Mira Sethi, known for taking a strong stand on feminism, revealed that she rejected a role in the widely discussed drama Main Manto Nahi Hoon because of its controversial writer, Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar.
Qamar is notorious for his regressive and often disrespectful views on women, and his portrayal of female characters in scripts has frequently drawn criticism from progressive voices in the industry. Sethi is among those who strongly oppose his ideology.
In a recent conversation, Sethi shared that the role she turned down is now played by Sanam Saeed. “They offered me a role which Sanam Saeed is playing now. I was tempted because it would have been Humayun Saeed, Sajal Aly, and me, and I’ve worked with Sajal before in Kuch Ankahi. But because of the writer, I thought, if I do this role despite speaking out so much about feminism, what’s the point? The writer says troubling things about women. Some of my progressive friends told me, ‘Just do it quietly.’ But I said no,” she said.
Sethi added that she is currently working on other projects. “I am doing a drama with Mehreen Jabbar, airing in November. It’s hard to say no because you miss opportunities, but I stood by my principles,” she said during a women’s rights event.
