Mehwish Hayat: ‘Privileged to take Pakistan’s message to the world’

Pakistani megastar Mehwish Hayat was known amongst her fans to be outspoken and vocal about what she believes in and now the star is getting recognized far and wide for giving voice to the unheard and calling out bigotry against her countrymen in film industries around the world.

The 36-year-old ‘Load Shedding’ starlet had created quite a stir after she spoke at an event in Oslo calling out Bollywood and Hollywood filmmakers for portraying Pakistanis in a negative light and her words now got acknowledged by Sky News where she elaborated more on her stance.

Sharing a short clip from her interview at the British television channel’s show ‘Sunrise’, Mehwish wrote on Instagram: “I am privileged to have been blessed with a platform to take my country’s message to the world. This was on Sky News’ prestigious “Sunrise” show this morning.”

“Unfortunately this has been going on for some time now and it has actually fueled the rise of Islamophobia in a way that films and cinema actually have the power to build attitudes and mindsets,” she said on the show.

“And showing Pakistanis as backward terrorists or having subjugated women or always being the villain in the movies has actually affected us greatly and has built this image of Pakistanis,” she added.

“When I travel, the general misconception is ‘Oh so you belong to a terrorist country’”, she said.

“What I ask for is a fair portrayal not a positive portrayal but a fair one. At least do your research and see how we are and what we are.

Recently the actor garnered international attention as well after she penned an opinion piece for CNN in light of Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra's apparent ‘hypocrisy’ during an interaction with a Pakistani fan at an event where she defended her stance of supporting nuclear war between India and Pakistan while being UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.