Actor Sanam Saeed weighed in on the criticism surrounding Durefishan Saleem’s accent in Dar-e-Nijaat, calling out social media users for bashing actors for the way they spoke.

“It’s a bit unsettling and honestly very lame to see everyone so obsessed over an actor’s accent. It’s downright mean and inconsiderate of someone’s feelings to have every page on social media bashing her,” Sanam wrote.

Screengrab: sanammody/Instagram

The actor’s remarks came in regard to a scene from Dar-e-Nijaat in which Durefishan, who plays Zaryab, speaks to Nameer Nawaz Khan, who plays Zamil, using a mix of Urdu and English dialogue.

Many users agreed with Sanam, praising Durefishan’s performance and noting that there was nothing inherently wrong with her accent.

Others, however, defended the criticism, arguing that the issue was not Durefishan’s accent itself but the way the dialogue was written and delivered. Some viewers felt the script did not do justice to the scene and made certain lines difficult to follow for regular viewers.

“Delivery of dialogue is important and accent is an important part of it. Sometimes, if not correct, it doesn’t do justice to the writer and script,” one user noted. Another commented that constructive criticism was part of the process, arguing that there was “nothing insensitive about pointing out a flaw.”

On the professional front, Durefishan is known for her performance in the series Ishq Murshid, in which she starred opposite Bilal Abbas. Most recently, she featured as Zeba in Kafeel.