Actor Rehmat Ajmal doesn’t endorse Khalil Ur Rehman’s ‘problematic’ views

Despite Meray Paas Tum Ho’s high ratings and unprecedented fan following, playwright Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar’s interviews and personal opinions on the plot of the drama have become a point of contention among the masses.

Much has been said about drama’s script and many celebrities are now taking to social media to call out the writer for his misogynistic views.

Recently, model turned actor Rehmat Ajmal, who plays the role of Mehwish and Danish’s friend Aisha in MPTH, expressed concern after she received hateful messages about her character. This is Rehmat’s first TV project.

Sharing a post on her Instagram account on Wednesday, Ajmal wrote about the distress caused by the writer’s “problematic” shared during an interview.

“I understand that we as artists have a social responsibility in terms of the content we produce and the messages we put forward – & that I take that responsibility with a lot of seriousness and dignity. I’ve been receiving a lot of concerned, hateful and confused messages since the past few months and as much as I want to address them individually, I think I’ll just give an overview of my perspective for now,” she wrote.

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I understand that we as artists have a social responsibility in terms of the content we produce and the messages we put forward – & that I take that responsibility with a lot of seriousness and dignity. I’ve been receiving a lot of concerned, hateful and confused messages since the past few months and as much as I want to address them individually, I think I’ll just give an overview of my perspective for now. I absolutely do not endorse the concepts and viewpoints of Mr. Khalil Ul Rehman. I watched Khalil ul Rehman’s interview and got to know about his problematic views on very many things WAY after the project was completed. I am not proud to be a part of something that is so compromising and ill-informed. However, I (like many others) was not aware of the entire story line or Mr. Khalil ul Rehman’s ideology at the time this project was shot – which was a year ago. My role in this project is limited so, I did not get a chance to see how it’ll come together or how it’ll eventually unroll on television and that is where I think I slipped a little. It was my first ever telecom project and I am learning – I have learnt to be cautious and more conscious with my creative choices. Please extend new, struggling artists some leeway as we are in the process of learning – we are also trying very hard to make our own mark solely based on our merit.

A post shared by Rehmat Ajmal (@rehmatajmal) on Jan 21, 2020 at 11:29pm PST

Rehmat further explained that she had no idea about Qamar’s views when she signed the project a year ago and she, in no manner, endorses them now.

“I absolutely do not endorse the concepts and viewpoints of Mr Khalil Ur Rehman. I watched [his] interview and got to know about his problematic views on very many things WAY after the project was completed,” she added.

She added that she is not proud to be a part of something that is so compromising and ill-informed.

“I [like many others] was not aware of the entire storyline or Mr Khalil Ur Rehman’s ideology at the time this project was shot – which was a year ago. My role in this project is limited so, I did not get a chance to see how it’ll come together or how it’ll eventually unroll on television and that is where I think I slipped a little. It was my first ever telecom project and I am learning – I have learnt to be cautious and more conscious with my creative choices,” said Ajmal.

The model also requested that viewers should be a little considerate about new artists and give them a margin of error.

“Please extend new, struggling artists some leeway as we are in the process of learning – we are also trying very hard to make our own mark solely based on our merit,” she concluded.

Earlier, actor Mira Sethi took to social media to call out Meray Paas Tum Ho writer for his misogynistic views.

In her tweet, Sethi said that when men cheat it was human, fallible with room for redemption whereas if it was a woman who cheated she would be outcast and humiliated.

This isn’t the first time Qamar’s statements have caused an uproar on social media. Earlier, in an interview on Samaa TV’s News Beat, the writer claimed that men and women didn’t have equal rights. He also referred to himself as the biggest feminist in the country.