Ruhi Bhalla - Teenage vamp or Tortured kid?

These are some of the phrases that are being consistently used to define Ruhi in the forum (obviously, paraphrased). While I understand the dissonance this new Ruhi's actions are creating, I don't understand what entails such level of bashing towards her.

Before you start telling me how she's actually acting like a miniature Shagun (Yes, I have read that too in some post), let me take you through a story from another show. For people who are familiar with Grey's Anatomy, Holly Wheeler might ring a bell. For people who haven't watched the show ever, this link might be useful.

In that show, the story of patient Holly Wheeler was loosely based on real-life incidents. This girl was kidnapped by a man when she was 6 years old, was a captive for 12 years, was raped, beaten, even made pregnant and forced to abort. When she reaches the hospital, doctors find a lot of internal unhealed injuries. When her parents finally come to meet her, she cannot connect with them. It is because her reality for 12 years was the house in which was a prisoner, and her family, in the most twisted manner, was the man who kidnapped her. She does remember her childhood, but can't get over the fact that her parents couldn't find her all this time when she was in the same city. Neither can she share her experiences from that life with them, because it would horrify them, but she can't just let it all go either.

Now back to YHM, and our very own captive, Ruhi Bhalla. Why I brought this story up is to bring forth the predicament that Ruhi has gone through all these years, and probably, mentally, is still going through.

Strike 1 - An 8-yr old child, overhears her parents talking about giving her up for her baby sister. She knows they love her, and probably can't believe readily that they would exchange her. But a seed of doubt is implanted.

Strike 2 - Nobody explains anything to her. Neither her mother whom she adores to death, nor her father who is her most favorite person in the world. The parents assume they would be able to save their daughter, while the daughter still lives in doubt.

Strike 3 - Nobody comes to save her from the clutches of that vile woman. The mother is holding her sister, the father is nowhere to be seen. Doubt turns to shock.

Strike 4 - Nobody comes to grab her even when the evil woman puts her in the car and tries to drive away. Shock turns to disbelief.

7 years, away from her family, away from her parents, with a changed identity, living with a woman who not only uses her for name, fame and money, but does not forget reminding her every single time that her parents were ready to exchange her, and they did.

The time, which were supposed to be her formative years, when she was supposed to develop into a person of her own. Those 7 years, she spent posing as someone else, doing that one person's bidding whom she thought had kept her alive, even if she was brutal. Those 7 years, she tolerated all the whippings and lashings, mental, emotional and physical, because she thought she deserved it, because her parents didn't want her.

And now when she sees her parents, even if not together, and with their respective individual families (or similar), she's just bound to forget everything and hug them as if nothing happened? She's just bound to get over the disbelief that her parents were ready to exchange her, she's just bound to get over all the belt whippings she had to endure all these years, she's just bound to get over the childhood she spent all alone, with servants and a master, and no family, like a broken dog in the kernel?

People questioning her love for Ishita and Raman when she lets Ishita cry, when she lets Raman marry Shagun. For me, IshRa's Ru won when her tears automatically flew out on seeing her Ishima cry, when she got worried in an instant on finding that her Ishima didn't return for the night, when involuntarily she sent up a prayer to Mata Rani to save her parents in the hijacked plane, when she rushed Pihu (the sister she's supposed to hate) to the hospital and kept checking on her condition again and again.

Yes, there are times when she's acting revengeful. But she lost her entire childhood, away from her family, was BEATEN EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY. She's bound to be mentally unstable, and not in a retarded way, but in a way where she wants to punish everyone selfishly and yet cries on seeing them punished. SHE'S A KID WHO WAS TORTURED FOR 7 YEARS, she's not supposed to get over it just because Ishima is now feeding her curd-rice and Papa is requesting her to stay.

Her wounds run deep, and the scars won't fade easy. She needs time and unconditional love to come out of this trauma. And even though I'm sure our CVs are not humane enough to understand the sensitivity of the situation and portray it accordingly, I'm sure we all are. A little consideration towards a child who has suffered so much, so very much would be great.

