Pakistani actor Mehwish Hayat said she was disappointed in Bollywood celebs for their lack of support or care for their fans in Pakistan at a time when the country was facing devastating floods and people across the world were taking notice. Relief efforts were underway in Pakistan after heavy rains and melting glaciers triggered unprecedented floods that left at least 1,265 people dead. Now, Mehwish, who is one of Pakistan’s most well-known actors, has appealed to Bollywood celebs to show they can rise above politics and ‘care about their fans in Pakistan’.
On Saturday, Mehwish took to her Instagram Stories to share a note by journalist Haroon Rashid, who hosts a show on BBC. Acknowledging his post and calling his point ‘valid’, she wrote, “The silence from the Bollywood fraternity is deafening. ‘Suffering knows no nationality, race or religion’ – no better time for them to show us that they can rise above nationalist politics and care about their fans in Pakistan. We are hurting and a kind word or two would not go amiss.”
In his original post, Haroon had said, “I genuinely thought humanity knows no borders but it’s telling that hardly any Bollywood stars have posted about the devastating floods in Pakistan – raise awareness, share links, just show sympathy. They know how popular they are and how much that acknowledgment would mean.” He shared a broken heart emoji along with his note.
Mehwish has been raising awareness about the devastation caused by floods in Pakistan on international forums and giving interviews to channels like BBC. Recently, supermodel Bella Hadid had shared a clip and asked people to message her with any information on how to help flood victims in Pakistan. Taking to Instagram, Bella had shared a video of young schoolchildren being hurried along in order to save them from floodwater. “Finding real ways to help Pakistan. Message me if you have any information, please,” she had written.
