Saagar Kote
Netflix’s ‘Shaque: Trust No One’ is the story of Anvita, a mother who desperately hopes to find her daughter Apeksha, who was abducted soon after her birth in Shimla, India. 8 years into the kidnapping, Anvita remains driven to locate her daughter, despite being under immense mental pressure and grief. Anvita’s husband, Alok, and mother-in-law, Madhu, worry about her obsession. Anvita also has a daughter named Siddhi, who was born after Apeksha. With no one in her family supporting her, Anvita’s only hope to find Apeksha is Inspector Khurana, a local cop who is also driven to solve the case before it is too late.
Anvita goes through several ups and downs as she repeatedly questions those around her, whom she suspects of kidnapping Apeksha. With several suspects in front of her, Anvita finds it difficult to get to the truth, but refuses to let go of hope. A series of shocking revelations brings Anvita closer to the answers she has been looking for, even as she fights to separate reality from imagination. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Shaque: Trust No One Plot Synopsis
Anvita Dutt and Alok Dutt are a married couple who live in Shimla with Alok’s mother, Madhu. Immediately after Anvita gives birth to baby Apeksha, the infant girl is kidnapped from the hospital by a masked woman wearing a nurse’s attire. On Apeksha’s first birthday, despite the child not being with her, Anvita celebrates the day, hoping she will one day find Apeksha. During the celebration, Anvita gets a mysterious package with a photograph of a child’s feet, and she assumes that this is Apeksha’s picture. Similar packages with mysterious photos are sent to Anvita on every following birthday of Apeksha, eight years into the abduction. Despite the grief, Alok and Anvita become biological parents to Siddhi, two years after Apeksha’s disappearance.
Having desperately looked for Apeksha for eight years, Anvita grows increasingly depressed. Bhaskar and Shreya, a married couple, are Anvita and Alok’s closest friends and support them in moments of difficulty. Anvita and Alok cross paths with and befriend Sakshi and Gaurav, another married couple, who are parents to Rhea. Madhu secretly meets Baba, a performer of black magic, and thanks him for playing a spiritual role in Apeksha’s disappearance. Madhu also collects a narcotic powder from Baba and regularly mixes it with Anvita’s coffee, causing hallucinations. Anvita constantly looks for any clues about Apeksha and eventually starts to assume that Rhea is Apeksha and that Sakshi and Gaurav are the kidnappers.
The only one who believes in Anvita’s suspicions is Inspector Khurana, a local cop obsessed with solving Apeksha’s abduction case. Khurana works closely with his deputy, Baldev, who is also an honest cop. It is revealed that Shreya and Alok are having an affair and were also involved in a car accident a few years ago. Anvita keeps targeting Sakshi, hoping to learn the truth and find out if Rhea is indeed Apeksha. Anvita’s opinions are disregarded by Alok, who accuses her of being mentally unstable. Madhu also encourages the affair between Shreya and Alok, since she believes that Anvita is not right for the family and that Apeksha brings bad luck. Rhea and Siddhi, who attend the same school, become close friends without realizing there are tensions between their families. Khurana learns that he has an aggressive cancer and doesn’t have many days to live.
He hopes to solve the case before it is too late. It is revealed that Bhaskar, who is a doctor, is involved in an illegal surrogacy business and has been exploiting local women for the same. To hide his secret business, he orchestrates the deletion of the hospital’s CCTV footage from the night of Apeksha’s kidnapping. With several suspects emerging, the identity of the kidnapper still remains uncertain, even after Apeksha’s 9th birthday passes.
After closer investigation, Khurana finds a clue and questions Shreya, who leads him to Sakshi. While interrogating Sakshi, Khurana suddenly dies as a result of his untreated cancer. This leaves Anvita without anyone to help her solve the case and bring Apeksha back. Baldev takes over the case after Khurana’s death and stays committed to finding the answers. At Khurana’s funeral, Anvita and Sakshi get into a tussle, even as the case still remains unresolved.
Shaque: Trust No One Ending: Who Orchestrated Apeksha’s Abduction? Why?
Baby Apeksha’s abduction from Royal Shimla Hospital in November of 2016 is a police case that remains unresolved for 9 years. Apeksha’s shocking disappearance causes great grief to Anvita, who remains steadfast in her attempts to find her daughter’s whereabouts. Despite everyone around her believing that she is losing mental stability, Anvita obsessively pursues every possible lead. The situation takes a serious turn after Inspector Khurana’s death, just before he can solve the case for good. During Khurana’s funeral, Anvita sees Sakshi leaving and follows her. Sakshi tells Anvita that she will never let go of Rhea, no matter how much Anvita tries. She then fakes an injury and blames it on Anvita, bringing Baldev and other cops to the scene, along with Gaurav and Alok.
While Anvita is arrested for assault, Sakshi and Gaurav plan to permanently leave Shimla and fly to London in the next two days. With this, it almost seems like the truth about Rhea’s identity will never be known. But Shreya’s confession to Baldev and Anvita changes everything. Shreya heads to the police station and demands to speak to Anvita. Before this happens, Ashraf, the lab doctor, discloses that Rhea’s DNA matches Anvita’s, confirming that Rhea is Apeksha, Anvita’s long-lost biological daughter. Shreya reveals that she has been having an affair with Alok for a long time, much to Anvita’s dismay. Shreya also lets slip that she and Alok were involved in a road accident a few weeks before Apeksha was born. The road accident was caused by Alok’s careless driving, leading his car to collide with Sakshi’s car.
