Bartering self-respect for short-lived fame

Actor and talk show host Fahad Mustafa is a familiar face on TV and is much loved by the public – both men and women alike. His films, Na Maloon Afraad and Actor in Law, took the box office by storm in 2014 and 2016, and since then, he has had more than his fair share of media attention and limelight – all positive… that is until now. An incident during a recent episode of his show, Jeeto Pakistan, upset many people who are now accusing Mustafa of allowing his fame to cloud his judgement and humanity, and of becoming insensitive to his guests.

Jeeto Pakistan is a popular game show; it is hosted by Mustafa and aired on ARY Digital. The show is a hit with the public for obvious reasons. For many who participate, this is their one shot in life to own prizes such as motorbikes, cars and LCD TVs among others. But like all good things, this opportunity also comes with a price. In order to win the coveted prizes, guests have to take part in a variety of games and activities, many of which can be demeaning and outright unacceptable. If guests aren’t joining in the base activities, they still have to keep themselves open to crass, hurtful and insensitive comments from the host.

TV shows do shock and everyone pushes the boundary of comfort and acceptability, but when shows trivialise people and play with their emotions and needs, then one has to raise their voice and ask for some sense to be knocked back onto the game floor.

This begs two questions – what level of responsibility and accountability can we as a nation and as TV viewers expect from these TV hosts? And second, to what degree are the guests on these shows responsible for allowing themselves to be shamed and humiliated for the sake of winning some prizes?

Jeeto Pakistan isn’t the first TV show to resort to such tactics to bring in viewers and get the ratings. The likes of Amir Liaquat have been doing this for years, often getting lambasted on social media for their vulgarity but never letting that get in the way of business. What made this episode more unpalatable was the fact that there was a minor involved this time. On the episode of Jeeto Pakistan that aired on June 13, a young girl in the audience, who was selected to participate in a game, showed Mustafa a drawing she had made of him. Rather than appreciating her effort and encouraging her to continue her art, he thoughtlessly mocked her picture and told her she shouldn’t do this anymore. A minute worth of content for the show, a lasting memory for the young girl.

One could argue that it was an innocuous remark from Mustafa, which meant no harm. That he was just being playful. What one forgets is that fame is a double-edged sword, because with recognition and adoration comes a sense of responsibility and accountability, and one’s actions and words, which under ordinary circumstances, would not have carried much weight, can become powerful tools, which can make or break people. In this incident, it was the confidence and spirit of a young girl that was attacked. After the show, her classmates, many in awe of Mustafa, thought it was acceptable to ridicule her for her drawing, because their hero did the same. Collectively, they made her feel ashamed and that can never be condoned.

Mustafa got a lot of flak on social media for this episode, but despite being aware of how his words impacted this young girl, rather than apologising to her and restoring her faith and confidence, he has chosen to remain silent, leaving us wondering whether these celebrities give two hoots about the people whose love and support gives them the basis for their careers and livelihoods. Surely, compassion should trump ego? And it would be a wise PR move as well – an apology to a young girl can never be misread or misconstrued. It can only win you more love and support. And eventually viewers and ads.

In this incident, the girl did not volunteer to be ridiculed, but there are many episodes where audience members allow themselves to be shamed for the sake of winning some material goods. And the question is, what has led us to this point, where we barter our self-respect in return for short-lived fame and a big ticket item?

Not to pick on Mustafa alone, but another episode that has people commenting on social media was also from Jeeto Pakistan, where middle-aged women were weighed in front of everyone and the heaviest woman won a prize.

He made insensitive and sarcastic remarks at their expense, shaming them and then rewarding them for allowing this shame. And the audience laughed and clapped and the bizarreness of all this was lost on the one who shamed, the one who was shamed, and those that witnessed – making everyone equally responsible.

TV shows do shock and everyone pushes the boundary of comfort and acceptability, but when shows trivialise people and play with their emotions and needs, then one has to raise their voice and ask for some sense to be knocked back onto the game floor. Intelligent entertainment can appeal to the general public as well. Talk show producers, directors and hosts just need to start trusting and respecting their audiences more.

Sheherzad Kaleem is a documentary filmmaker based in Dubai. sheherzadk@gmail.com