Geo TV’s new drama Mohabbat premiered this week, and while the Feroze Khan-led serial was meant to be the week’s big television event, much of the conversation has been hijacked by the trolling of its young newcomer. Shahveer Kadwani — son of producer Abdullah Kadwani, playing Zarrar in his first leading role opposite Aina Asif — has been at the receiving end of a brutal online pile-on since the teasers dropped, with viewers branding him “parchi” and “sifarshi” while picking apart his debut performance.
The criticism has largely orbited the nepotism debate. With his father Abdullah Kadwani co-producing the 7th Sky Entertainment project, detractors have questioned whether Shahveer earned the role or inherited it — one viral comment dismissed him as looking “like a school child,” while others called him a “light version” of Feroze Khan or Danish Taimoor. Kadwani previously appeared in Sunn Mere Dil last year, but Mohabbat marks his first major lead.
Sanam Saeed isn’t having it. The Zindagi Gulzar Hai star took to Instagram to call out the trolls: “There you go again, bashing someone over a drama role! It’s a drama, for God’s sake — but his feelings are real. He’s a young actor; give him a break. So what if he’s a nepo kid? Insaan toh hai na? Dil toh hai na? … Shame on you — especially those of you who are parents to young adults!” Actor Faizan Sheikh echoed the sentiment, dubbing trolling Pakistan’s “new national sport” and “cruelty disguised as humor.”
The episode has reignited the industry’s long-running conversation about how newcomers — connected or not — are received. Whether Kadwani grows into the role remains to be seen as Mohabbat airs Monday and Tuesday nights on Geo Entertainment, but the message from two of the industry’s own is clear: critique the performance, not the person.
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