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Hey Sahir Lodhi, defending Jinnah doesn't justify belittling women on TV

Hey Sahir Lodhi, defending Jinnah doesn't justify belittling women on TV

What's worse - that Sahir Lodhi manterrupted a speech on women's rights or that he missed its point completely?
Updated 31 May, 2017

We have learned to expect an endless array of melodramatic, cringeworthy moments on most Ramazan transmissions. However, the latest bout of jingoism from Sahir Lodhi was a vision none of our eyes were prepared for.

Dr Saba Rizwan, a recent participant on Sahir Lodhi’s show, was required to speak against a certain topic. From the podium, she delivered an impassioned speech concerning women’s issues in Pakistan, ranging from harassment to honour killing.

Lodhi listened to the speech attentively with an unmistakable look of seething antipathy. One may easily interpret this as the expression of a predator waiting to pounce on its prey at an opportune moment, giving the audience a fair sense of what might happen at the end well before it actually happened.

Dr. Rizwan spoke eloquently about the injustices women commonly face in Pakistan, eventually reaching to a point where she rhetorically called upon Jinnah to witness the dire state of his nation.

"Come Quaid-e-Azam, look at your Pakistan," she said.

At that point, Mr. Lodhi interrupted the speech, and launched an embarrassingly boisterous, utterly irrelevant, and probably scripted monologue about Jinnah’s greatness.

Lodhi began by chiding the audience for clapping at Rizwan’s speech reference to the Quaid. “Why did you clap?” he demanded from a confused audience, before accusing the participant of insulting Jinnah.

With the explosive energy of Sunny Deol in a courtroom scene, Sahir Lodhi broke off into a dramatic speech about the speaker’s audacity to criticize Jinnah, and the audience’s temerity to applaud said criticism.

"Who dares to call out the man who gave us Pakistan? [...] If we don't make queues, we're responsible for that. Will we blame Quaid-e-Azam for it? If we give bribes, we're responsible for that. Will we blame Quaid-e-Azam for it? Brothers killing brothers, we do it. Will we blame Quaid-e-Azam for it? [...] How long will we keeping blaming the Quaid for our shortcomings? Are we that ungrateful? So think before you clap."

It is unlikely that Mr. Lodhi simply failed to comprehend the point of Rizwan’s poetic speech. She was not insulting Jinnah or 'blaming' him, but simply making an obvious point about our nation’s tragic departure from what is widely believed to be Jinnah’s own vision of Pakistan. Jinnah wanted us to be more than what we are at present - an understandable and uncontroversial sentiment.

The eyesore of an incident, at the intersection of misogyny and jingoism, ended with the male host talking paternalistically to four women participants standing quietly in line; referring to them repeatedly as ‘kids’, and tutoring them on the need to stay positive and respect our country.

The participants understood it. The audience understood it. The bouquet of fake flowers in the background understood it. It is highly improbably that Mr. Lodhi didn’t get it, but that did not keep him from indulging in some old-fashioned, patriotic point-scoring, in which he regurgitated praise-worthy facts about Jinnah straight from a Pak Studies textbook.

Dr. Saba Rizwan seemed mortified by the turn of events, though it is unclear whether she felt embarrassed for herself, or for Mr. Lodhi and his melodramatic address. Nevertheless, she stood silently, and endured this undeserved insolence with grace. I do not know for certain if the outburst was scripted or if the participant had prior knowledge of this nauseating performance heading her way, but she appeared acutely uncomfortable.

The elderly professor at the panel, building up on Lodhi’s pseudo-patriotic energy, also criticized the woman participant for “insulting” Jinnah in an otherwise admirable speech.

The eyesore of an incident, at the intersection of misogyny and jingoism, ended with the male host talking paternalistically to four women participants standing quietly in line; referring to them repeatedly as ‘kids’, and tutoring them on the need to stay positive and respect our country.

To sum up, we witnessed a jingoistic male host tone-policing female participants on live television, treating an articulate medical doctor like a 9-year old girl with behavioral problems, and scolding her for a sin she hadn’t committed. A more poignant image of the unenviable state of women in our country, could not have been captured on tape.

Why can a woman not speak for two and a half minutes about women’s issues without a brick of male opinion crashing through her window to address the “more important” stuff? No amount of irrelevant, melodramatic Jinnah-mongering conceals the blunt sexism in this video. It was a transparent, self-serving retort to someone who had never contested the greatness of Quaid-e-Azam in the first place.

