Even bad publicity is good publicity… We see the veracity of this statement, as Mahira Khan continues to make news for the controversy that followed her getting papped smoking with Ranbir Kapoor. Since then she has addressed the issue, saying, “It is my personal life and it is very normal for a boy and girl to hang out. Nowadays, (the) media is not only present at events but everywhere…I am a very careful person otherwise. People ask me that I do not do this in films, I say I do not want to. Why should I do anything to show the world?”

Now, as she promotes her upcoming release, Verna, she is predictably opening up even more. “I’d be lying if I said that I decided right off the bat that I wouldn’t respond to this controversy. And I’m a very strong woman but when all of this happened, I was completely shattered and broken. I would think about posting a statement every day. Then I would stop myself because I just wouldn’t know what to say,” says the Pakistani beauty.

She claims she understands where all the criticism came from and that it didn’t come from a place of hate. “I’m not talking about the trolls but those who were genuinely disappointed to see those pictures,” she explains. “It’s the same disappointment that my nani or my mamoo would have felt seeing that. So even now when I meet an older lady who says that she didn’t like the pictures, I’m quick to apologize.” Now that is not something you would expect from the seemingly bold lass!

She continues in the same slightly heroic vein, saying, “People ask me if I’m a good role model for my fans, and my response to that is that yes, I am a role model but I’m not the perfect role model. I am human, I make mistakes. And I was really happy to see that there were so many people who stood up for me. It goes to show that the narrative in Pakistan is changing, and if nothing else, I’m happy to have been part of that narrative.”
Wow, can someone just give her an award soon!