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So, what exactly was Roshni before Neha's death happened and crashed her life? Her sister's little chuhiya, her chhotu, the bheegi billi of the family, the sheltered girl who had a sister she could look up to, the way she could look up to a parent... In short, Roshni Kataria was an ordinary, average girl.
"Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!"
Dumbledore said to Harry in Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.
Neha, the one person who stood up against the Paanch, killed herself. But she was not the sole victim in this case. What they really took away, what they really killed was a shelter. A family. A sister's love and protection. A daughter. In what they thought was fun and games, they took away the stability in Roshni's life. They may not really have pressed the final button. But in Roshni's eyes at least, they killed her from within, so much so that she lost the will to live.
And so, from the meek and ordinary little girl who was afraid of heights, she has now metamorphosed to a confident and almost dangerous girl who will stop at nothing and who will be stopped by nothing. She will give up on a normal life and will lie to her father. She won't even spare those who must suffer because of no fault of their own but simply because they are a hindrance to her plan. Shivani had to suffer because Roshni had to carry out what she intended to do.
What Roshni did to Shivani was terrible. Very honestly, I was stumped and shocked beyond belief when I saw that scene. I thought Roshni would have been smart enough to smuggle herself out of the situation. That she could stoop SO low, that she was even capable of doing something SO terrible, I could not have believed. But what came after that made sense.
Roshni scared herself as much she scared Shivani or the viewers. For the first time, she could see a dangerous side to herself. She could see how possessed she was. Somehow, this is doing more harm to her than good and I doubt that after she is done avenging her sister's death, she'll feel the peace she should feel. She won't. She knows Neha would not have been proud had she seen her little chuhiya become this person that she herself cannot recognize. This is going to cost her her soul because this has brought out a side to her that she never wanted to see.
I never really believed for a moment that Roshni would forgive Zara after that apology that was far from genuine. Maafi sach mein itni cheap nahi hoti hai. And unlike Zara's apology, Roshni's intent is very genuine. Not ethically correct or right but honest. She can see through the faade the Paanch can and will put up to protect themselves.
And thus, Roshni as a character may not be out-and-out positive because what she intends to do will require her to do things that are far from right. What she did with Shivani, for example. I suspect it's only just the beginning. But it makes Roshni a very compelling character.
Kudos to her. And kudos to the writers for, so far doing justice to a character that seems to me more complex and more grey than any other character in the show. And kudos to Sheetal Singh for giving her best to Roshni.
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
Seher Hone Ko Hai
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