Why do we always insist on invoking nationalism, security, religion, and class politics whenever it’s a woman’s turn at the microphone? Why can’t a female student from BNU talk about period-shaming without being accused of undermining class struggles? Why can a woman not speak for two and a half minutes about women’s issues without a brick of male opinion crashing through her window to address the “more important” stuff?

No amount of irrelevant, melodramatic Jinnah-mongering conceals the blunt sexism in this video. It was a transparent, self-serving retort to someone who had never contested the greatness of Quaid-e-Azam in the first place.

Patriotism isn’t simply about cracking a coconut at the altar of a national hero. It’s about caring for the welfare of the people of your country; the same people that Sahir Lodhi may attempt to silence instead.

Comments

urdumedium May 31, 2017 03:29pm
oh man this guy cracks me up!
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Dishant May 31, 2017 03:36pm
Scripted for TRPs. Good acting.
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Reality Bites May 31, 2017 03:39pm
Another fake personality on TV , Lodhi and Amir Liaqat are cringeworthy.
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Shahzad Ikhlaq May 31, 2017 03:50pm
It all looked scripted to be honest.
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Imran May 31, 2017 04:07pm
I wonder how did the TV Channel allowed him to harrass the female speaker. He was targeted for long time without any reason. Where is PEMRA now? Sahir Lodhi must be banned.
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Shahryar Shirazi May 31, 2017 04:13pm
@Dishant "Scripted for TRPs. Good acting " Indeed. He is a big show off and cashing in on this holy month for ratings. Infact most of the media is like this here.
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Faiztin May 31, 2017 04:14pm
Commercialisation and conscience do not go hand in hand. This guy has no morals
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Saqib May 31, 2017 04:19pm
Her comments were full of disdain, that's not respectful and lacks class. For someone so eloquent in her speech, it's also important to keep proper account of facts when making your arguments.
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Gohar Yunus May 31, 2017 04:22pm
First Shaista and now Mr. Lodhi... Everyone is running after ratings. There is no sense of responsibility. All scripts and situations are planned to get the ratings.
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Saqib May 31, 2017 04:26pm
I never really knew who he was, but today I respect Sahir Lodhi.
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syed ahmed May 31, 2017 04:27pm
It's unbelievable that a seasoned anchor and educated person is blinded by cheap demonstration of nationalism and did not understand what the speaker is saying.
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Imran May 31, 2017 04:30pm
We condemn this strongly
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Tango Tango May 31, 2017 04:30pm
He is an actor not an intellectual or even an intelligent one, please forgive him.
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Asim Mahmood May 31, 2017 04:33pm
I fully agree with the writer's view.
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Sam.K May 31, 2017 04:37pm
Loved every word! Thank you for this article!! You nailed it!
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Ali khan May 31, 2017 04:48pm
Last resort of a scoundrel is patriotism.
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WASEB May 31, 2017 04:59pm
What's his qualification ???
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Farrukh Arshad May 31, 2017 05:19pm
You (the author) made my day by saying "The bouquet of fake flowers in the background understood it".
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Ali May 31, 2017 05:19pm
Saba Rizwan!!! Respect..
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Ali May 31, 2017 05:22pm
Great job writer
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mangoman May 31, 2017 05:35pm
@Saqib You got issues pal.
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SKZ May 31, 2017 05:41pm
His name sounds like he should have been a poet rather a TV host or an actor.
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N_Saq May 31, 2017 06:06pm
That is exactly the problem with Pak. Pakistanis know how to lecture not argue. The word "Ana" is killing them. Everyone in Pak thinks he/she is right and instead of convincing, the powerful impose their views on others. If Pakistanis can contol their emotions and listen then they will realize that there is a whole world out their that needs to be discovered. All this chest thumping is getting Pak nowhere and is the reason Muslims are so far behind in comparison to the West.
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Irfan haroon May 31, 2017 06:16pm
All I can say to Dr. Saba that I am sorry on behalf of all the male members of the society who understand your point.
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Beelal May 31, 2017 06:33pm
How one person can insult some body on a TV show but one cannot say something against state institutions! Even if it is scripted what kind of message this program is giving to the viewers. This was right out shameful and disgusting.
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JAwad ASIF May 31, 2017 07:25pm
Well I expect this kind of rubbish stuff from Sahir lodhi. I am more interested to hear the point of view of that lady. I request media people to please bring her up and get her point of view on it.
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nASIR JAFFRI May 31, 2017 07:38pm
The audience watched in silence whilst Sahir belittled a lady!!! I am surprised he still has a job!!! He should be sacked with immediate effect!
