A brief clip from a recent episode of the talented Imran Ashraf’s talk show Mazaq Raat, in which actor Usman Mukhtar is seen discussing his contentious role in the popular drama series Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay, is making the rounds on social media. The actor discusses the evolving dynamics on Pakistani television as well as the unexpected response he faced for playing a nasty part. Imran prompted Usman to discuss the complexities of his character in Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay and the uproar it caused to start the dialogue. Usman, who is well recognised for his flexibility as an actor, gave an explanation of why he decided to take on such a difficult job despite the possible negative effects. Usman began, “I don’t think it’s a bad thing if – see, for how long have we seen the man as the hero and the women as supporting characters? Characters were not written for women like that before. Now -” Imran interjected with a cheeky smile, stating, “Now they are just written for women.” His comment underscored the changing landscape of Pakistani television, where female characters are becoming more prominent. The subject of anticipated retribution then came up in the conversation. Usman was asked by Imran if he had considered the probable backlash to his character while reading the screenplay. Usman sincerely said, “Sir, I thought about it.” “However, the blowback was much more severe than I had anticipated. I’m not referring to myself when I say that other performers, especially you (Imran), make their characters look so real in our dramas that the audience truly believes -” Imran jokingly stood up at this point and appeared to be timid. He made himself invisible behind a table where his panel of comedians was seated, which made the audience laugh. After that, he remarked, “The backlash was for the character; there can be no backlash on my brother’s acting skills.’