Sheikh terms the video a major setback to both his career and personal life. PHOTO: FILE
In the wake of recent terror attacks, the government has been airing multiple awareness messages on television, urging citizens to remain vigilant of suspicious activity in their surroundings.
While relying on archival footage is standard practice in the industry, one of the videos features Quetta-based actor Hameed Sheikh in handcuffs, “implying his association with terrorists”.
Talking to The Express Tribune, a visibly miffed Sheikh revealed that he had been jarred by this. “This is ruining all 30 years of my hard work and contribution to Pakistan [as an actor],” claimed the Moor star. Although Sheikh is yet to see the montage himself, he mentioned how he had been approached by numerous members of the entertainment industry, informing him of this misrepresentation. “I only got to know about the video through friends and co-workers. Sajid Hasan called me and told me about the video. Then others such as Ahsan Khan and Rashid Khawaja also corroborated the news,” he proclaimed.
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Once the actor found out about the incident, he immediately took to social media. “A government television commercial is showing my footage without my permission. Any idea how I can stop it?” posted Sheikh. Lamenting how the concerned authorities had used his images without his consent, he added, “I had done that for a movie and it cannot be just removed from there and used elsewhere.”
Even though Sheikh is confident of having his reputation cleared, he still terms the event as a major setback — not just for his career, but also for his personal life. He shared how he has chosen to stay within the confines of his house and is avoiding going out for safety concerns. “I am not leaving the vicinity of my home because I don’t know how people would react after having seen that footage. Even my lawyer is going to come and meet me at my house,” he shared.
Sheikh is planning to seek legal action to sort things out. “First, I will ask the concerned authorities to remove the video, following which I intend on suing them for defamation.”
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Though this is the first time that Sheikh has found himself embroiled in such a controversy, the actor believes it stems from a larger, deep-rooted problem. “It is not just with me. You must have noticed how lesser-known products use images of celebrities and artists to sell their stuff all the time,” he noted. Having returned from a trip to the US just a few months ago, Sheikh revealed that he intends on laying the groundwork for an actor’s guild in Pakistan. “I have spoken to members of the Screen Actors Guild and am very keen on implementing the same setup over here, so that the interests of artists can be safeguarded,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2016.
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