The best episode of the season wasn’t what we expected. It was way, way, better. Episode 24 of Case No. 9 signals that the tide has finally changed in favour of Sehar (Saba Qamar) and it seems unlikely that Kamran (Faysal Quraishi) will get out of this one.
We expected Rohit (Junaid Khan) to do the right thing from the very beginning because we saw how he reacted when he found Sehar at Kamran’s house. But his journey to the truth has also been fascinating. Torn between his best friend and his wife Manisha (Navin Waqar) who is on Sehar’s side, Rohit found it all difficult to understand since the beginning – but also not difficult.
The most beautiful character of this series can arguably be Rohit, played so wonderfully by Junaid Khan. We know from the very beginning that Rohit can save the day, but we also understand – and also don’t understand – how torn he is between saving his best friend, who saved him from a mob, and doing the right thing.
It is so difficult for him that he does the wrong thing in episode 23 and goes to Sehar on Kamran’s behest, asking her to take a blank cheque and make this all seem like its a bad dream. So while he is torn between doing the right thing, he also knows the price he has to pay for it – his friendship and his business, both are on the line and those two are very important to him – as they would be to us all.
We dont know why Rohit decides to do the right thing – is it because of Sehar refusing the money for justice, or Sehar’s mother urging Rohit to look within and decide or Manisha leaving him that makes him realise that he might be giving up more than he had bargained for?
But we do know how very hard it was for him and really admire the way he so cleanly, cut throat, directly, says the truth – almost without emotion – just facts. Hiding how he feels on the inside and how he has literally broken the two things he always wanted to protect -his friend and his business.
We do know, from the teaser of Episode 25, that Kamran and his lawyer won’t let Rohit go so easily. They are prepared and will attack him to the fullest and it remains to be seen how Rohit handles it. But again, the way this episode showed, in great suspense, how Rohit told the truth was masterful. Because we knew he would – but we also didn’t. And what a big sigh of relief it was.
Although the episode was all about Rohit, Inspector Shafiq’s downfall is also worth mentioning. The acting, oh, the acting. Gohar Rasheed is a master as the manipulative police officer and when he’s caught lying by his boss, he still doesn’t let up. Shafiq was by far, one of the most well thought out characters and so important as well given the role of the police in crimes. Shafiq is also brought down by Rohit who ruins the man in one clean swoop and Shafiq didn’t see it coming.
The judge that seemed iffy in the beginning as someone who might be leaning towards Kamran also shows that taking the law lightly doesn’t go down well. Great acting and the way he asks questions that really make you feel that the law is stronger than we think it is – when we at one time thought the judge was not as interested in knowing the truth, taking Kamran’s side, it has been made clear that he’s listening and judging.
The drama has uptil now, really instilled hope in the audience that the laws are real, the court is real and perhaps if a rape survivior stands up for the truth, her truth can also be real. And it’s all uphill from here. Right?