“It’s true that sometimes it’s a woman who breaks your marriage”: Rukhsar Rehman hints at facing infidelity in her second marriage with Faruk Kabir

Rashita Sahni

Actress Rukhsar Rehman, known for her work in films and television, has lived through two failed marriages - experiences that have shaped her outlook on life, love, and resilience. In an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal, the actress opened up about how she navigated heartbreak, the social judgment women face and why she refuses to let bitterness define her.

Reflecting on her first divorce from Asad Ahmed, Rukhsar credited her faith and patience for helping her move forward. “I think my belief in the Almighty, in destiny, and my patience helped me. Sometimes I do lose it, but I had just surrendered. I’m not the kind of person who would say, ‘I want to fight it’ in the aggressive sense. My concept of fighting is different — to be brave enough to sit back. Sitting back doesn’t mean giving up on life; it means taking the back foot and playing from there. When your time is not right, you shouldn’t push yourself to the forefront, because if one thing doesn’t work, the other won’t either. If your personal life is bad, it can ruin your professional life, friends, and family.”

Hinting at betrayal as a factor in her second divorce from filmmaker Faruk Kabir, Rukhsar admitted, “It’s true that sometimes it’s a woman who breaks your marriage. A woman is filled with emotions and she’s capable of a lot of things. Even men should not use us or give us love and hope just because they want to have sex with us. Don’t make a fool out of a woman.”

During her first divorce, major source of strength for her was her grandmother. The actress said, “I had one woman in my life who was a very positive influence in every way, and that was my dadi. She was the strongest woman I have ever seen. Whenever I was overthinking, I would go to her. She would just say, ‘Leave it.’ The way she said it, and the way I understood it because of the time I spent with her, would instantly lift a lot of my baggage.”

Rukhsar also spoke about the way society tends to place the burden of saving a marriage on women. “It’s always natural to judge women more. I know why it happens but I would not like to say it out loud on camera. The judgements have decreased but we still don’t know what women are going through in the interiors. In metro cities, you can still take a stand or post on the internet, but in small towns, nobody knows what’s going on. It’s not all beautiful — I keep hearing strange stories from women where they try to normalise whatever bad is happening to them.”