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A local media outlet recently published a story claiming that television host Syed Muzammil Shah said Mahira Khan was “not an experienced actor.” Shah has since clarified that the portrayal of his remarks was inaccurate and misleading.

The controversy stemmed from Shah’s appearance on Zabardast, a talk show on Neo TV, where he was asked to rank Mahira Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Alia Bhatt, and Mehwish Hayat based on their looks and acting skills. While Shah placed Mahira second for beauty, he ranked her fourth for acting.

When asked about Mahira’s acting, Shah stated, “I’m going to disagree with the popular opinion here a little bit, but I didn’t feel that there is a lot of expertise.”

However, he clarified that he had not followed Mahira’s work extensively and cited The Legend of Maula Jatt as an example of her performance not resonating with him. “Her work didn’t fascinate me much,” he said.

Shah emphasised that his remarks were not a critique of Mahira’s overall talent or career but a personal observation based on limited exposure to her work. He also praised Hamza Ali Abbasi’s performance in the same film, calling it “top-notch”.

He also told the host that he is a political commentator so he might get trolled for his remarks on actors. “They’ll make memes on this now,” he quipped.

Taking to his Instagram story, Shah addressed the misquote directly, writing: “Lo jee, baich lo stories sab [Go on, sell your stories now]. Please Mahira, don’t trust the clickbait media. Rather trust me. Main aisa soch bhi nahi sakta [I can’t even think of something like this].”

The backlash on social media, however, has been harsh, with most comments on the outlet’s Instagram post criticising Shah.

Comments ranged from dismissive remarks like “Who is he?” to assumptions about his intentions: “He just wants fame,” and “Muzammil sahab and his yellow journalism.”