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Acclaimed actor Mehwish Hayat is elated after hearing about British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed making history with his Oscar nomination recently.
The Punjab Nahi Jaungi star said that while diversity in massive platforms like the Academy Awards should be too commonplace to even make headlines, the struggles of people of colour striving for equal representation are a part of today’s reality and should be celebrated.
She shared a photo from The Reluctant Fundamentalist actor’s recent film, Sound of Metal, for which the star was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Actor—becoming the first Muslim and first actor of Pakistani origin to achieve the honour.
With the photo, she wrote: “@rizahmed being the 1st Muslim to get nominated shouldn’t be the story. It should be abt performance [sic].”
“But let’s accept in a world where we’re fighting for fairer representation in mainstream media a Muslim nominated for Best Actor for the 1st time since 1929 is one hell of a big deal,” she added.
The Night Of star became the first Muslim and the first actor of Pakistani origin to get nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Actor for his performance in Sound of Metal. The film bagged nods for a total of six categories, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor for Paul Raci, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Sound.
Speaking about his historic feat, Ahmed, 38, said this moment was for anyone who can find themselves getting inspired and connected by it.
In an interview with Deadline, Ahmed said: “If there’s a way in which people can find themselves in this moment, and can feel inspired and connected on a deeper level, I’m all for it.”
The Oscars will air on Sunday, April 25 on ABC at 8pm ET.