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Dananeer Mobeen has urged audiences to keep actors’ personal lives separate from the romantic storylines of their on-screen characters after fans of Meem Se Mohabbat began speculating about a real-life relationship between her and co-star Ahad Raza Mir.

During an interview with Faridoon Shahryar for ConnectCine, Mobeen was asked how she felt about people drawing analogies between characters and the actors playing them.

The actor’s response was two-fold. First, she said it was a compliment that people loved the on-screen chemistry so much that they wanted the actors to be together in real life. Secondly, she believed that people had the good sense and enough exposure to know that portraying certain characters was part of an actor’s job.

“Our work and personal lives are completely separate. [There is] what we do on set, and when we go home, we are completely different people,” she clarified.

Mobeen was flattered by people ‘shipping’ her character with Mir’s in Meem Se Mohabbat and had relationship names for the two, but emphasised that viewers should “understand that everyone has their own life.

“I think audiences should keep off-screen and on-screen chemistry separate. I understand there is excitement, but everyone has their personal life. It’s better to keep it separate because it’s our job.”

She reiterated that “shipping” should stick to on-screen characters and remain complimentary but be avoided otherwise. “This is our job, do your job and go home to your parents,” Mobeen added with a chuckle.

What Mobeen faced isn’t an isolated incident — Pakistani actors, especially those appearing together in television dramas, are often romantically linked without any evidence beyond their on-screen collaborations.

Recently, a contestant on Fahad Mustafa’s game show Jeeto Pakistan claimed that Hania Aamir had her heart set on the actor. The two starred as romantic leads in the hit drama Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum. When Mustafa asked where Aamir came from, the contestant replied that Aamir ‘belonged’ to him — prompting Mustafa to clarify that this was only true within the context of the show.

After the blockbuster drama Zindagi Gulzar Hai aired, fans were obsessed with the on-screen chemistry between Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed. However, in a recent interview with BBC Asian Network’s Haroon Rashid, Saeed discussed their latest project Barzakh, in which the duo play siblings, and said the new dynamic would likely ‘shock’ audiences.“

“But that’s a good thing. Like I keep saying, people need to see that we are actors and how we can work together other than being love interests.”

At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that actors are professionals, doing their job and portraying fictional roles. Their on-screen chemistry shouldn’t be mistaken for a real-life relationship. While our favourites bring colourful characters to life, it does not indicate that their personal lives mirror the story on our screens.

Circulating rumours or projecting romantic narratives onto actors — who are real individuals — based on their shows and films overlooks their craft and creates misconceptions about their private life.

Let’s celebrate the dramatised, fictional love and acting prowess, but let’s not force fantasy onto people just trying to do their job.