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Zealot May 31, 2017 07:51pm
I Fully SUPPORT Sahir Lodhis Views WELL DONE SIR!!!
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Usman May 31, 2017 07:56pm
This person insulted the honurable debater, guests and the audience. He doesnt deserve to be on tv anymore. He should apologise to the woman and all for disrespecting them.
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Tzaman May 31, 2017 07:59pm
Fake patriotism at its peak. May be Mr. Lodhi did not wanted to understand the sense of the lady doctor's speech.
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hanifsmile May 31, 2017 08:14pm
I think Sahir did the right thing, no one should be allowed to make such comments for MA Jinnah.
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Do Good! May 31, 2017 08:25pm
I would say very well-thought-out article. One of the biggest problem is people are gradually loosing patience and acting on impulse instead of wisdom. The doctor deserves an apology - period.
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Ehsan Gondal May 31, 2017 08:26pm
very well said, these are all the things are came into my mind after watching his non- sense scripted performance. He should have a ban and owe a apology towards her.
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Usman May 31, 2017 08:30pm
Good job. Sometimes shut up is better than listening nonsense. Keep it up Saher
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humAIL May 31, 2017 08:37pm
His take on it is right on. We cant blame a great leader for things happening in our back yards. We should rather fix our house up starting with driving bad out. And is it scripted. Come on people its TV and comments such as this is like saying the water is wet. Dah
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humAIL May 31, 2017 08:53pm
@Zealot i agree
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Farrukh May 31, 2017 09:00pm
Why should one wonder what they are capable of? From so called religious scholars to anchor persons to comedians, all of them are useless at what they are doing and hardly anything reasonable can be expected from these guys.
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vb May 31, 2017 09:06pm
he just proved what she said
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manish May 31, 2017 09:13pm
its nothing but a show for TRP. but still a decent society of pakistan must condemn such type of activities against the disrespect of womenhood.
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Naveed May 31, 2017 09:26pm
To all the people who are saying that this looks scripted should still feel disgusted. If this is not scripted, this shallow host should apologies. If this is in fact scripted then all this "act's" responsibility falls more on the producers of the show that they need such stunts for rating. I am sure neither TVOne nor the show would apologies for this. PEMRA has no right to act on such matters. I believe its the responsibility of show sponsors like Surf Excel and Qarshi Jam-e-Sherren to put pressure on these show to behave or pull out!
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mashalzainab May 31, 2017 09:50pm
@Tango Tango .. you are absolutely right.
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mashalzainab May 31, 2017 09:52pm
@Saqib for what? for over acting dramebaazi?
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Ali Kamran May 31, 2017 09:52pm
He made a right fool of himself.
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mashalzainab May 31, 2017 09:53pm
@JAwad ASIF ...me too
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Awaz... May 31, 2017 10:03pm
Sahir Lodhi, Amir Liaqat....both are bollywood actors, so please don't mind it, they just can't stop in front of "Lights, Camera, Action."
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Awaz... May 31, 2017 10:06pm
We have to digest failed actors like Sahir Lodhi and Amir Liaqat. because we created these monsters. so don't blame them, blame people of Pakistan.
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Awaz... May 31, 2017 10:10pm
Pakistani's don't listen to understand, they listen to reply and thats what happened here. Mr. Lodhi was listening Dr. Saba Rizwan, not to understand but to reply.
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ABX May 31, 2017 10:34pm
Agreed with sahir lodhi
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imran ali May 31, 2017 10:35pm
Sahir is absolutely right. This cliched rubbish speech needed to be attacked. Well done sahir.
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majid May 31, 2017 10:41pm
wow!!wonderful acting!!!sorry for the Girl!!being a part of this great act, but donot know about!!!!!
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Mumtaz May 31, 2017 10:54pm
This is alli have to say : empty vessel makes the most noise. The more he space the more foolish he looked.
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Hamid Jan May 31, 2017 10:56pm
it,s a pre planned script,for taking people intrust and popularity. but he stopped her in a wrong place. she did,nt say anything wrong /against quid, just said i wish quid could see whats happening here and for what reasons it was made, thats it...whats wrong?. we all know pakistan was not made for all this which we are practing.
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asjad May 31, 2017 11:25pm
These shows are scripted and the anchors are playing the role of emotional blackmailer. There technique is to mix half truth with exaggeration to kill meaningful discussion in society.
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ali May 31, 2017 11:32pm
