Pakistani actress Dur-e-Fishan Saleem has received support from several prominent voices in the entertainment industry after her accent in the newly premiered drama Dar-e-Nijaat became a subject of debate on social media, writes 24 News.
The drama, which recently aired its first three episodes, sparked discussion among viewers over Dur-e-Fishan’s English accent and dialogue delivery.
While some criticised her pronunciation and questioned whether it suited her character, others defended the actress and urged audiences to focus on the overall performance rather than her manner of speaking.
Acclaimed actress Sanam Saeed was among those who came to Dur-e-Fishan’s defence.
In an Instagram Story, Sanam criticised what she described as excessive scrutiny of the actress’s accent and the repeated social media posts targeting her.
“It’s a bit unsettling and honestly very lame to see everyone so obsessed over an actor’s accent. It’s downright mean and inconsiderate of someone’s feelings to have every page on social media bashing her,” she wrote.
Actor Umer Aalam also extended his support, arguing that people naturally have different ways of speaking.
He suggested that audiences may have become so accustomed to polished or AI-generated voices that natural accents can now seem unusual.
“AI wali audio sun sun kar inhein original accent ajeeb lag raha hai. Every human has a distinct way of speaking, that makes them unique. Matlab drama, story, shoot sab ignore karke jealous ho rahe hain,” Umer wrote.
Drama critic Dr Ejaz Waris similarly defended the actress, pointing to what he described as contradictory expectations surrounding actors’ accents.
“Don’t know why people are criticising the accent. Pakistani accent mein bolo to problem, fake accent banao to problem. People can never be happy,” he remarked.
The support came after viewers closely dissected Dur-e-Fishan’s performance following the drama’s premiere.
Some users focused specifically on her accent and pronunciation, while others argued that her overall dialogue delivery felt unnatural.
One social media user wrote, “Insane accent. Especially I heard she lives in Canada, maybe in Canada she never got connected with gora to learn some or improve accent.”
Another commented, “Dur-e-Fishan’s accent is what happens when you learn English from Bollywood.”
A third viewer linked the criticism to the actress’s viewing influences, writing, “No matter how much you front being a cinephile; if most of what you watch is Indian, it ALWAYS shows in the way you speak English.”
Others, however, offered a more specific critique of the performance rather than simply objecting to the accent.
“It’s not the accent, it’s the pronunciation, poorly written dialogues and forced dialogue delivery that distract from the performance,” one viewer wrote.
The debate has since turned Dur-e-Fishan’s performance in Dar-e-Nijaat into one of the early talking points surrounding the new drama, with audiences remaining divided over whether her accent affects the character or is simply a matter of individual speech.
