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In a year-old interview that went resurfaced and viral for all the wrong reasons this week, Nauman Ijaz claimed he has been repeatedly unfaithful to his wife and is able to get away with it thanks to his superb acting skills and intelligence.
Ijaz described himself as appreciative of "inner and outer beauty". When interviewer and host Iffat Omar labelled artists as aashiq mizaaj log and questioned Ijaz whether he had ever fallen in love apart from his wife or struggled with controlling his feelings, he said, “I don’t control it. I fall in love daily. I am a very loving person. If I come across a woman who is beautiful inside out and has a difficult personality, I fall in love with her.”
Ijaz added that not only does his own wife not find out, neither do the spouses of the women who reciprocate his advances and get involved with him.
Earlier in the interview, Ijaz said he as a very lucky man in terms of his successful marriage, but said that a husband and wife simply cannot be friends.
The veteran actor appeared as the very first guest on the first episode of Say It All With Iffat Omar, a web series hosted by the former model. The pair are old friends and colleagues, both with careers spanning over 30 years on the small screen. It's unclear whether the interaction is scripted or if Ijaz is running with a joke — but surely such a brazen and hurtful admission is nothing to joke about.
As Omar probed Ijaz further about whether he approaches younger actors to share his knowledge and expertise of the craft, she repeatedly noted that of late he remains aloof and no longer socialises with co-stars on set like he used to. Each time, Ijaz demurred, saying he was concerned about how his interactions may be construed, especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Sharing his views on the #MeToo movement, which aims to highlight sexual abuse and harassment committed by powerful and prominent men, Ijaz said it has come about because “we have distanced ourselves from religion" and moved away from tradition.
Taken in conjunction with his views on technology and social media — which he called toys the Pakistani public was not mature enough or ready for when it got them — Ijaz's tone throughout the interview comes across as callous, patronising and condescending.
Neither Omar nor Ijaz have commented on the clip from the old interview going viral or Ijaz's misogynistic remarks, nor his open admission of deception and infidelity. However, Ijaz posted on Instagram on Tuesday with a cryptic, tongue-in-cheek caption: "The funny thing about getting older is Your eye sight starts getting weaker But your ability to see through people gets much better."
Ijaz's misogynistic remarks struck a chord on Twitter, where they caused an outpour of disappointment and outrage.