'People started judging me before watching Astaghfaar'

Veena Malik’s Ramazan show “Astaghfaar” was cancelled after the promo received immense criticism from the masses, but the actor finds it sad that people started judging her before even watching the show.

“Even before the show was released, people started saying that Veena Malik is not allowed to do this show. It is very sad,” said Malik in an interview to BBC Urdu. “Neither did people see the show nor did they know what the show is like. It would have made sense if people reacted at the end of the show, but this does not make any sense to me… It was very very strange behavior.”

When asked why the show was called off, Malik said that she did not know the inside details, but she knew that the channel received a lot of “serious threats”.

Describing the show, Malik said, “This is a beautiful concept and I have not done a show like this before. In the holy month of Ramazan, I made an effort to learn something related to religion and I made an effort to sit with people and interact with them as to why this is a blessed month and what good things we should do in this month and what all do we need to learn in life.”

But when a caller asked whether her future will be a religious one or one full of scandals, Malik snapped back saying that people are being judgemental when they say there is a rift between her and her religion. “Religion is a very personal matter for me. I am very religious, but it is something between me and my God. I don’t think a third person can stand in front of me and judge how religious I am or I am not.”

Another caller asked her to move towards religion, to which Malik said that she had been studying Islam since she was ten. “The difference between me and others is that I have read the Holy Quran with translation, which most people do not. I may not be a complete or perfect Muslim, but I constantly try to understand Islam better.”

Malik also hinted that she might join politics as she has done social work and knows people well, but when asked about marriage, Malik was clear that she is “not in the mood”.

“When the time is right, I will get married.”

Veena Malik’s Ramazan show called off after public outrage

The idea of the controversial Veena Malik repenting for her sins on national television did not settle well with the awaam. From internet petitions calling for the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to ban the show, which had been scheduled to air during the holy month, to comments on social media forums, the anger was hot and unrestricted.

The furor and resentment around the show finally made the production team rethink their decision to air it. “Hero TV is for theawaam. If the awaam does not want to see Veena Malik on this Ramazan show, then we will cancel it,” said a member of the team, adding that they respect the wishes of the populace.

A YouTube user by the name Hamza Imran uploaded a video of his reaction to Veena’s Ramazan promo. Cursing heavily, he appeals to viewers:

“Can you imagine Veena Malik, who not so long ago stripped half naked with an ISI tattoo on her? She hasn’t got any right to be entering Pakistan, let alone being on a TV show that has such religion significance,” he says, holding his head, clearly appalled. He also adds that he has uploaded his video to “spread the message” to the show’s producers for its cancellation. “I’m not just going to be Facebooking or liking things online because that’s not going to make a difference. I want people to email Hero TV and send them hate messages and ask them to stop this. She’s a disgrace of a person. How dare she?”

Amidst the hue and cry around this controversial show, a few questions come to light. If Hero TV was “heroic” enough to take such an audacious stance (by inviting the notorious Veena on their sets) in the first place, why didn’t they simply stick to their guns and see it through? Some commentors suggest that it is a publicity ploy to garner attention for a channel that receives none at all. “What depths will the media plunge to next in the ratings game? Is there any hope for an informed, progressive and responsible media?” asks one irked commenter on The Express Tribune website.

A Pemra official told us that he was just as baffled. “What do media owners want?” he asked, requesting anonymity. “Could they not find anyone else? If they want ratings, can’t they get scholars with good reputations instead of fuelling extremism by bringing such controversial figures on TV?” he asked, adding that Veena and other televangelists are “hypocrites”.