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Kubra Khan has been all the buzz lately as her drama Doctor Bahu continues to be a fan favourite as it heads into its final stretch. The actor says the popularity comes with — often excessive — scrutiny from audiences on social media.

In an interview with Maliha Rehman, posted on YouTube on Monday, the actor listed out the requirements a woman needs to meet to be considered “beautiful” in Pakistani culture and the entertainment industry.

“The problem is, our industry or our culture has created this mould and they’ve kept it so small that not everyone can fit into it. I can’t fit into it,” Khan said.

The beauty checklist included the girl being fair, being a size zero, being tall and having long hair. “If you don’t fit into that mould, you’re not good enough, unfortunately,” the actor said.

Khan said she had been through that process where her beauty was gauged through that lens and it left an impact on her for some time, but now she’s “stopped justifying it”.

Responding to a question on why she doesn’t respond to discourse surrounding her show on social media, Khan said, “I don’t respond because I believe everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Whether it’s correct or not, that’s irrelevant.”

Rehman said fans had been calling out her character’s behaviour on the show, to which Khan laughed and said, “They started calling me out too. I am just like, ‘That’s [my character’s] doing, not mine.’”

The actor said some discourse about her casting was hurtful. “Just because I didn’t respond, doesn’t mean I am not affected by it.”

Some fans, she said, were being counterproductive even when they tried to support her online by perpetuating harmful trends and discourse, like bringing up her weight.

Later in the interview, Khan said she sometimes found the conversations about her on social media funny, especially since she isn’t very active on there anyway.

She said she had developed a thick skin and only really paid attention to what people were saying about her when it became a trend. However, the actor insisted that nobody had the right to “rip you apart” in the guise of having an opinion.