Pakistani actress Mahira Khan recently talked about her personal struggles of being a divorced single mother and the professional hazards she faced when she was banned (along with other Pakistani artistes) from performing in films in India.
Mahira, particularly, talked about the viral picture with Ranbir Kapoor, which set the internet abuzz. The Humsafar actress admitted that she thought her “career is over” after the picture went viral.
Talking about her emotional turmoil, Mahira Khan told BBC Asian Network, “When the photos came out there was an article called ‘The Little White Dress’ that was published in BBC and I failed to see the brilliance of that article at that time. In fact, I think I may have. I remember reading it and thinking, ‘Is my career over?'”
Mahira continued, “In that article, it was written that ‘here is a woman who has achieved this kind of success that no one in Pakistan has achieved, all the endorsements and all that, and now it is all gone. What is going to happen to her?’ I read it and I was like ‘Damn.’
“But I told myself, ‘Are you mad? This is going to end,’ maybe it was the 14-year-old Mahira that told me. But I won’t lie that that time was very tough. I wouldn’t get out of the bed, I was crying daily, it affected my professional and personal life. Lots happened on my personal side,” said the actress.
Rumours of Mahira Khan and Ranbir Kapoor’s relationship sparked as soon as the picture went viral. In the picture, Mahira and Ranbir were seen smoking on the streets of New York. Ranbir and Mahira were first clicked together at the Global Teacher Prize event in Dubai. Their relationship reportedly took a backseat as Mahira faced backlash for smoking in the viral picture.
Mahira has always bounced back and she chooses to remain positive in life. “I did the right thing personally. I made some personal choices that were right for me and my child. Professionally, I kept quiet because I knew at that point I couldn’t say anything. All the brands called me and said we are with you,” she said.
Mahira Khan was earlier married to Ali Askari. They however parted ways in 2015. Mahira and Ali are parents to a 13-year-old son, Azlan. Mahira will be seen with Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed in the Netflix series Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo. Mahira married Salim Karim last year.
