Firdous Jamal is a pretty renowned name in the Pakistan media industry. Having hundreds of media projects to his decades-long career, the reverent actor has been part of the industry for years. So it definitely came as a surprise when the veteran actor made headlines for making misogynistic remarks about Mahira Khan.

In a segment for a Faysal Qureshi’s show, Firdous Jamal commented that Mahira isn’t “heroine stuff” and is “mediocre model.” 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Y07KdHNrs/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

What really made things worse was when the 65-year-old actor called Mahira Khan, “too old” to be a heroine and suggested that at her age she should play the role of a mother instead of being a heroine.

It’s 2019. Can we stop equating female actresses as perishable goods and equating a shelf life to them? Last I checked, talent doesn’t have an expiration date? Also, am I the only one who finds it ridiculous over the dichotomy drawn between being a “mother” and a “heroine”? How does one role cancel out the other?

Anyway, amidst all this disappointing news, it’s heartening to see people from the industry stand up in support for Mahira and dismiss the ridiculous notions that were shared by Firdous Jamal.

Amongst one of the most active media personalities to speak out against this is Osman Khalid Butt.

Osman tweeted how the industry can’t expect to be treated with respect by the public if the fraternity doesn’t respect the people in it and not keep their misogynistic comments in check. His tweet sent the trolls in frenzy and he was being attacked left and right.

Not one to let the hate slide, Obi pulled no stops to slam the ridiculous tweets he was getting.

Apparently, you’re only allowed to speak out against someone if you ingest their sweat…

Tbh, I’m more of a Rahat Bakery eater myself, but I see where he’s coming from.

Oh, the irony of calling out OB for “not having tameez” and then retorting to abusing him in the same sentence.

Obi, if you are confused about a place to go to, my heart is always open for you.

Tbh, jokes aside, it’s actually super refreshing and endearing to see a man from the industry actively rise up to speak for his fellow female actress at a time when we’ve just been hearing horror stories.

I mean, his replies are just straight up SAVAGE.

Although Osman took the most active role in calling out the undue hatred towards, Mahira, others from the industry also spoke out in favor.

Bin Roye co-star, Humayun Saaed was quick to condemn the harsh comments as well.

He also went on to praise Mahira for her work ethic and talent followed it up by saying that the ability of an actor is not bound by their age. Kudos.

Singer Annie Khalid, of “Mahiya” fame, also went on to call out the double standards of the entertainment industry.

Supermodel, Nadia Hussain wasn’t one to let the toxic comments go lightly either.

She then went on to share an article that shared the thoughts of Hollywood actresses where they spoke about how the industry was progressing and being more age inclusive.

Fellow starlet, Mawra Hocane wasn’t pleased with the disrespectful comments made about her peer, Mahira Khan, and took to Twitter to express her displeasure.

Women who support other women are the TRU KWEENS. Like Mira Sethi.

https://twitter.com/sethimirajee/status/1155058993750052867?s=20

In fact, actor and model, Tooba Siddiqui, dedicated an entire Instagram post to Mahira, thanking her for being an incredible role model and expressing her disappointment about the comments made by Firdous Jamil.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0abC7_gi0a/

Ali Kazmi also shared this sweet Instagram post for Mahira, where he called on people to be more respectful and requested everyone to not tear others down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cN4dkBhdz/

Gohar Rashid also rose to Mahira’s defense by saying that Firdous Jamal should have been more responsible when sharing his views on such a public platform.

He followed this up by saying that demeaning comments were not fruitful in helping anyone learn. Instead, senior actors should resort to providing constructive criticism if they wished junior artists should flourish in their art.

He ended his tweets by saying that he expected better from a veteran actor and that the reason other industries are thriving is because of the mutual respect love and respect between senior and juniors.

Anoushey Ashraf also expressed contempt for the disrespectful comments shared by Firdous Jamil. She also pointed out the absurdity of an elderly actor dismissing a woman’s talent on the basis of her age.

Fahad Mustafa also tweeted this super sweet message for Mahira where he basically told her that she was his superstar and that regardless of whether a comment was positive or negative, she should know that if people are talking about her, she’s doing something right.

Actress and model, Zhalay Sarhadi also spoke out about how Firdous Jamal’s distasteful comments were more of a reflection of his mindset rather than a metric for Mahira’s acting ability.

Even Faysal Qureshi, who shaded Mahira on the show by condescendingly stating that none of her moves as of late had done well, tweeted in favor of her later.

When people called out Faysal for not speaking up in favor of Mahira, during the show, he explained how the live nature of the show made an on-spot response tricky.

He then went on to praise Mahira and also promised that he would comment further on the entire situation on his show, soon.

Mahira herself, though? She just shared this post with the caption, “Desi me rollin, they hatin”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0dQGrDhm5z/

While everyone is entitled to have an opinion, public figures need to be more mindful of how they speak their mind out and be more careful of the choice of words they use when expressing their views. In a society where hate towards women is so normalized, taking extra caution towards being more respectful is definitely warranted. It’s definitely a step in the right direction to see how people aren’t willing to tolerate misogynic comments in the industry and hopefully, this outpour of emotion also displays itself practically and more roles for older women as central characters are seen.

What are your views on the whole situation? Let us know in the comments below.

It’s 2019 And Firdous Jamal Still Thinks Saying Mahira Khan Is Too Old To Be A Heroine Is Okay

Cover image via highlightsindia.com, showbiz.pk