A new controversy has erupted in Kashmir revolving around teenage film actor Zaira Waseem who played a role in Salam Khan starrer Dangal. After Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti urged youngsters to make Zaira a role model, the young star met her in winter capital Jammu, Zaira now took to social media to apologise to people for her “actions” and refused to be taken as a role model.
Zaira has apologised apparently after being trolled on the social networking sites over her meeting with Mehbooba Mufti. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also obliquely criticised Mufti for taking credit on people’s success to hide her own failures. He also criticised the people who trolled the young artist.
Zaira wrote on her facebook page, “This is an open confession/apology. I know that many people have been offended and displeased by my recent actions or by the people I have recently met,” apparently referring to her meeting with the CM.
The post further reads that she wants to apologize to all those who she may have “unintentionally hurt”. “I want to apologise to all those people who I've unintentionally hurt and I want them to know that I understand their sentiments behind it especially considering that what had happened over the past six months but I hope people can also understand there are certain circumstances that emerge which one cannot control and I hope people still remember that I'm a just a 16 year old girl and I hope you treat me accordingly. I'm sorry for what I did but it was not a deliberate decision and I really hope people can forgive me,” she wrote.
“There are few more things which are very important and I want to clear them as well. The first and foremost thing is that I am being projected as a role model for Kashmiri Youth. I want to make it very clear that I do not want anyone to follow in my footsteps or even consider me as a role model. I'm not proud of what I'm doing and I want everyone, especially the youth to know that there are real role models out there whether they be in this time or in our history,” Zaira wrote.
She said that people should stop calling her role-model of youngsters. “There are few more things which are very important and I want to clear them as well. The first and foremost thing is that I am being projected as a role model for Kashmiri Youth. I want to make it very clear that I do not want anyone to follow in my footsteps or even consider me as a role model. I’m not proud of what I’m doing and I want everyone, especially the youth to know that there are real role models out there whether they be in this time or in our history.”
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah lent support to the actor. He wrote on Twitter, “I have a problem with Mehbooba Mufti trying to usurp other peoples success to cover up her own failures but why punish/troll people she meetsIJ”