After releasing a video from his latest series, Anwarnama, veteran writer Anwar Maqsood has landed himself in hot waters.
The writer, who has recently started his own web-series – where he discusses various discourse regarding Pakistan – took Sindh as a topic for his latest video. However, citing ‘racist overtones’, a number of celebs and activists took to Twitter to condemn the video.
One such disapproval came from singer/comedian, Ali Gul Pir.
“Deeply offended by the racist video made by Anwar Maqsood and his team,†he wrote on Twitter. “Comedy and satire should always be about a certain mentality, not an ethnicity or community. Calling Sindhis lazy and corrupt is not funny, it’s spreading hate and maligning.â€
Deeply offended by the racist video made by Anwar Maqsood and his team. Comedy and satire should always be about a certain mentality, not a a ethinicity or community. Calling Sindhis lazy and corrupt is not funny, it's spreading hate and maligning
— Ali Gul Pir (@Aligulpir) April 22, 2018
Apart from Pir, singer Mooroo also cited the video for inciting stereotypes.
“There is a thin line between racism and stereotyping for the sake of humour,†he wrote. “AnwarMaqsood treaded the line for years, racism was funny back then, people have evolved, racism is not funny anymore.â€
There is a thin line between racism and stereotyping for the sake of humour #AnwarMaqsood treaded the line for years, racism was funny back then, people have evolved, racism is not funny anymore.
— Mooroo (@Mooroo4) April 22, 2018
Things, however, saw a much-needed respite when Anwar Maqsood retracted the video and instead, released an apologetic video explaining the whole situation.
In the video, the writer explained that he himself, ‘is Sindh, as he came to the land in 1948 and never left it since.’ Maqsood also explained that satire isn’t a new concept and had been used by Moin Akhtar in the past in his comedic roles. However, he was ‘still apologetic over the video.’
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