Zara Noor Abbas and Asad Siddiqui were recently invited to Time Out with Ahsan Khan where they revealed that they aren’t too happy with the content being produced in Pakistan.
The couple made this revelation when asked about the perks and shortcomings of the industry.
Zara Noor has been reported to say that when criticism is being given to you by people you love, it comes from an honest place and should not be taken personally.
“I worked hard and started focusing on myself. When the same people who love you criticise you, you should understand that the criticism is coming from an honest place. It isn’t personal.”
She further said that, she realized the magnitude of being the living legend Bushra Ansari’s niece later on in life.
“It’s only when I grew up that I realised the level of her popularity”.
She also confessed to asking her aunt to pick her from school so she could show her off.
When talked about the sort of material being presented on Pakistani dramas, the couple collectively believe that the content should be directed from the typical saas- bahu drama and second marriages.
Zara added that she is changing the sort of scripts she normally takes and moving towards better more different options
“As an actor you should take responsibility for some things. You should not tell stories about marriages or spouses cheating, etc.”
Her husband added that we should tell stories that have a lasting effect on the audience.
“Why don’t we do things that can at least bring some benefit to the people watching them? If I’m showing the same story every day — there is rape happening in every drama — then what are we really doing?”
The actors pointed out that showing the negative side of relationships is quite common and people who are producing this content, are themselves watching Netflix or Amazon prime.
Asad Siddiqui added that the 220 million people in Pakistan can’t possibly want to watch similar stories on repeat.
“This phenomenon is quite useless” said Siddiqui
The actors also added that harassers are being sensationalized for their method of attacking, possibly giving ideas to potential harassers in real life
“You’re showing these shots, you’re making a montage. Don’t show these things, don’t sensationalise it.”
The couple believes that such topics should be talked about in a discrete manner.