From the first episode this has all the hall marks of good thriller. A fast paced narrative revealed in the sun-bleached shades of a cold reality that makes you shiver even in the blinding Karachi heat. The episode opens with Ramin and her parents travelling from Pindi to Karachi for her wedding. Ramin is young, naïve for her age, buying more chooriyan at every stop and already emotionally involved with her fiancé Azhar. Ramin’s wealthy sister Manal and her husband Onair are hosting the wedding partly because Azhar is Onair’s cousin and mostly because Numair is superficially the perfect, supportive husband and generous son in law.

The scene where Numair fails to recognize Ramin at the train station was fascinating. Sajal Ali is a fantastic actress and manages to imbue even the flimsiest character she is given with depth and here she has been given what could be a very powerful role. I am expecting great things of her but the scene stealer had to be Jibran Syed who gave an unsettling impression of enthralled menace that set my teeth on edge. At first his gaze was innocent, who wouldn’t glance a pretty girl smiling as she passed by? But the interaction is longer than it should be, darker than it seems.

Again another fascinating scene is the engagement itself; I loved how the noise of the celebration barely covered the secret currents running through the various characters. Ramin and Azhar are sitting twenty feet apart but obsessively texting, plotting a quick meeting which is foiled by Numair. Numair plays the protective brother but he touches too much and stands too close for Ramin’s comfort. In the next few scenes we learn that Numair is a monster, a predator for whom rape is not a new game and he is planning on making Ramin his next victim.  What is most shocking is the image he has managed to maintain in front of his wife and family. Onair knows how to play everyone and manages to manipulate events enough to take Ramin to a vacant apartment he has built before a trip to the beauty parlour.

It is not hard to imagine what might happen next and it will be interesting to see if Ramin’s character is raped whether she will do the traditional thing by hiding and covering for her abuser or whether she will accuse him as she should. Her fiancé Azhar is like a lot of traditional young men ;a puritan , who declares he has never come close to a girl because he wanted someone untouched , meant only for him. Azhar dresses like some eighties Bollywood left over: tight, acid wash jeans and a quaff that Anil Kapoor may want back at some point but talks like the molvie next door.  Feroz Khan seems like a good actor, his dialogue delivery, expressions and most of all screen presence is great but his contradictory appearance is distracting. Perhaps I am being unfair though, now I think about it there is a lot of ‘big ‘ hair in this drama of Jibran Syed’s quaff alone  looks like it could move mountains .

That this was a fascinating first episode should come as no surprise; Yasir Nawaz is a highly talented director and Samira Fazal is unquestionably one of our best writers but whether this fascination lasts is the real question.  This is a difficult but important subject. Not all women are raped by a random stranger, in some ways it is even worse when a trusted family member commits this heinous crime. The blame, the responsibility and the burden of proof almost always ends up on the victim’s shoulders because nobody wants to upset the family balance. Rape and sexual assault are very much in the news and I hope that this gives some much needed perspective to people.   At the same time I hope that they use a nuanced and balanced approach because on screen the victim and perpetrator are easily recognizable but in real life the lines can be blurred. There have been many famous cases where a woman has played victim to ruin a Man. I hope the Chup Raho team takes this opportunity seriously and shows us that a victim is not condemned to be a victim forever that even if though a person may not be able change the past they can overcome it and move on to a good life.

written by Sadaf