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Actor Fahad Sheikh has denied disrespecting veteran actor Mohammed Ahmed in a video that went viral on Wednesday, claiming “what seems like a ‘bully’ was not the case to begin with”.

The actor was referring to a video shared widely on social media in which he and other cast members laugh at Ahmed while on set, using a pocket-sized fan to style Ahmed’s hair. The video emerged after an interview given by Ahmed in which he said an actor some 40 years his junior disrespected him on set.

Appearing on the Dareecha podcast with Sheeba Khan, Ahmed recounted an experience where a much younger actor started ridiculing him in the green room. The actor said the man was the show’s lead actor and spoke in a loud voice to boost his sense of importance in the room. The unnamed actor told people, “This man here, Mohammed Ahmed, I first worked with him four to six years ago and he judged me to see whether I could act, then he told the producer I was alright.”

Ahmed also recounted an incident during a shoot in which the actor took a portable fan from one of the other actors and used it like a hairdryer on Ahmed’s head. “He shouted to everyone, ‘Look, I am styling his hair!’”

Ahmed said he did not react at the time because everyone has a mobile phone now and things like this often get posted on social media without context and he didn’t want to stoop to that level. The video that went viral appeared to show the same incident he described in the interview.

The industry rallied behind Ahmed, with many colleagues, including Faysal Quraishi and Shamoon Abbasi, calling for the unnamed actor to come forward and apologise. On Wednesday evening, Sheikh responded to the backlash and said “half cooked stories are always dangerous because they are used to set a narrative,” claiming that on set, they “bond like a family who laughs together, eat with each other and share grievances”.

“This was not my first project with Ahmed Sahab — I have worked with him on many projects, and we shared a bond where we would laugh and have a good time on set,” wrote Sheikh in a series of stories posted to his Instagram account. “I don’t know at what point the joke he initiated himself made him feel like we were bullying him, because that was never anyone’s intent,” he said.

The actor claimed that the many seniors he had worked with in his 11 years in the industry had “always loved [him] like a son”.

He went on to say that he had apologised to Ahmed “long before this whole parade of content sparked out [sic]”.

“He is my senior, I am not ashamed to ask for his forgiveness publicly,” Sheikh said.

“And if Ahmed sahab thinks my personal apology was not enough for him, than I apologise to him on this platform as well, I hope you don’t keep any grudges against me because I would neva think of insulting my seniors in any case [sic],” wrote the actor.

His last story said legal action was being initiated against parties who “circulated out-of-context video material to deliberately mislead the public”.

The video in question sparked anger online, with several actors calling out the blatant disrespect shown in it. Nadia Jamil posted a video to her account in which she said she was “disgusted” by the disrespectful behaviour displayed in the video.

“There is a way to speak to people older than you, even if you’re joking around, there’s an etiquette to that too. There are certain boundaries. When we’re children we’re taught certain limits. Learning when I am crossing the line is a part of our upbringing and I’m sorry, this young man has crossed the line hideously in this video,” she said, adding that it was apparent that Ahmed did not find it funny.

She also called out the person who posted the video, saying it should not have been shared to spare Ahmed from further humiliation.