New Delhi | June 2025
The brutal murder of Raja Raghuvanshi by his wife Sonam has left the nation stunned. But what shocked many cinema lovers even more is how eerily this incident mirrors the plot of the 2011 Bollywood film 7 Khoon Maaf, where the female protagonist kills not one, but seven husbands.

Real vs. Reel: A Chilling Parallels

In the real case, Sonam, allegedly unhappy in an arranged marriage, plotted her husband’s murder just days after their wedding. With the help of her lover Raj and his friends, she orchestrated a cold-blooded crime in Meghalaya.

In the film, Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (played by Priyanka Chopra), kills each of her husbands, hoping to find true love, only to face disappointment every time.

What Was 7 Khoon Maaf About?

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and based on Ruskin Bond’s short story Susanna’s Seven Husbands, the film explored a woman’s dark and dramatic journey through marriage and murder.

Each husband had a fatal flaw:

1. Neel Nitin Mukesh – Possessive army officer
2. John Abraham – Drug-addicted rockstar
3. Irrfan Khan – Violent poet
4. Aleksandr Dyachenko – Russian spy
5. Annu Kapoor – Corrupt doctor
6. Naseeruddin Shah – Fake spiritual guru
7. Vivaan Shah – The final narrator who unravels the mystery

Despite the grotesque nature of the plot, the film became a critical and box office success, grossing over ₹33 crore against a budget of ₹15 crore.

Psychological Underpinnings

Both Sonam and Susanna represent women driven by repression, betrayal, and emotional trauma. While one exists in fiction, the other is hauntingly real.

Susanna’s story was artistic — cinematic and symbolic. Sonam’s story is criminal — filled with deceit and death.

When Cinema Imitates Life – or Vice Versa?

It’s rare for real events to mirror movie plots so closely, but the Raja Raghuwanshi case and 7 Khoon Maaf highlight how unresolved emotions and toxic relationships can spiral into unthinkable actions — on screen and off.