Writer Khalilur Rehman Qamar has clarified that he was not against women, claiming to be a staunch supporter of their rights.

“I am not against women and I think I can claim that I am the only person who respects women a lot,” he said in an interview with Shaukat Piracha on his show Rubaroo aired on Wednesday.

Qamar, a writer known for dramas like Mere Pass Tum Ho, Kunda Bazar, Pyaray Afzal, Sadqay Tumharay, and many more, was the guest on the first-day show of Eid. He spoke about his thought process before writing a drama, his temper, and people’s perception of him related to women.

Before starting the conversation Piracha told him that his producer got concerned when he told her about the guest.

Qamar clarified that he stood up against “some wrong statements and wrong slogans” and advised his critics to read his plays and hear his view before making any perception.

He went on to add that a certain number of groups made a wrong perception of him because they “have their interior motive.” The Mere Pass Tum Ho writer claimed that he was the first person who was standing up for women’s rights, but clarified that he was not with filth or impudence.

He also spoke about a viral clip from one of his interviews where he spoke about women’s rights. That clip had drawn sharp criticism from several women.

“If you see the complete interview, I am not against feminism. I was there [in that show] to plead that there was a dialogue in my drama. A girl committed a sin and there was a statement. I was shocked to see the reaction to it,” Qamar said and added that he was not allowed to speak properly.

Myth of PTV dramas

Qamar described the “good dramas era” during PTV as a myth, saying that national television was the only channel where such plays were shown on television.

He admitted that the dramas were good, but added that the people had no other option than the PTV to watch entertainment shows. Everything was hit at that time, he said.

According to him, many writers were not able to write dramas when the competition started after the opening of several channels.

“Drama is not direct persuasion. They are made on concepts. It is not a drama that educates you, it is something inside you which educates you. If you have to adopt bad thoughts due to your upbringing, so drama should not be blamed. The fault lies in your nature.”

What to do with dramas you don’t like

There are so many people complaining about TV dramas, lamenting that they are no match for the ones made in the past. Writer Khalilur Rehman Qamar has an answer for such a query: stop watching those serials.

“I don’t speak about anyone. You [people] decide standards, I don’t. I am a writer and my opinion is biased. If it is bad then don’t see. If a wrong message is being given [through drama] then don’t listen to it,” he said.

He was asked whether he was satisfied with the quality of dramas produced at the current time.

In response to a question about his thought process, Qamar said that his drama centres on women.

“I always target my women. They have rendered sacrifices. Haya (Modesty) and wafa (faithfulness) are names of sacrifice. My target is always brave women. In my plays, women don’t cry they are powerful.”

He added that he was a gifted writer as he was a well-settled banker. “I was a flourishing banker I enjoyed my 11 years of banking. I was a gifted writer. When I had the pen the first time in my hand, I was a writer. So I had to come.”

More to follow…