Mahira Khan`s smoking video goes viral; trolls criticise her

Mumbai: A new video of Mahira Khan smoking a cigarette has surfaced online and as expected trolls are back at work!

In the video, the Pakistani actress is seen with a cigarette in her hand during an event. After watching the video, her haters mercilessly trolled her by describing it as "cheap" and "vulgar", reports suggest.

Sometime last year, images of the actress taking a smoke-break with Bollywood superstar Ranbir Kapoor in New York City had surfaced online. The images were all over the internet and Mahira felt "violated".

Mahira was apparently affected by the controversy that followed thereafter.  She was slut-shamed for smoking and wearing a backless short dress in public. 

The actress, who made her Bollywood debut with Rahul Dholakia’s Raees co-starring Shah Rukh Khan in January 2017, remained tight-lipped for a while and chose not to speak about the issue.

Meanwhile, a number of actors from Bollywood as well as the Pakistani film industry came out to support and express solidarity with her. Even Ranbir Kapoor opened up about the issue and stood by her side by defending her.

It was only after the dust had settled, Mahira broke her silence. During an interview with City Times, Mahira reportedly said, "I was quiet initially, but I was definitely not laughing over the controversy."

Explaining why she decided to respond to trolls, Mahira said, "It is personal for sure. The reason I responded to the trolls is because something very personal to me became public. So, I felt, 'Okay, let's just put it out there.' For anybody being harassed and the issue becoming a national debate, it's not a nice thing. I don't know what made me do this,  but I thought that I am going to take this on the chin and I am going to move forward.”

"It takes strength, but when you are hit with something and when you are in the storm, you fight it out. It is not that you are stronger than him or her. It is just that you walk out of the storm and you are going to do your best to swim out of it. And once you come out, you are stronger and more evolved. I think that nobody should define you - if anything then you should define yourself. I learned during that period who I was, and I will not let anybody define me. Not to say that I don't take criticism and all of that," she added.