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Kinza Hashmi is standing up for her Leader costar Ali Raza days after a video from a fan meet and greet in Karachi went viral where a man approaching her was picked up and put aside by her Raza.

Videos from the event show a man, presumably trying to meet Hashmi at the event on Sunday, walk up behind her and get close before being lifted up by Raza. The fan is seen grinning as he’s carried to the side. The move sparked a debate, with some calling the actor childish while others praised his sense of chivalry.

Hashmi stepped in to defend her costar on Thursday, saying that while the event was a meet and greet, “that does not mean anyone has the right to come extremely close to me or any female and make them uncomfortable”.

She said she had interacted with fans throughout the event, with many men asking to take pictures with her respectfully and while maintaining boundaries. This one fan, she said, “crossed that line”.

She said Raza’s actions were a direct response to her feeling uncomfortable with the developing situation. Hashmi acknowledged it could have been handled better, but said Raza’s reaction “came from a protective instinct to make me feel safe in that moment”.

She denied any notion that her costar was trying to “insult or humiliate anyone” while acting in her defence.

“Just because a woman is a public figure, does not mean she stops deserving personal space,” she said. She asked people not to try normalise others crossing boundaries.

In a second story, she said she had seen Raza interact with his fans “with love and respect”. Hashmi said “one moment from a crowded situation” should not come to define how the actor’s nature.

Earlier, the fan at the centre of the issue made his own statement, claiming Raza had “misbehaved” with him and he felt “very bad” about the way he was treated for trying to take a picture. He said he had been to Fahad Mustafa’s fan meet before going to see Hashmi and was not mistreated like this.

“I felt very bad, I got emotional. This was unlike anything that has happened to me, I couldn’t believe this is what happens. We give these stars so much respect and they do this to us,” the fan said.