Following veteran actor Firdous Jamal’s bizarre and ageist comments about Mahira Khan at Faysal Quraishi’s morning show, the whole industry spoke up in the actress’ support. Not only her fans but also several celebs defended Mahira Khan and called out Firdous for his chauvinistic remarks.
Firdous’ son Hamza Firdous (also an actor and producer by profession), who too was attending Faysal’s morning show, has finally broken his silence on the matter. He stated that his father has served the industry for 45 years and he doesn’t need to hold any grudges against Mahira Khan. It’s only his opinion.
#FirdousJamal has given 45 years of sweat and blood to this industry. And that too without social media and only pure hardwork. Where as today, many require branding and marketing, surgeries to stay top notch. This person doesn’t need to hold grudges! His work has proven him.
— Hamza Firdous (@hamza_firdous) July 28, 2019
Hamza also said the comments were misunderstood and are termed misogynistic unnecessarily:
And also we should not shove everything under the rug of chauvinism and misogyny. If he were a chauvinist by any standard, he wouldn’t have praised #Saniasaeed, #SabaQamar and #mehwishhayat in the same show.
— Hamza Firdous (@hamza_firdous) July 28, 2019
In fact, the actor said that he himself is Mahira’s fan and appreciated her for representing Pakistan internationally:
I said in the same show that “@theMahirakhan has represented us internationaly, is a big name and I’m thankful that keh woh Humari industry mein hain”. I and my dad have different opinions so what?Should we use the difference of opinion to address personal grudges? #FirdousJamal
— Hamza Firdous (@hamza_firdous) July 28, 2019
Like I said, I’m her fan and I’m certain that her stardom together with the efforts of every1 involved will make #superstar a #superhit and at the minimum the film will score 200cr at the box-office. All my best wishes!#postivevibes #FirdousJamal @TheMahiraKhan
— Hamza Firdous (@hamza_firdous) July 28, 2019
Earlier, Mahira’s peers from the fraternity took to Twitter and lent her their support. Mawra Hocane said that disrespectful remarks under the garb of opinion need to stop:
Taking a dig at the biggest name of your country makes you as small as it gets. Disrespectful remarks in the garb of opinions need to STOP. Hope the two mins of fame were worth it. Mahira works extremely hard to be where she is. It’s not easy
So Proud of you my Mâ¤ï¸ @TheMahiraKhan— MAWRA HOCANE (@MawraHocane) July 27, 2019
Humayun Saeed felt disappointed and vouched for Mahira’s dedication to her work:
Extremely disappointed and strongly condemn Firdous Jamal’s comment regarding Mahira Khan. Whatever his point of view is, there’s absolutely no justification for such rude remarks for a colleague publicly & on television. Mahira is extremely hardworking and honest to her craft…
— Humayun Saeed (@iamhumayunsaeed) July 27, 2019
And it is her dedication and passion towards her work that has led her to this position. She is a heroine and a star in every sense of these words. As far as age is concerned, an actor and their talent is not bound by it.
— Humayun Saeed (@iamhumayunsaeed) July 27, 2019
Adnan Malik asked men to break out of their limiting beliefs:
Being misogynistic/ageist/sexist/racist are all built on such archaic notions. To truly be of today, to capture the zeitgeist, we must break out of these limiting beliefs. They reflect more on a myopic way of thinking than actually affecting the person you want to bring down 1/2
— adnanmalik (@adnanmalik) July 28, 2019
Remember that every time you point at someone there are 3 fingers pointing back at you. @TheMahiraKhan you are a worthy superstar at the peak of your superpowers ✨#firdousjamal sir, you are eating sour grapes. #timestheyareachanging
— adnanmalik (@adnanmalik) July 28, 2019
Mahira didn’t directly address the controversy but it appears she did take a jibe at Firdous’ comment in her usual nonchalant attitude: “Desi me rollin’ they hatin,” she wrote on an Instagram post.
