After branding Bollywood superstar Salman Khan a “chhichhora” (indecent) and claiming she wouldn’t like to work with actor Emraan Haashmi for fear of mouth cancer on a TV show, Pakistani actress Saba Qamar has defended her comments as banter.
Qamar, who is set to make her Bollywood debut with Irrfan Khan’s Hindi Medium, took a dig at some of India’s cine stars on talk show Good Morning Zindagi. An excerpt from the Pakistani show has gone viral on social media — and Qamar has been inundated with calls over it.
Qamar said over phone: “It was a fun show... There was nothing in it... Koffee With Karan mein kya kuchch nahi hota [ Does nothing happen on Koffee With Karan?]... I love everyone, and he’s [Khan’s] a big superstar and so humble. Why would I say anything bad about him?”
In the two minute-plus video, the host asks Qamar to say ‘no’ to hypothetical situations involving Hrithik Roshan, Emraan Hashmi, Ranbir Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh and Salman — and state why would she say ‘no’.
When the host asked Qamar if Roshan asked her to marry him, how would she say no, Qamar said: “Don’t want a father of two... He is not my cup of tea.”
Next was Bollywood’s ‘serial kisser’ Hashmi, whom she rejected because she didn’t want “mouth cancer”.
She rejected Deshmukh because since she is an “A-grade actress” in Pakistan, she would want to work only with other A-grade actors, even in India.
The host then showed a photograph of Kapoor, whom she could not reject.
“Of course darling, I am ready for you,” Qamar said looking at the actor’s photograph. But upon insistence by the host, she finally turned him down because he “had a chakkar [affair] with Indian actress Deepika Padukone.”
Finally, the photograph of Khan was shown, and Qamar turned him down for being indecent, and for not knowing how to dance.
Qamar’s video has appeared at a time when ties between India and Pakistan are tense after the Uri army camp attack in September last year. Qamar, who made her acting debut with the PTV Home drama Main Aurat Hoon in 2004, is popular for playing leading roles in hit dramas Dhoop Mein Andhera Hai, Jinnah Ke Naam and Uraan.
