'Heartbreaking' true story behind number one Netflix show is even more tragic than what's shown in series
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
When it comes to a film or show with the moniker ‘based on a true story’, the assumption is that it’s always played up for the screen.
Whether it be adding conflict between people who got on just fine, inventing new people who didn’t exist to add to the plot, or even just condensing events down to fit a short format – usually fiction is more out there than the facts.
That is not the case for a new show added to Netflix that shot straight to number one on the streamer’s charts after it was added.
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First airing on ITV in 2020, Honour was just recently added to Netflix – and fans are obsessed already with the tragic story.
Based on the true story of the honour killing of Banaz Mahmod, the show has 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and has been described by fans as ‘frightening’ and ‘heart-breaking’.
Honour focuses on the real investigation into her murder carried about by former Scotland Yard detective DCI Caroline Goode.
Her investigation doggedly pursued the two men who killed Banaz, and also uncovered police failings – as she had contacted the police multiple times prior to her death, warning them she believed she would be killed, even going so far as to name them.
While the show is mostly faithful to the true story, with a few details and names changed, there is one aspect that the show did not have time to cover.
Banaz was killed on the orders of her father and uncle, after it was discovered she was going to be leaving her arranged marriage in order to be with another man.
She was spotted kissing that man, called Rahmat Sulemani, in public.
This led her family members to order her killing, where she was raped, murdered, and her body dumped in a suitcase.
Sulemani went on to report her disappearance to the police, and later testified for the prosecution in the trials related to her murder.
One aspect that is only briefly covered in the show though, is Rahmat’s ultimate fate.
In the round-up at the end of the show, it is revealed that Sulemani died by suicide ten years on from Banaz's death.
The real story is even more tragic than this brief explanation.
Following his girlfriend’s death, Sulemani was forced to go into witness protection and take a new name.
Despite this, he was unable to restart his life, and described in a 2007 interview having ‘no life’ after her death.
He said: “My life depended on her. She was my present, my future, my hope. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
“My life went away when Banaz died. There is no life. The only thing which was keeping me going was the moment to see justice being done for Banaz.”
The 38-year-old took his own life in 2016, with police being called after he texted his neighbour informing them he wanted to end his life, and asking for his dog to be looked after.
Banaz’s sister, who also had to go into witness protection, once said in an interview: “He once told me about a dream he'd had where he was at the sea and she was halfway up to her waist and she kept reaching for him and he was reaching for her.
“And then she turned around and went. They couldn't be together in this life. At least they are in another.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Netflix, True Crime, Mental Health, TV and Film
Michael Slavin