A 49-second video where Pakistani actress Saba Qamar recounts the humiliation she felt at being singled out at an international airport for holding a Pakistani passport has gone viral.
The actress, who starred along with Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan in Hindi Medium, breaks down as she narrates the story.
She says:“We boast about Pakistan. We say Pakistan is this and that. But when you go out of the country and the way we are checked, I can’t tell you. I feel so humiliated the way I am frisked. I remember I want for a shoot in Tbilisi (Capital of Georgia) and my entire Indian crew was allowed to go. But I was stopped because of my Pakistani passport."
Qamar says she was cleared only after thorough checking and an interview and expressed sadness that her country was viewed as a nation that supports terrorism. "That day I realised, that this is our position. Where do we stand?"
Qamar is one of the highest paid actresses in Pakistan, and she has worked in both television and films. She has also won several awards, including a Nigar Award and Hum Awards.
The video has gained a lot of sympathy from Twitter users, with many pointing out that not just Pakistani actors, but big names in Bollywood, too, have been treated in similar fashion.
In October 2016, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan took to Twitter to say he was once again detained at Los Angeles airport by the US immigration department. It was the third such instance Khan, who was first detained in 2012.
Voicing his frustration, the actor wrote, “I fully understand & respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigration every…time really really s****.”
South Indian actor Kamal Hassan is another celebrity who often gets suspicious looks from US immigration officials for his Muslim sounding name. But he feels we shouldn't be so touchy about their immigration rules.
Perry's onstage quip about "Englishmen" felt like a deliberate signal.
Those yacht photos are, frankly, undeniable.
It started with a Montreal dinner most people missed.
Both are out of long-term relationships.
Well, she’s as good as confirmed it, hasn’t she? Katy Perry just tossed a verbal grenade into her London concert, and the pieces all point to Justin Trudeau. That line about Englishmen? You do not say that by accident. It lands just days after those, let's face it, pretty steamy pictures of them surfaced on her boat. This Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau thing is suddenly feeling very real, shifting from rumours to a full-blown celebrity romance.
Katy Perry’s stage moment sparks worldwide fan theories about a secret romance Getty Images
So what did she actually say?
Mid-show at the O2, looking out at the crowd, she hits them with this: "London, England, you’re like this on a Monday night?... No wonder I fall for Englishmen all the time."
Pause.
Then came the kicker: "...but not anymore." The place erupts. It was too specific, too perfectly timed. And then, almost as if scripted, some fan proposes to her. Her comeback was: "I wish you’d asked me 48 hours ago." What is that, if not a nod to a new, serious someone?
Let’s talk about the yacht. The Daily Mail got those shots and, while grainy, the story they tell is crystal clear. The photos were taken off the coast of Santa Barbara, on her 78-foot Caravelle. He is pulling her in, kissing her cheek. His hand was on her backside in another frame. This follows that low-key Montreal dinner in July that almost flew under the radar.
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Where does this leave everyone?
Right, let us look at the context. Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom only finalised their split recently, with the co-parenting news coming out in July. Justin Trudeau’s marriage to Sophie Grégoire also ended last year. Both are prominent figures with busy lives who have only just become single. Sources are already saying he has been "persistent," flying to see her on tour breaks. It has the feel of something that is accelerating fast. And Perry, with that London comment, seems ready to let it.
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