Mirza Gohar Rasheed shares his thoughts on the slap scene in Laapata

Actor Mirza Gohar Rasheed discussed a scene from his show Laapata that went viral on social media. After striking her, he gets slapped by actor Sarah Khan.

Rasheed, Sarah Khan, Ayeza Khan, and Ali Rehman Khan feature in the drama Laapata. The drama is presently running on Hum TV. In the most recent episode, Rasheed’s character Daniyal gets slapped by Falak (played by Sarah) after he hits her first.

Read More: Drama Review: Ayeza Khan as Geeti is extremely problematic in Laapata

Rasheed posted a video of the scene alongside a message on Instagram. “I hate the display of physical abuse on television,” he wrote. “This is why I have always refrained from doing it in at least my own characters. It’s unfortunate. But it has been done so frequently on our television that it’s almost become a subconscious reality for us. Apparently, physically abusing women is “fine” and any misogynistic, spineless man can get away with it, just like Daniyal thought in yesterday’s episode of Laapata.

“It may sound strange but the slap scene was the only reason as to why I took up the character of Daniyal. To prove that oppression is a choice,” he continued. “If any insecure man with his fragile ego tries him ‘so called’ muscles on you. Make the choice that Falak did, without any fear! One tight slapback from a brave woman to such a weak man in our society would be a giant leap for womenkind. We need such examples to be made by such women of strength, to empower women for their own safety, their well-being [and] self-respect. A scene [like this] that is so powerful, I hope that its effect is even more impactful on our women.”

Strong women standing up for themselves

On social media, the slap has sparked a debate. While the incident has drawn a large number of fans applauding for a woman standing up for herself, it has also drawn criticism from others. Mainly from people who think that violence in any form should not be tolerated.

The fake sexual harassment allegation scene in Laapata

This isn’t the first time that a scene from Laapata has gone viral on the internet. When her character in the same drama wrongly accused a shopkeeper of harassment, Ayeza received outrage and controversy.

While we like the goal behind the scenes – to inspire women to stand up to abuse — we do not condone violence in any form. We wish the show had approached this problem differently, as it did with the iconic fake harassment scene.

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