Former supermodel-turned-actor Iman Ali recently passed some casual remarks in Iffat Omar’s web talk show about fellow models and actors.
While the media was quick to notice, Ali’s views surprisingly got no reaction from those she had taken potshots at including Mehwish Hayat, Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan. But up-and-coming fashion model Mushk Kaleem wasn’t ready to stomach how Ali had spoken so lowly of the newer lot of female models.
She took to Instagram to make her resentment public. In a strongly-worded note, Kaleem wrote, “I don’t understand how a senior artist/model/actress like Iman Aly can make such a condescending statement about the current models of our industry. According to her, the models who are working in our industry right now don’t have ‘adequate general knowledge’. I’m appalled that someone I’ve grown up admiring and revering would make such a statement.”
Kaleem further wrote, “What does she mean when she says that we can’t speak, or that we don’t have general knowledge? I’m absolutely appalled. As for speaking in English, it’s not our mother tongue, it’s a second language that not everyone can speak properly, and that is okay. Getting an education is a privilege. So is learning a second language.”
A business graduate from IBA, Karachi, Kaleem ended the note by saying, “Even though you say you’re not being elitist, the truth is that you are.”
For the uninitiated, Kaleem worked at a corporate firm before she began as a fashion model. Today, she has opened and stopped shows for a number of designers at the bridal couture weeks. Last year, she walked the runway at the Milan Fashion Week ‘19 for Italian designer Stella Jean.
