Mawra Hocane reveals she had almost quit showbiz

Popular actress Mawra Hocane in a conversation with fellow actor and host Mira Sethi in a YouTube interview #HelloMiraSethi revealed that she had decided to quit showbiz.

According to Sabaat star, there was a time when she was so disheartened by the trolls and hate on social media that let her opt for calling it quits and leave Pakistan.

Recalling what had let her towards that decision, Mawra said, “I didn’t know a thing about Instagram, even though people credit me for being one of the first celebs to join it and start some sort of trend. For me, it was just something I just enjoyed using. I was 19 when I started working. So I’d take pictures on the sets of my projects and upload them.”

The 28-year-old starlet also recalled how her co-stars would often inquire what she was doing, to which she had to tell them about ‘this app called Instagram’.

“They all would just weird out because nobody thought it would become so big,” Hocane added.

When Sati asked about how toxic social media can be considering the attention it has been given today, especially for actors, Hocane replied, “As I said, when I had started working, Instagram was just another app. But as time went on, people started asking me to use this ‘platform’ to educate other actors and people. And I would tell them, social media, without us, is nothing.”

“I didn’t want to leave any wrong impression in the minds of people younger than me. And even if I stop working today, my social media account has no meaning.”

“I just feel the more you work, the more you can use your social media to project that work. And if you want to raise an important issue than you can raise it there, but if you have no voice, and no purpose, social media is useless,” added Mawra.

Mawra Hocane has around 6.1 million followers on Instagram, referring to the criticism she has to face said, “I am getting used to it now, but six years ago it was very difficult. Like, if I am giving an interview right now, it is possible that I may say something wrong. But I realised five years ago that anything wrong that comes out of your mouth is no longer wrong when it reaches social media, it becomes a sin.”

“You can’t even think about making a mistake, because you have been placed on a pedestal where you can’t say anything wrong. So the first time this hit me I was like, I want to stop using it. I want to stop acting and I just want to leave. And I actually went to Sydney and told my parents ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,” she continued. 

“I told my parents people here want to kill me because I said something wrong. And even today I don’t want to defend myself, I am scared of it. I say ‘you know what? I am wrong! But are you really going to take my life for it?’” Hocane questioned.