Yasir Hussain is not new to making the news for all sorts of controversial and unfortunate comments, be it his comments in talk shows or his episodes on his Instagram stories. He somehow always finds himself in hot water for almost every opinion he shares publicly. In an interview with BBC Urdu, Yasir Hussain clarified why he’s always part of controversy whether willingly or unwillingly.
The interviewer asked Yasir about his appearance on recent talk shows after which a lot of what he said on those shows spread like wildfire on social media. Yasir informed that he was on a couple of shows which were almost similar in the recent past. Talking specially about ‘The Couple Show’ hosted by Hina Altaf and Agha Ali, he said the show had a segment in which he had to either answer a controversial question or drink condiments and sauces.
“There was this one show where I was told to drink eggs, garlic and ginger paste, and soya sauce if I don’t answer a question; which actor is good or bad, which director should stop directing, which actress gossips the most, etc.”
“My question is that the one asking the question is right, the channel producing the show is right, the pages promoting them are right, am I the only one who’s wrong? The one who is answering their controversial questions?” He also added, “They want me to drink the condiments and get an ulcer in my stomach but I shouldn’t answer their questions”
Yasir also added that no matter who he names in those answers, it will always be a controversy. “I wanted to name myself in every answer but the hosts said that’s playing it safe and that I cannot name anyone in this room or myself. If you tell me to eat this or answer, I will definitely answer”
Clarifying a recent controversy picked up from the named talk show, Yasir said that he named Azfar Rehman when he was asked which actor can’t act because Azfar and he are friends. “Azfar is a better friend to me than many others. He has always given me the best advice. In fact, he was the one who taught me financial savings. Maybe I took his name because I knew he wouldn’t mind it. He too named me once as an overrated actor in an interview, and he was right. I am overrated since I only acted in three dramas”
Avoiding addressing the controversy with Nausheen Shah, Yasir then added how he doesn’t understand why audiences are still talking about him. “People should stop talking about Yasir Hussain. You have a button, unfollow me. I put one story, I get thousands of views instantly. Why are you watching it?” he asked, insisting that people enjoy his Instagram videos due to the content he posts. It’s now a platform that is huge and powerful, he said.
Yasir then called out the entertainment industry on its hypocrisy and said that everyone agrees with what he does and says, but none of them talk about it publicly. “I often get calls from actors after every controversy telling me that I am right, but they do not do the same thing on social media because they are afraid that they will be abused, I am not afraid.”
Whether it’s proposing marriage to his wife in a packed house, criticising Turkey’s most popular drama, Ertugrul, or taunting fellow actors on social media, actor Yasir Hussain is not afraid of at least all of these things. “Why can’t I express my opinion, just because I’m an actor?” says Yasir Hussain. “I just have to live in a fake shell, everyone has to think that the actors are the same as they are on TV?”
Towards the end of the interview, Yasir expressed his disappointment in the hate he receives when he expresses his love for his wife Iqra publicly. “We’re doing nothing wrong. People should see what I’m doing and learn from it, learn that you should love and respect your wife, in private as well as in public”
Yasir Hussain is looking forward to his upcoming films ‘Pichhe To Dekho’, ‘Chaudhry’ and the telefilm ‘Guru Cheela’ as his roles are different in all these films and awaits the publics positive response to them.
