Dawn Images

Khalilur Rehman Qamar is no stranger to controversy, being called out every so often for his misogynistic personal views and problematic writing. That’s why it’s not at all surprising that his latest drama, Main Manto Nahi Hoon, has landed in hot water for the second time in its two-and-a-half month run on television.

The last time we wrote a piece like this, netizens were dragging the drama for a disgraceful scene in the first episode where the show’s female lead, Mehmal (Sajal Ali), cracks a fat-shaming joke at the expense of her teacher Manto (Humayun Saeed) and his non-existent wife.

This time, the subject is more dangerous and something many observers were worried about when this drama first started airing: student-teacher relationships.

The spark that lit the fire was a post on X from lawyer Reema Omer criticising a scene from the drama in which Mehmal’s classmates boycott Manto’s lecture at university and demand he marry his student. Yes, you read that right.

A firestorm quickly started in the comment section, with netizens calling out Qamar on penning such a “disturbing and culturally tone deaf” script and asking what exactly he was fantasising about as he wrote it.

Users on X pointed out the absurdity of the plot, how the relationship between a teacher and their student is sacred and how they were shocked to see renowned actors like Aly and Saeed agree to act out these scenes.

Users emphasised the potential ramifications of such content on women and girls who want to pursue higher education.

One user added how other dramas airing alongside Main Manto Nahi Hoon were spreading awareness about social issues and sending messages that contribute to social progress. She asked why Qamar can’t take inspiration from other writers such as Shahzeb Khanzada who has written Case No 9 and bring some good into the world. She also questioned why senior actors agree to go along with such projects.

Others had the same questions — why did seasoned actors agree to play such harmful characters, why did producers approve these projects and why did established directors direct them? Actor Iffat Omar led the chorus in holding her colleagues from the entertainment industry to account.

Some people just couldn’t believe what was going on — neither the scene itself, nor the fact that people actually watched this stuff.

We don’t know what was going on in Qamar’s mind while writing this — nor do we want to know — but we especially don’t know why Aly and Saeed agreed to act in a drama that glorifies this kind of behaviour. The age difference between the main characters is massive and he is her teacher! Apart from how icky this all is, there is the very real threat that the portrayal of this relationship could result in many young women not being allowed to go to university.