Pakistanis are filled with pride after Ahad Raza Mir's debut in 'Resident Evil'

Actor Ahad Raza Mir’s fans have been patiently waiting for his Hollywood debut ever since his casting in Netflix’s Resident Evil was announced. The long wait ended when fans finally witnessed Mir as Arjun Batra in the Netflix series on July 14.

Filled with pride, many took to Twitter to commend the feat with high praises for the Hum Tum actor— so much so, that started trending in not one, but three different places on the microblogging site in Pakistan and India.

The hashtags ‘Ahad Raza Mir’, ‘Ahad X Resident Evil’ and his character’s name ‘Arjun Batra’ were seen in abundance on the bird app. Several of these fans had not only binge-watched the series but also shared their thoughts on Mir’s performance. Others, praised the compelling chemistry between Mir and his co-star Ella Balinska, who stars in the show as Jade. Scenes of Mir and his onscreen daughter also won hearts, screenshots of which surfaced too.

"(Ahad Raza Mir) is the first actor from his country to feature in a Netflix show. So proud of you,” tweeted a user.  Another felt that Mir's recognition was "long due" as an actor.

"It's so wholesome to see the hype around Ahad Raza Mir. It was honestly long due but better late than never, truly makes me so happy seeing him flourishing and thriving, bigger things await him always!" they wrote.

A tweep added, "A Pakistani actor starring in a Netflix project is a matter of pride for our entire nation cuz it shows that the Western world is finally picking up on our talent. Plus, what’s better than Ahad Raza Mir representing us? He's not just a guy who only acts well but speaks well too."

The ship for Mir and Balinska also sailed. “A bad*** wifey and a protective husband?! Get on the floors already," commented a user. 

However, some were also taken aback by a “bold kissing scene” between Mir and his costar in the show. In response to which a fan wrote, "Stop being ignorant, he was playing a role, let this man live." But others commented on the lack of backlash thereof, suggested that had a female Pakistani agreed to do the same, Twitter would have unleashed its wrath.

"Ahad Raza Mir is being lauded for his Hollywood debut and his bold scene isn't receiving half as much attention as it would have if a female actor did the same. Nobody would've cared about an achievement that big. It would only be reduced to the scene. Good for Ahad but jow shameful for our society."

Netizens were reminded of how Mawra Hocane in her Bollywood debut Sanam Teri Kasam received hatred for an intimate scene.

But the day was taken up a notch when right after the episode aired, social media users were met with another surprising news of Mir having bagged another foreign project. Taking over Hollywood one project at a time, the Ehd-e-Wafa actor will next be seen in World On Fire’s season 2 that retells the story of WWII from the experiences of six strangers.