A very cheap way to earn rating through jingoism like an uneducated person. I think this all was scripted because he does not seem a fool to not to understand the context of her words about Jinnah Sb.
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Danish Durrani May 31, 2017 11:33pm
He has completely no clue or context in which that lady was requesting Jinnah to visualize what is happening today. Completely immature comments amd irrespinsible behaviour.
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Syed irfan ali May 31, 2017 11:41pm
Completely agree with the writer.
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rN89 Jun 01, 2017 01:37am
Can't stand him
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Amir Jun 01, 2017 01:54am
Sahir, you must have manners to deal with females.
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Nasir A Malik Jun 01, 2017 02:32am
The whole event was 100% scripted, we saw when the girl was delivering her speech camera was diverted to show sahir again and again to show the audience his facial expressions . Now the question is how the controller of the show knew that he will react, he was already prepared for his scripted speech and acting.
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cHAUHAN Jun 01, 2017 03:57am
Totally scripted to make fool our farig (Free fro everything) public and just to catch social media attention...lol
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Amar Jun 01, 2017 04:24am
I'm so angry at the treatment of the woman that's no way to speak to a woman and to treat her that is someone's sister daughter and to be mum absolutely shocking lodhi should be sacked and the judges should be ashamed for going against her there heart is where the money is very sad. Follow the truth not the money please
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Ahmad Kainth Jun 01, 2017 04:40am
Whatever clarifications he tries to give , he has to be banned . He is so dumb that he has failed to understand what she really wanted to say. I request PEMRA to ban him . He disrespected her ,made her feel bad and forced her to curse the moment when she really decided to be part of this show .
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Ahmad Kainth Jun 01, 2017 04:44am
I wonder he must have consumed wine; otherwise, he would have understood what she was really saying. His move was scripted and I request this newspaper to highlight this issue at every possible forum where we get a chance to make him banned from participating in any show, not only as a guest but also as a host . Had he made a good movie, he would not have been in such state of mind .
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Dr Khalid Nabi Jun 01, 2017 05:03am
In my honest opinion, the minimum Sahir Lohdi should do is to apologise to Dr Rizwan on nationalTV during prime time. Dr Rizwan never said anything insultive or deragatory about the founder of Pakistan. Sahir either did it inadvertantly or never realized what Dr Rizwan was saying. Khalid Nabi Hoston Texas
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M Jun 01, 2017 05:10am
I think he might have taken it upon himself to prove the point she made in the speech. But thumbs up to the Molana for endorsing his "misunderstanding" rather than correcting him for the aggressive and offensive rant.
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Akil Akhtar Jun 01, 2017 05:34am
I am happy someone had the guts to stand up to our so called intellectuals who rather than discussing the issue try to Blame Quaid-e Azam or Pakistan for everything....We seem to be unhappy about the lady being criticised but do not care if Quaid-e Azam or Pakistan is insulted...
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Akil Akhtar Jun 01, 2017 05:35am
Well Done Sahir...
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Azhar Iqbal Jun 01, 2017 05:39am
The speaker did not insult Quaid-E-Azam at all. This looks like a scripted drama. Whatever it was, it should be rejected by one and all and PEMRA must act against this dramaybaaz Sahir Lodhi.
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Abbas Syed Jun 01, 2017 06:14am
Mr. Jinnah, though briliant and intelligent than most of us, but was a human being like all of us with strenghts snd weakness and was not infallible. He should not be held above crticism.
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Nasiroski Jun 01, 2017 07:41am
This is just manifestation of society in general, once in a while you get an intelligent person, and society rejects the logical arguments and takes that person to task, Also when media is infested with ignoramus like him, this is the expected outcome. The media today reminds me of a classic TV show, where a character coming from abroad was tested for his English language skills against Janoo German.
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analyses Jun 01, 2017 09:25am
@Humail, Saqib, Zealot: The whole issue was noone disrespected or blamed Jinnah. As author pointed out superbly, whatever Sahir Lodhi said, no matter how true it was, was totally irrelevant as the woman never blamed Jinnah for today's mess. She was in fact also praising Jinnah by saying that if he was alive, he would have been in pain to see our state. That's why what Sahir Lodhi said look genuinely scripted, as he said all that, despite any need.
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w hasan Jun 01, 2017 09:36am
I don't think Quaid e Azam needs people like Sahir Lodhi to defend him. The lady's speech was anyway not insulting at all. It is very common way of expression many people used and by no mean they intend to insult Quaid. It is unclear whether Sahir Lodhi did it on purpose or he did not understand the message in her speech. So the question is whether he is mean or plain stupid?
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naveed Jun 01, 2017 09:57am
he doesn't deserve to be on TV any more
