‘We cannot make saas-bahu dramas only,’ Yumna Zaidi tells PEMRA

Yumna Zaidi has hit back at the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for their notice on Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi (DNUTN), saying “we cannot make saas-bahu dramas only.”

Speaking to BBC Urdu, Yumna said that she doesn’t understand why PEMRA would take notice on her ongoing drama’s content.

“I was very disappointed [with PEMRA’s notice],” said Yumna. “I don’t understand what they want to promote [or show on television].”

“If we don’t talk about problems faced by people in government schools, gali mohallas or in the villages, then we’re only going to listen to bad news. If we force society to think about [such issues] through such content, then at least let it through instead of holding it back.”

“We cannot make saas-bahu dramas only,” lamented the actor further. “We make romantic dramas also. Different genres are given space [on television]. So this [DNUTN] should also be given a small space.”

Directing her comments towards PEMRA, Zaidi said: “I just want to ask PEMRA: ‘How can you do this?'”

The actor further said: “Other projects of mine have also previously received notices from PEMRA [Pyaar Ke Sadkay] but this one hurt more. It should not have happened. I was not happy with that.”

“Matlab kyun?,” she questioned, referring to the drama as a “very special project”.

Featuring Yasra Rizvi, Wahaj Ali, Nadia Afgan, Naumaan Ijaz, Omair Rana and Samiya Mumtaz besides Zaidi in the lead, Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi is a harrowing tale of child abuse and human trafficking in Pakistan. The drama has been written by Amna Mufti and directed by Kashif Nisar and is a Kashf Foundation Presentation.

According to a press release issued earlier, Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi will “bring some of the most heinous and deeply sensitive issues to light – while showing how humanity can still prevail in even the most insurmountable of situations.

The press release further said: “With three parallel stories on prostitution, human trafficking, and child abuse, the drama exposes the lowest ebb of our society.”

Read more – Omair Rana responds to PEMRA’s notice on ‘Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi’

Meanwhile, while talking about her character in the drama, Yumna said that she plays a prostitute and while shooting for the party scenes, she was very grateful that this wasn’t her “real life”.

“The feeling was so haunting. And I felt so sorry for those women who are entrapped in such lives,” said the actor. “But I am happy that I am portraying the character of such a woman, who fights the system and breaks free.”