Akhtar Begum, a bitter woman, is Asmara’s grandparents’ neighbor and friend. In Dil Dosti Dilemma, Suhasini Mulay plays Akhtar Begum.
When Asmara comes to live with her grandparents, she meets Akhtar Begum, their long-time neighbor.
Mistaking Akhtar Begum for house help, Asmara inadvertently offends her, giving Akhtar Begum the opportunity to criticize Asmara’s upbringing.
Akhtar Begum has faced many tragedies in her life, which have made her bitter and prone to criticizing and badmouthing others.
Akhtar Begum’s heartbreaks
When Akhtar Begum was young, her fiancé left her and married a woman named Ishrat, which resulted in Akhtar Begum despising Ishrat.
Even years after the incident, Akhtar Begum still believes that she was betrayed not only by her fiancé but also by Ishrat, and she refuses to forgive Ishrat.
Akhtar Begum does not allow her family and friends to form any kind of relationship with Ishrat’s family, as she still remembers the humiliation she felt because of her.
Later in life, Akhtar Begum’s eldest son, Nasir, left the country. Nasir was in love with Asmara’s mother, Arshiya.
However, Arshiya did not reciprocate his feelings and married another man she loved, which broke Nasir’s heart and led him to leave the country.
Akhtar Begum blames Arshiya for Nasir leaving, believing that Arshiya led him on and then left him for a wealthy man.
Akhtar Begum often speaks ill of Arshiya, and her dislike of Arshiya becomes evident in her treatment of Asmara. Despite this behavior, no one ever stands up to Akhtar Begum due to her age.
Akhtar Begum is also extremely strict and rude to her own granddaughter, never allowing her any freedom. However, even her own family does nothing to change her behavior.
Akhtar Begum is challenged for the first time
Akhtar Begum does not fail to notice that her grandson, Farzaan, is falling in love with Asmara, whom Akhtar Begum does not like.
Fearing that Asmara will break Farzaan’s heart just as Arshiya broke Nasir’s, she disapproves of their relationship.
Furthermore, Asmara not only intends to befriend Ishrat’s granddaughter but also tries to mend relations between Akhtar Begum and Ishrat’s families.
Asmara’s attempts to end the feud between the two families result in Akhtar Begum arranging Rukhsana’s marriage without consulting her.
This leads to an argument between Asmara and Akhtar Begum, where Asmara no longer bothers to be respectful.
Fed up with Akhtar Begum’s insults toward her mother, Asmara confronts her with the truth that no one dares to speak of: Asmara tells Akhtar Begum that her mother never loved her son.
Asmara confronting Akhtar Begum inspires Rukhsana’s mother to defend her daughter the next time Akhtar Begum mistreats her.
Asmara also points out to her grandmother that not standing up to someone when they are wrong just because they are older is not the right thing to do.
Asmara’s grandmother then respectfully makes it clear to Akhtar Begum that she will no longer tolerate insults toward her daughter and granddaughter.
However, Asmara later apologizes to Akhtar Begum for her disrespectful behavior and manages to impress her during the Dil Deke Dekho concert, which is an achievement in itself.