Mahira Khan reacts on her leaked photos with Ranbir Kapoor: I understand where all the criticsm came from

When Mahira Khan and Ranbir Kapoor's photopgraphs went viral in the last month, both the actors faced a lot of criticism but specifically Mahira drew a lot of flak. Most criticised her for her clothes and for smoking. Good friend Ranbir even issued a statement few days later and tried to defend Mahira but actress maintained a stoic silence over the matter.

The Pakistani actress has now finally broken her silence and stated how she was 'shattered and broken'when the controversy broke out. In an interview to a website, the actress said, "I’d be lying if I said that I decided right off the bat that I wouldn’t respond to this controversy. And I’m a very strong woman but when all of this happened, I was completely shattered and broken. I would think about posting a statement every day. Then I would stop myself because I just wouldn’t know what to say."

The actress said, she waited for her film Power Di Gameto release and felt that she would speak about the issue during the film's promotions. "Thankfully, Power Di Gamewas ready to be released, which I thought was perfect timing, so I just posted that as sort of a response to the trolls. But to be honest, I understand where all the criticism came from and it didn’t come from a place of hate. I’m not talking about the trolls but those who were genuinely disappointed to see those pictures. It’s the same disappointment that my nani or my mamoo would have felt seeing that. So even now when I meet an older lady who says that she didn’t like the pictures, I’m quick to apologize.”

The actress, who serves as a role model to many young fans, said that she, like everyone else, wasn't perfect. "People ask me if I’m a good role model for my fans, and my response to that is that yes, I am a role model but I’m not the perfect role model. I am human, I make mistakes. And I was really happy to see that there were so many people who stood up for me. It goes to show that the narrative in Pakistan is changing, and if nothing else, I’m happy to have been part of that narrative.”

Apart from Kapoor, the actress also got support from Parineeti Chopra, Ali Zafar, Varun Dhawan and Humaima Mallik.

Ranbir and Mahira were pictured on the streets of New York smoking. Mahira was wearing a white backless dress which drew critcism from several quarters.