If I’m good to my wife, I’m not doing anything extraordinary: Yasir Hussain

Actor talks stereotyping of women, importance of mental health awareness, among other things on recent podcast

“I met a taxi driver in LA and asked him if this was his full-time job. He said, ‘no, no, I am a comedian.’ But he was no funny at all. I figured that is why he is still driving a taxi. But whenever someone wants to portray themselves as a smart person, they usually say they are a comedian. Because comedians are respected around the world, except in Pakistan,” actor Yasir Hussain told host and former model Frieha Altaf.

The director recently made an appearance on Frieha’s FWhy podcast to discuss a range of issues, including but not limited to comedians being looked down upon in Pakistani society, stereotyping of women on Pakistani television, and the importance of mental health awareness.

“My favourite local comedians have been Umer Shareef, Moin Akhtar, Anwar Maqsood and I love to read Patras Bokhari and Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi,” he said. “I love a variety of sense of humours. I appreciate them. I am actively looking for people who are funny in any regard. Among Western comic performers I love Jim Carrey, Jerrie Louis, Charlie Chaplin, Robin Williams,” added the Lahore Se Aagey actor.

When Frieha acknowledged how Yasir has in recent times, spoken up for women’s rights, and is usually under the radar for his slapstick comebacks and outspoken nature, Yasir detailed how he gets it from his father. “My father was like that too. He was friends with poets and very straightforward. Society has become weird now. I mean, people had always been straightforward. Now, it’s either a compliment or a bad thing. Similarly, if someone is good to his wife, like if I’m good to my wife, I’m not doing anything extraordinary. Like you just introduced me by calling me a good husband but I think that should be the norm.”

Yasir went on to elaborate why being straightforward should not be looked up to or looked down upon. “Being an ‘honest man’ or a ‘straightforward man’ shouldn’t be a compliment. It should be the case. I think these qualities are rare in society now so they’re passed off as a big deal. People also get offended here if you’re straightforward, if you tell them ‘No’. I’m saying no to a project, not a director or a writer. I could have any reason. I could not be okay with a role, with the lines, with the story. But that doesn’t mean I’m criticizing someone’s work. Maybe I’m choosy.”

While discussing mental health, the actor blamed parents for discounting their child’s mental health struggles while being confronted with them. “They ask, ‘He or she is a kid, why would a kid be suffering from a mental health issue?’ As if mental health problems are only adult problems. We still don’t know what mental health is!”

He also explained why mental health is never treated like a priority in Pakistan. “Because in this country, we are still hung up on fulfilling our basic needs. Until and unless are basic needs are being met, how can we focus on our creative needs? If a wall in my house is broken and I don’t have any bread at home, I will go and get the bread first then think about my wall. That is the case with mental health issues. We can’t focus on mental health as a nation until we overcome so many other problems,” shared Yasir.

He emphasized, “How can people think about their mental health if they don’t have electricity at home? Not having basic necessities will further anyone’s mental struggles so that is what people will focus on resolving first.” Frieha seconded Yasir’s views, adding that these are the same reasons why so many social causes are abandoned in Pakistan. “I would like to tell everyone that when the highway rape case surfaced, we made a group on WhatsApp to plan and protest and Yasir was the first to raise his voice. We all went to the press club for the same.”

She then asked the actor to offer his two cents on women being judged for their dressing in society, to which Yasir said, “How can I condemn people from judging women for their dressing when I myself belong to an industry that, till this day, shows women wearing pants and shirt only when they have to play a modern or wicked role on TV? I personally know so many women who wear shalwar kameez and are modern. Why is Western clothing the criteria for modernism? We are the ones stereotyping and teaching our viewers how to perceive women.”

He added, “Similarly, our dramas are teaching men and women that if a man comes to your house, threatens your father and abuses you, you should fall in love with him. If you argue that Indian films like Kabir Singh glorify the same kind of behaviour, I will say that people buy tickets for films, they come with a warning, and are made for a particular age group. What comes on TV is for free, viewed by everyone, and capable of creating or dismantling a society.”

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.