are reflective of his personality; they are some of the best bits in every episode. In next episode’s promo, we see that Raima may attempt to take her own life but later she is dressed as Saif’s bride where she reassures him that she will NEVER forget him.
So far Sardar Saif ur Rehman’s character seems beyond redemption, but Faysal has told us in an earlier interview that Muqaddar is in fact a love story. He has kidnapped Raima, tortured her cosin/fiance, threatened her family, belittled his first wife, forced Raima to marry her. Now, after so much emotional abuse, what will make Raima fall in love with him? This is a mystery that only time will tell!
Watch episode 7 here:
