Maya Ali, Saba Faisal and Saima Akram Chaudhry criticise TV host, who later hit back on Instagram
Television host Nadia Khan has come under fire from fellow celebrities after mocking Sajal Aly’s performance in the drama Zanjeerain during an episode of her review show Kya Drama Hai, prompting a wave of criticism from across the entertainment industry.
Reviewing episode 18 of the drama, Nadia questioned the realism of a scene in which Sajal’s character, Rabia, softly calls out, “Is someone there?” while fleeing danger. To illustrate her point, she performed an exaggerated imitation of Sajal’s on-screen run, drawing laughter from her co-host.
Clips from the segment quickly went viral on social media, dividing viewers between those who found the impression humorous and those who believed it crossed the line from criticism into mockery.
Among the first to respond was actor Maya Ali, who shared a note on Instagram stressing that “people recognise the difference between mocking, mimicry, and constructive criticism.”
Highlighting Sajal’s body of work, Maya said the actor had represented Pakistan internationally and earned acclaim at a young age.
“Every artist deserves respect for their hard work and talent,” she wrote, adding that “chasing ratings should never come at the cost of someone’s dignity.” She concluded by declaring there would never be another Sajal.
Photo: Mayaali/Instagram
Veteran actor Saba Faisal also criticised Nadia, questioning whether such remarks were appropriate on a public platform.
In a social media post, Faisal wrote, “Who are you to criticise an artist like the one and only Sajal Aly,” adding that publicly speaking about fellow artists in such a dismissive manner was inappropriate.
The strongest response came from screenwriter Saima Akram Chaudhry, who previously worked with Nadia on the drama Kaisi Aurat Hoon Main.
Photo: SaimaAkramChaudhary/Instagram
Saima accused Nadia of undermining a script into which she had poured significant effort with what she described as an average performance of her own. She also suggested Nadia needed professional help for the way she conducted herself on television, writing that giving Nadia a platform was “like giving a matchstick to a monkey.”
Nadia responded in an Instagram Story with sarcasm, thanking Saima for the psychiatric suggestion and claiming she had since been “diagnosed” with what she called “Truth Syndrome”—a tongue-in-cheek reference to exercising free speech and pointing out weak writing.
She added that while there was “no cure for my honesty,” she had a remedy for Saima, “Write better scripts and correct production errors.”
Saima later reposted Nadia’s response to her own Instagram Story, arguing that playing the role of an “honest critic” was easy, but accepting the same criticism in return was much harder. She also reshared Saba’s post criticising Nadia, further amplifying the industry’s backlash.