BTS photos of Saba Qamar from a shoot were shared on the Internet (courtesy sabaqamarzaman)
Highlights
- Saba Qamar was trolled for photos in which she can be seen smoking
- Her co-star Osman Khalid wrote a lengthy note on Instagram
- Her co-star Adnan Siddiqui also added a strongly-worded post
Pakistani actress Saba Qamar recently became subjected to ruthless trolling after the brutal section of the Internet chanced upon certain behind-the-scene photos and videos of her. "Shameful," she was told in comments on the viral photos (which appear to be screenshots from a video), in which she can be seen smoking while dressing up for what appears to be a shoot on sets. Saba Qamar's colleague Pakistani star Mahira Khan, who was once trolled for photos which showed her smoking and wearing a short dress, was also invoked: "Saba Qamar has also begun following Mahira Khan. Is she even Muslim anymore?" read a comment. While a stony silence has been maintained by Saba Qamar after days of trolling, the need to incinerate haters has been strongly felt by some of her colleagues, namely Osman Khalid Butt, Adnan Siddiqui and Aijaz Aslam.
Saba Qamar, who has several films and over 20 TV shows on her resume, is said to be amongst Pakistan's highest-paid actress. She made her Bollywood debut with 2017's Hindi Medium, also starring Irrfan Khan.
Osman Khalid, who shared screen-space with the actress in TV drama Baaghi, wrote a lengthy Instagram post, condemning the circulation of the on-set photos and the subsequent trolling. "For the love of God, stop looking for every excuse to drag your icons down... Stop sharing these images/videos and stop commenting on them. If you want to speak out, speak out against the jahalat of whoever did this just for social media infamy," read a part of his Instagram post.
Saba Qamar's co-star of Pakistani TV show Maat Adnan Siddiqui, who appears to have singled-out an undisclosed name to be blamed for the "leaked" photos, wrote a strongly-worded Instagram post: "I totally condemn this and wouldn't want to highlight the name of a man behind it but I'm not going to work for with him or anything associated with him ever."
Meanwhile, Pakistani actor-model Aijaz Aslam encouraged Saba Qamar to remain strong: "Today I feel sad that a colleague and one of the finest actor of Pakistan is being exploited by someone for a cheap publicity stunt... Saba you are a superstar and don't let these haters demotivate you."
Earlier this year, Saba Qamar trended a great deal after she broke down during an interview to a Pakistani news channel while recounting the time when she was stopped at the Georgia airport, allegedly because of her nationality.
Saba Qamar became popular with the Indian audience after her television show Maat aired here. She has also featured in shows like Main Aurat Hoon, Jinnah Ke Naam and Thakan. She has also starred in the Pakistani films such as Manto and Lahore Se Aagey.