Pakistani actress Zhalay Sarhadi has spoken out against what she sees as the unequal treatment of male and female actors when it comes to age and casting on television.
Reacting to the casting of Saba Hameed and Faran Tahir as mother and son in one drama, Zhalay questioned why women are often expected to take on older roles while male actors continue to be presented as youthful leads.
Zhalay main focus was telling that how the industry needs to move away from such outdated ideas and give actors roles that better match their actual ages.
Zhalay also pointed out that this issue is not limited to Pakistan and said similar age related casting patterns can be seen in other parts of South Asia.
She called for more realistic casting and stronger, age-appropriate roles for female performers.
She further joked about the industry's tendency to quickly turn women into mothers on screen and clarify that after making her comments, she might soon find herself playing Humayun Saeed's mother in an upcoming project.