Saboor Aly. Photo: Saboor Aly Instagram Pakistani actor Saboor Aly attempted to clear the air after she and model Saheefa Jabbar came under fire for video in which the two actors make fun of a man cleaning windows. In a now-deleted video which was posted on her account, Aly can be heard making jokes about the man along with fellow Jabbar. “His mother had better dreams for him when he left his house,” Aly can be heard saying in the video. Another actor Affan Waheed who can also be seen in the video, seemed a little uncomfortable with the mockery and tries to deflect the situation and says the man is working hard. Naturally social media came out in full, with many criticising the actor for making fun of a person whom she perceived to be doing a “menial” job. The person cleaning the window was later confirmed as an associate director for the TV show Saboor was on the sets of and that he was a friend of hers. Taking to Instagram, Aly said it was an inside joke with the assistant director and that she never made fun of the profession. “Our back and forth commentary on each other's activities is a norm on the sets, and of course as outsiders, one wouldn't know, but at least give the other person a benefit of doubt as well before you start writing them off as being guilty,” she wrote. The actor goes on to defend her video and says social media “warriors” were missing the context and called them out for creating this whole situation for followers, likes and engagement. “Is this what the reporting level has come down to? Is this irresponsible, irregular, non-authentic, hearsay publishing the new 'in' thing on social?” The actor also quoted a Quranic verse. She further said that nowhere have we called him a window cleaner or made fun of any specific profession. “What was an inside joke with an individual, has been portrayed as an insult of the profession which was never the intention nor a fact even in the content that's still on my social media. Frankly, these are just not the values I have been brought up with,” she wrote. Aly added, “Next time you point your finger on someone's actions or words — especially when you are looking at them in isolation and not the whole picture — think and be responsible. Don't just do it for the followers, likes, and engagement.”<doc-sep>A video in which actors Saboor Aly and Saheefa Jabbar Khattak appear to be making fun of a window cleaner's job has gone viral, with fans criticising the actors for their mockery of manual labour. In the video that was uploaded on Saboor's insta stories, Saheefa and Saboor are heard laughingly saying of a man wiping a window pane clean: "Kya kya khwab leke iss ki maa ne is ko ghar se bejha tha", which loosely translates to "His mother must have had big dreams when she sent him to work." Their co-star Affan Waheed also appears in the video but does not participate in the mockery and instead emphasises that the man is working hard. Both actors have been criticised for their derogatory words about manual labourers. Since the backlash, Saboor has clarified on Instagram that the man was actually their TV drama's assistant director with whom they frequently joke around. She also attempted to justify the 'joke': "No where have we called him a window cleaner or made fun of any specific profession. What was an inside joke with an individual, has been portrayed as an insult of the profession which was never the intention nor a fact even in the content that's still on my social media. Frankly these are just not the values I have been brought up with." Addressing her critics, she said, "All I will humbly say in the end is - next time you point your finger on someone's actions or words - especially when you are looking at them in isolation and not the whole picture - think and be responsible. Don't just do it for the followers, likes, and engagement." For her part, Saheefa seemed to think responding to the controversy is a lost cause. "I'll fail, I'll miserably fail, but I won't be able to clear the air and explain my side out," she wrote on her Instagram. Some have defended Saboor, like graphic artist Sanki King who left the following comment on her Instagram: "It’s pretty evident from the video that you guys were cracking harmless jokes. I think our society is riding the bandwagon of this new trend of finding excuses to bash successful people." In the evening, both actors issued a video apology, in which they acknowledged that their joke was inappropriate for any circumstance: The video also featured Ehsaan Sheikh, the assistant director to whom the joke was directed towards.<doc-sep>
Pakistani actors Saboor Aly and Saheefa Jabbar Khattak have found themselves embroiled in controversy after a video of them mocking a window cleaner started making rounds on social media. The video filmed by Saboor and posted on her Instagram story showed a window cleaner busy at his job while at the other side of what appears to be a set, the two actors can be heard laughing and poking fun at the man wiping the glass wall between them. Saboor can be heard in the background saying: "Kya kya khwab leke iss ki maa ne is ko ghar se bejha tha [His mother must have sent him to work with big dreams].” On the other hand, Pakistani actor Affan Waheed also makes an appearance in the video and gets invited by Saboor to join in on the jeering to which he politely refuses saying: “He is working hard.” After the videos went viral, the two actors were widely condemned by social media users for their act of disdain; However, Saboor stepping out in her defense clarified that the video was nothing but an ‘inside joke’. "No where have we called him a window cleaner or made fun of any specific profession. What was an inside joke with an individual, has been portrayed as an insult of the profession which was never the intention nor a fact even in the content that's still on my social media. Frankly these are just not the values I have been brought up with,” she stated. "All I will humbly say in the end is - next time you point your finger on someone's actions or words - especially when you are looking at them in isolation and not the whole picture - think and be responsible. Don't just do it for the followers, likes, and engagement,” she added. On the other hand, Saheefa instead of posting a clarification or an apology stated: “I'll fail, I'll miserably fail, but I won't be able to clear the air and explain my side out.”