The internet is abuzz about actor Mehwish Hayat’s ‘leaked video’ but what exactly are the contents of this video?
Well to start with, it’s not half as scandalous as it sounds. It’s a video of Hayat at a charity event involving orphans. A reporter approaches her for some questions and Hayat attentively listens. When he asks about children in Kashmir, Hayat starts saying “no, no, no I’ve been told no questions about Kashmir”. She smiles as she says it and the reporter pleads for a comment.
People are outraged because Hayat refused to speak about Kashmir. They believe she should have used the opportunity to raise her voice again. Hayat addressed the ‘leaked video’ as she called it, and said it had been taken out of context.
The leaked video is being taken out of context. I’ve been the most vocal on #Kashmir issue globally & will continue to do so. I have big plans for next steps. This was a charity event & was requested by the PR not to be political ¬ distract from the orphans I was there to help
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) September 29, 2019
Who has stopped @MehwishHayat from speaking about #Kashmir? pic.twitter.com/1UGG1qsHQT
— Naimat Khan (@NKMalazai) September 30, 2019
Hayat recently became the goodwill ambassador for global charity organisation Penny Appeal. The group is one of the largest Muslim charities based out of the UK, and operates in 30 countries, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhuttan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Some people are even calling for Hayat’s Tamgha-e-Imitiaz to be taken back. But some people are standing up for her too and say she has nothing to prove.
The way you articulated the human rights violation in Kashmir and passionately promoted pakistan and the way it was reported in the international media, makes me a proud Pakistani. As Colleagues we are behind you. You don’t have to give clarifications for any leaked video https://t.co/gljW5ZDqJn
— Shehzad Roy (@ShehzadRoy) September 29, 2019
It’s a dream of every Pakistani Artist to work in Bollywood but recently Mehwish Hayat proved by criticising Indian Policies that she loves her Country more than her Career… We all know she has always been vocal about Kashmir and Indian policies 👍 https://t.co/QsXlVsxerp
— Iqrar ul Hassan Syed (@iqrarulhassan) September 29, 2019
Hayat has been vocal in her support of the Kashmir cause and against the oppression of Kashmiri people. She has also spoken on international forums about Islamophobia.
Some of the criticism she received after the ‘leaked video’ is that she remained silent because she wanted to protect her career by not discussing Kashmir. But Hayat is a Pakistani actor, works primarily in Pakistan and there is little to no benefit for her if she stays silent about Kashmir.
According to her tweet, the charity’s public relations team asked her to focus on the charity instead of other issues.
One poster seems to assume that Hayat has Bollywood aspirations but that doesn’t seem to be true either. She has spoken out about Bollywood’s demonisation of Pakistanis and urged filmmakers for fair representation of her countrymen.
