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News of the Day: Finally, Hamza Ali Abbasi comments on the issue we were all waiting for…

It’s been almost two weeks since Yasir Hussain slipped into making a stupid comment at the Hum Awards in Lahore and since then almost every single person who’s heard the remark has commented on it with disgust and disdain. From feminists and social activists to followers of Udaari to Ahsan Khan himself, everyone has reacted to Yasir’s callous and irresponsible remark.

This is what he had said with reference to Ahsan Khan as child molester Pa Imtiaz in Udaari: “Itna haseen child molester; kaash main bhi bacha hota.” Cringe.

Strangely enough, the one opinion everyone was waiting for did not come: Hamza Ali Abbasi’s. The actor, who’s also a social commentator and now hosts his own program on BOL, was expected to say something but to the disappointment of his fans, there was silence at that front. We caught hold of Hamza Ali Abbasi and asked him why he had refrained from commenting on an issue so grave, when he usually had an opinion on everything.

“If I say something, it won’t be (directed) only at Yasir,” he said when we caught him between two films and a TV show. “We are all at fault for tolerating and promoting sexual humour. It was only a matter of time before some one crossed the line. The fault does not just rest with Yasir Hussain,” he reiterated. “It’s all of us who tolerate and enjoy sexual humour and item numbers in our films and stage plays. When you frequently make sexual entertainment part of your films – a mainstream public medium which influence the masses – then it’s only a matter of time before some one crosses the line.”

“But Yasir Hussain apologised, publicly, and we should let him off the hook now,” Hamza concluded. “He apologized so I think we should let him go unless he repeats his mistake again. And I hope in our scripts, especially of comedy genre, we will stay away from sexual and perverted humour.”

Also read: Hamza Ali Abbasi wants us to desexualize him

Aamna Haider Isani

Editor-in-Chief, The author is a full time writer, critic with a love for words and an intolerance for typos, although she'll make one herself every now and then.