LAHORE: Senior actress Hina Dilpazeer has said she is not being offered serious or good scripts, blaming a strong “lobby system” in the entertainment industry and saying work is not being handed out on merit.
The actress made the remarks during an appearance on a programme on a private television channel, where she spoke about her work and a range of issues facing the industry.
The host Mohsin asked Hina whether she was not being offered serious scripts or whether she herself did not want to work. She replied that she was simply not being offered serious and good scripts. “I am looking for the reason, but I cannot find it,” she said.
Explaining what she believes lies behind the problem, the actress said: “In my opinion, the lobby system is very strong. Everyone wants people of their own choice.”
She then pointed to television’s festive programming as an example. “Every channel has six or seven people who sit in white sherwanis on Eid-ul-Fitr programmes and black sherwanis on Eid-ul-Azha,” she said.
The remark was a pointed reference to the special Eid transmissions that Pakistani channels air every year, in which the same set of familiar faces tends to appear as hosts and guests, dressed in coordinated festive outfits. Her point was that the same small circle of people keeps getting opportunities, while others are left out regardless of their talent or experience.
Hina ended on a note of cautious hope. “Perhaps some good time will come when work is given on merit,” she said, “and then maybe I will also get a chance.”
She did not name any individuals, production houses or channels in her comments.
Hina Dilpazeer is among the most recognisable comic performers on Pakistani television. She became a household name as Momo in the long-running sitcom Bulbulay, a role that made her catchphrases part of popular culture. In Quddusi Sahab Ki Bewa, she played multiple characters, a performance that showcased her range and versatility and earned wide acclaim.
That an actress with such a track record says she cannot find meaningful work gives her comments added weight, and they are likely to resonate with other senior performers.
Her remarks echo complaints that experienced actors — particularly women — have raised for years: that casting decisions are often shaped by personal networks and production-house circles, that roles for older performers are limited or stereotyped, and that a small pool of popular faces dominates both dramas and entertainment shows.
Industry figures who defend current practices often argue that producers are guided by ratings and advertiser demand, which favour established stars, and that channels have commercial reasons for sticking with familiar hosts during high-viewership periods such as Eid.
Some senior actors have nonetheless found strong second innings, as seen in Sania Saeed’s continued prime-time presence and the casting choices in new productions such as Adnan Siddiqui’s Tamasha season five line-up, suggesting that good roles remain available — but not always evenly distributed.
Hina Dilpazeer’s candid comments put the spotlight back on a question the industry has yet to answer convincingly: how talent, rather than connections, can decide who gets the next script.
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