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sabeeh ahmad Jun 01, 2017 12:12pm
lodhi is a shocker
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Syed Iftikhar Rizvi Jun 01, 2017 01:19pm
Well done Saba! BRAVO. People like Sahir Lodhi can't understand "the message in that poem which you were reading".
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kabir Jun 01, 2017 01:37pm
Now this is quality TV....this guy's should be broadcasted in India too.
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MEsum Ali Jun 01, 2017 03:17pm
Pathetic Gesture by Sahir in order to get cheap Fame by insulting a Girl!!
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Masood Jun 02, 2017 12:15am
Hey Sahir Lodhi or what ever your name is, It is not polite to insult your guest. You are lucky that she is an educated ( much more than you ever will be) lady, who kept her composer and did not descend to your level. Had it been some parliamentarian from Punjab, you would lost some of your teeth or may be worst.
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anon Jun 02, 2017 01:39am
Disrespecting a female like that based on his own preconceived notions!! such a nice female, to smile and forgive afterwards, anyone else would have smacked this anchor,.
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anon Jun 02, 2017 01:40am
@kabir no thanks, we do not want such as an anchor humiliating females on air for no reason.
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Usman Chaudhri Jun 02, 2017 04:51am
applause! what a speech made during interrupting another speech, he still won't get those likes on facebook!
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ALBELA Jun 02, 2017 07:30am
Once CPEC is completed, Sahir Lodhi and the like will rule the chinese media too.
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AFTAB Jun 02, 2017 10:12am
Planted show
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Hasan Jun 02, 2017 10:39am
People give bribes because government departments make hurdle in the way of their all legal works. Education department on one side don't teach students & on other side these officers try to fail or give 3rd division results. All enlighten student get 3rd division b/c their is monopoly of mosques at educational institutions also & network of mosques are present in the limitation of college & universities which permit degree's to all clergy sympathizers.
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white noise Jun 02, 2017 11:42am
when I was growing up, these guys used to sound normal, as they get old, they are getting crazy by the day, everyone thinks if you bray like Amir Liaquat on TV, it will make them more, presentable !!! loud mouth don't mean you are right.
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D.K. PAMNANI Jun 02, 2017 12:00pm
The lady was speaking truth about the conditions of Women not only in Pakistani but in India and other Asian countries. In her speech, she never insulted Mr. Jinnah. A Drama by Lodhi.
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Najaf Khoja Jun 02, 2017 01:54pm
Absolutely disgraceful to watch ,one cannot interrupt someone's speech all of a sudden particularly when it was a speech contest ,absolutely showing off a male show in name of Quaide Azam like cherry picking something out of main context of speech ,when Farhan took a straight approach towards the argument did not comment at all and finally when Dr Saba Rizwan asked permission to complete her poetry he did not allow ,what kind of freedom of speech is there ,completely dominant and aggressive approach ,who has no respect of anybody else present around and finally why Dr was utterly silent probably proving her point that women are suppressed in society this much as if i were her i would react and if not at least walked out from stage in protest
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Dr Waleed Jun 02, 2017 08:29pm
Give the man a break. He has apologized for what appears to be a misunderstanding. Should we lynch him for that.
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Farah (New York) Jun 02, 2017 10:07pm
@Dishant I agree with you, plus he got jealous as she is a talented girl and he is nothing.
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nAVEED Jun 03, 2017 09:17am
Sahir just misunderstood what she was say and he also apologized to her. I think that is fair enough. His apology should have been accepted.
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Faisal Khan Jun 04, 2017 08:06pm
Apart form the content, the behavior of Sahir depicts the intolerant emotional attitude of people. Ramadan gives lesson of sabar and one should become humble after the whole exercise. Differing in opinion should be totally normal. Portrayal of this emotional heroism should be stopped. One should be able to express his ideas and feeling in free manner. When she was given the control to talk then the host should not has snubbed her. Anyone that shows the mirror of the current state of affairs, to the people, they object violently. We are in a state of denial of the evils of society. Everyone wants to speak sweet, "acchi" and positive. Forgetting that one can either talk about truth or falsehood.
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Rudy Gumban Jun 05, 2017 01:21pm
He should have give up his role being a host of his TV show and instead become one of those participants and give freely his own speech about greatness of Quaid-e-Azam and not to passionately and outrageously demean the contestant even though later on he apologized. Even then, he should have been reprimanded or sanctioned for this ill-mannered reaction to the speech of the contestant to serve an example that such unacceptable behavior should not be tolerated. This is really unheard of in TV shows.
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