Alok and Shreya get down immediately and initially consider helping Sakshi, but then decide to leave the scene. They do this to avoid any questions from the cops, which would expose their secret affair. Helpless and 7 months pregnant, Sakshi starts bleeding, and the impact of the accident leaves her in excruciating pain. Gathering the last ounce of strength, she drives home, where her housekeeper, Lajwanti, attempts to help her. Despite Lajwanti’s best efforts, Sakshi loses her child. Gaurav is not around to witness all this, as he is in Jaisalmer for a work trip. Overwhelmed by the loss of her unborn baby, Sakshi spends the next few weeks recovering from her injuries, while also obsessing over the tragedy. She remembers the registration number of the car that caused the accident and asks Lajwanti to track down the owner.
But a few days later, Sakshi spots Alok’s car and notices a heavily pregnant Anvita with him. At this point, Sakshi plots revenge against Alok. Just before Anvita gives birth to Apeksha, Sakshi anonymously calls both Alok and Shreya separately, warning that she will expose their affair to their spouses. Sakshi also orders them to leave the hospital and go to the accident spot. With the two of them out of the hospital, Sakshi commands Lajwanti to disguise herself as a nurse and abduct baby Apeksha. Lajwanti does so successfully and hands over Apeksha to Sakshi, who then renames the child Rhea and spends the next 9 years pretending to be Apeksha’s mother. This abduction, orchestrated by Sakshi with Lajwanti’s help, is driven by an immense sense of grief and loss.
When Baldev and Anvita go to Sakshi’s house, they show the DNA results to Gaurav, who is taken aback. Realizing that the truth is out, Sakshi locks the door and heads with Apeksha to the roof, threatening to jump with the child. Anvita, Baldev, and Gaurav reach the roof, hoping to pacify Sakshi. Upon seeing Anvita, Sakshi reveals the whole truth about Apeksha. Anvita gets emotional hearing this and tries to calm Sakshi down. However, Sakshi jumps alone, leaving Apeksha on the roof. After 9 years of struggle, Anvita finally reunites with Apeksha in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
Will Sakshi Survive and Face Legal Consequences? Does Anvita Forgive Her?
Sakshi jumps from the roof and hits the ground with a sickening thud, causing massive bleeding and head trauma. While it initially looks like she is dead, she is later seen receiving treatment at the hospital. She has a heavy bandage and dressing covering her head and appears to be in a coma. Whether or not she survives is not answered clearly, leaving her fate undecided. If Sakshi does come out of her coma, it is highly likely that she will face legal consequences for her actions. Baldev is a responsible cop who will presumably hold Sakshi accountable for what she did to Apeksha and Anvita. While the cops see Sakshi as a criminal, Anvita has a different view.
In a monologue, Anvita says that she doesn’t perceive Sakshi as a heartless kidnapper who tortured her for 9 years. Anvita sees Sakshi as a mother who lost her child in an accident and allowed the grief to make her do terrible things. Before jumping off the roof, Sakshi reveals that she sent cryptic pictures of Apeksha to Anvita on every one of Apeksha’s birthdays for a specific reason. Sakshi, who lost her unborn child in the accident, wanted to prove that she can love Apeksha like her own.
She sent the pictures to Anvita to keep her hopeful and to convince her that her daughter is alive somewhere. Considering everything that Sakshi has been through, Anvita views her with empathy, despite the abduction. Both Anvita and Sakshi are mothers who face extraordinary losses, although they are on opposite sides of morality. Even if Sakshi does face prison for her crimes, it is likely that Anvita will not pursue any vendetta and will simply forgive Sakshi for what happened in the past.
Do Anvita and Alok Remain Together? What Happens to Shreya?
Alok cheats on Anvita for several years with Shreya, despite knowing that Shreya is Anvita’s best friend. Shreya is equally guilty, as she betrays both Bhaskar and Anvita. After she learns about the affair, Anvita is heartbroken, realizing how those closest to her have been lying for such a long time. While Shreya at least comes clean and confesses everything to Anvita, Alok remains secretive and doesn’t show any remorse for his actions.
Towards the end, after Anvita finds out the truth, Alok tries to have a conversation with her at the hospital, but she leaves. This strongly indicates that Anvita may not forgive Alok for betraying her trust and gaslighting her for many years after Apeksha’s disappearance. Anvita also refuses to pardon Shreya for ruining their friendship through her selfish actions. Ultimately, Anvita may choose to live according to her own terms and not be subjected to any more manipulation from Alok, Shreya, or anyone else.
Does Apeksha Stay With Anvita? What Does the Sun Tarot Card Signify?
Apeksha grows up believing that Sakshi is her mother and Gaurav is her father. Before Sakshi jumps off the roof, when asked if she wants to stay with Sakshi or Anvita, Apeksha says she wants to stay with Sakshi. However, after Sakshi is shifted to the hospital, Apeksha starts living with Anvita and Siddhi. Apeksha and Siddhi form a very close bond, even without knowing that they are sisters. Towards the end, Anvita sees both her daughters playing together in the park happily. It is conveyed that Apeksha will presumably come to terms with her reality and accept Anvita as her mother, despite the difficulties involved. Seeing her children play on the horse-themed merry-go-round, Anvita suddenly remembers the Sun Tarot Card that Khurana had given her.
Khurana says that the card is a symbol of hope and will help her find Apeksha. Interestingly, the card features a miniature painting, which shows a child riding a horse with the sun shining bright on her. Anvita cheerfully assumes that there is a spiritual connection between the painting on the card and the reality in front of her, where Apeksha is playing happily on a horse-shaped ride. Although tragic events keep Apeksha and Anvita away from each other for 9 years, fate brings them together and ensures that they are both happy.
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