I understand that the writing here has to take most of the blame, for lacking in depth and clarity, and that's what I meant by the last paragraph, that CVs have zero to negative sense of portraying the sensitivity that this plot entails. However, we, in our discussions, can pave way to a little more maturity.

The points about Ruhi on the starting of the post make sense for some people because of how the cv potrayed her

It's a very shoddy writing and execution on their part instead of making people identifying her as victim they have potrayed her like a vamp

I don't have any issues with her being angry with Ishra but I have issues with the spoiler floating around thar Nidhi would apply for custody and live with Ballas.

It is a mockery of the law as well as basic humanity giving custody to a kidnapper and a heartless person

For once I would like to see Nidhi punished several for her cruel act and not go Scott free

Her hate and anger towards her parents is justified . They did screw it up . She lost so much because of them. We don't know the nature of the abuse but what could have happened to her at that young age at the hands of her abductor is vile and disgusting.

Plotting comes natural to Ruhi. That is what was shown to us since ages. Little Ruhi sorting problems between her parents. little Ruhi running to a doctor asking him to make her mom pregnant.

Ruhi kept Ishita on a pedestal. For Ruhi her mom was God. Hence the maximum disappointment. She went against everyone , the young kid, for her Ishima. Somewhere she is justified about why the heck her God betrayed her.

But the show and makers have failed in the execution, hence the blame lies with them and not the viewers. It's not just her hate for Ishita( some section might have a problem with that) .

Premise- Ruhi-Ruhaan.

How the eff that even makes sense. How do you hide the identity of a Superstar. The person is performing , attending press conferences and yet never fails to turn on Nidhi.Shabby execution and plot there. Say if the kid is terrified of Nidhi then SHOW IT.

This kid manages to travel alone to India and yet cannot escape the person who abuses her. You see visually how pathetic that looks?

Abuse-

Very very sad. Yet they never build on it. You need to sell it for the visual . Ruhi's take on her abuse, her blame and her tears and disappointment at her parents. Her reactions to Nidhi. How does she switch on and off between normalcy. They just didn't know how to depict abuse and Stockholm syndrome.

Plotting

They did a blunder showing that Ruhi knew about Ishita's suicide attempt. She has seen her parents struggling and her own dad berating Ishita. Yet , there is no reaction to her about Ishita's suicide ..umm, hate yes, but thats a mis-step.Should have instead hid that info from her , giving another tangibility to her angst.

The kid will move to Ishita's flat to stop the wedding , fair enough. BUT MAKES NO SENSE WHEN SHE DOESN'T WANT TO ESCAPE HER CAPTOR. Dilutes her abuse to a greater deal.

Kid is confused. Makers are confused what they want to show, is it fair to say, even the viewers are confused what the shit Ruhi be doing?

And yeah acting- the girl playing her is doing typical Ekta vampy expressions , she is as confused as what she is to be delivering.

In the end, it's a visual medium and a story ,with so many gaping errors , how will anyone connect or feel.

If the audience cannot see the victim or blames her..you know the screenplay is to be blamed.

Grey's was a medical show, they had the luxury of keeping that as a singular plot for a short arc over few episodes . Different genre, different show and different execution. It did also falter but then thats a different story.

I can't imagine overcoming 7 YEARS of pain, hurt, anger and torture in a mere 7 days, or weeks, or months. And that's what I tried to highlight in the main post too.

As a kid she has gone through immense trauma, both emotional and physical, how does that get compensated? Anger and resentment is her only vent at the moment. She will heal, with enough amount of time. Such incidents leave such deep running fears and distress. There's a reason why Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a separate psychological issue. Even if she can see they're in pain, that doesn't take away her sufferings that she endured for all this time. IshRa, and the entire family, will need to heal her with unconditional love and concern.