Aagha Ali says he did not body-shame, simply ‘advised’

Newlyweds Agha Ali and Hina Altaf landed themselves in hot waters recently over some remarks they made on a recent morning show, whilst speaking to host Nida Yasir.

Albeit well-intentioned, Ali and Altaf revealed a request the former made right before they tied the knot. “Right before our wedding, Agha showed me a picture on his phone and just asked me one thing. He said, ‘If you ever get this fat’…” relayed Altaf, before being cut off by her husband.

The actor then explained what he actually meant to say. “Before our marriage, I only asked her for one promise. I said I don’t want anything else except this one thing,” he said before turning to Altaf, asking her to share the ‘promise’. “It was ‘Please don’t get fat’,” responded Altaf, as Ali and Yasir laughed.

Indeed, the clip left a sour taste in many mouths, especially in a society where people are constantly being judged by their appearances. However, the actor decided to defend his claim by providing a justification for what he said in his latest social media post.

“I asked my wife not to gain unnecessary weight,” declared Ali at the beginning of his Instagram story. “She is an actress and needs to look fit as no producer or director or writer would like to cast an overweight heroine.” He may have unintentionally pointed out a problem with the casting criteria in the media industry, but that’s a topic for another day. He added, “Also, she was chubby before and has worked really hard to keep fit.”

The Khoob Seerat star then reinstated how he himself has had a weight loss journey during which he was “neglected by the society.” So it’s understandable how he wouldn’t want himself or his wife to go back to square one.

But he then went on to mock people who called him out for his ‘insensitive remarks’ by deeming him and Altaf attention hungry. “Tou menay manga apni biwi se sirf ye ke ap ab unnecessary weight gain nahi karna (So I asked my wife simply to not gain unnecessary weight). Aur moqa mila kuch aesay logon ko attention lenay ka jinko wese tou attention milna impossible hai (And some people found the opportunity to gain attention who would otherwise, never be able to do so),” Ali declared.

After their video went viral, users criticised the couple for not only promoting ‘body-shaming’ but also normalising it. Some had also called them out for showcasing ‘conditional’ love.“Appalled at how men dismay women in the name of love. They start from objectifying your body to controlling it,” wrote one user. “I’ve seen fat-shaming happen openly. It happened to my sister in front of other people. It is not okay to ask for something so unrealistic when one can gain weight for various reasons,” protested another.

Nevertheless, in another Insta story, Ali asked, “Body-shaming hoti kya hai? (What is body-shaming?) Do you really know?” He questioned if anyone had ever witnessed him making fun of an overweight person or discussing a fat person in a derogatory manner. “If a mother tells her son to not gain unnecessary weight, if a brother tells his brother or a husband advises his wife not to gain unnecessary weight – it’s not body-shaming!” he concluded.

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