“Bare dilse sab banaya tha, sab barbad hogaya”: ‘Biya’s Kitchen’ closure in Zanjeerain envisions the toll of stalking on women’s lives

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Niche

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As Rabbiya (Sajal Aly) and Mudassir (Ameer Gillani) move towards matrimony, her dreams shatter in the background as her street restaurant venture comes to an end. With snacks and tea, Rabbiya had built that eatery with a vision of growing it into a fine-dining experience. With a culinary degree in hand, she would serve the locals delicious food. Where Torsam’s (Usman Javed) threats hand her over to a caring man like Mudassir, the happiness has its shortcomings—the shutdown of her dream and a marriage depending on trust and communication.

Rabbiya’s honesty with Mudassir about the reason behind the swift wedding ensures a grip on their relationship, yet it comes with the burden of a woman broken by harassment with no hope to pursue her dreams in the future. Though she is promised a happy life ahead, what she has built over the years comes to an end, leaving only tears in her eyes. With a vow to never forgive Torsam, Rabbiya packs up for a new life with Mudassir, leaving her ambitions and aspirations behind.

The sequence where Biya’s Kitchen is being shut down illustrates how deeply harassment and stalking affect livelihoods. The business that Rabbiya started to help her uncle is not only shut down but also tears apart her family and their hope for a better future. She loses her business, her dreams are shattered, and the wedding’s happiness is overshadowed by constant fear.

Netizens resonate with Rabbiya as she breaks down before her family, as the reality of harassment is depicted with nuance. The reality of many women is put into a quiet scene of a strong woman ripped away from her freedom; resonating with how a man’s inability to take no led to her losing her entire life, a netizen posted on X:

Calling it an unfortunate reality of women in this society, another said:

One shared admiration for the rightful depiction in the scene, and posted:

With hope that Rabbiya will find a chance to redeem herself, and posted:

Another said:

One added: