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Zoya Nasir on Thursday questioned the internet’s excitement over a video in which Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen is giving a shoutout to Pakistan.

Nasir’s comments come two days after Haris Waheed, her co-star from the hit drama Bas Tera Saath Ho, posted a clip of his interaction with Baron Cohen.

In the video, Waheed interacts with the Hollywood comedian, who was dressed up as his character for the new film Ali G: Who Iz I, telling him he’s a fan, before mentioning he’s from Pakistan.

“Yo, big up the Pakistan, man,” Baron Cohen says, as the surrounding crowd cheered.

Waheed’s video attracted hundreds of likes, with many appreciating Baron Cohen’s shoutout to Pakistan.

Nasir’s response, however, has shifted the conversation.

Taking to her Instagram stories, she reminded people of Baron Cohen’s history of being “hostile towards Muslims”.

“I’m sorry but the sheer lack of awareness is staggering. Sacha Baron Cohen has been openly hostile towards Muslims. Majority of his movies back that up.”

Without referencing Waheed’s video, she slammed Baron Cohen’s “smug, dripping sarcasm” and “theatrical sense of superiority,” concluding: “This was not a positive interaction in anyway, shape or form. Why are we excited about that again?”

While Baron Cohen continues to claim his work satirises Western ignorance, his comedy has more or less relied on racial and religious stereotypes to rake in laughs. His characters in Borat and The Dictator are two glaring examples of the use of cheap ethnic caricatures as political satire.

Even the character Ali G has been criticised for appropriating Black culture, while using a Muslim-sounding name.

Critics argue Baron Cohen often serves the very prejudice he claims to expose — making minorities the punchline.

Baron Cohen in a Time article defended his comedic Ali G persona, saying: “I’ve always designed my characters and comedy as vehicles to expose prejudice, bias and stupidity, though I realise not everyone sees them that way. Ali G is a white imbecile – a delusional cultural appropriator – who steals the fashion and lyrics from his favourite gangsta rap and dancehall idols, from Compton to Kingston,” Baron Cohen wrote.

“The joke is on him, and on the predominantly white male establishment who take him seriously,” he added.

Nasir’s take is a sharp reminder that not everyone is laughing.