New Delhi: The heady cocktail of Netflix, Princess Diana and Pakistan’s Fawad Khan proved too good to be true.
Pakistani fans were expressing their joy when rumors of actor Fawad Khan being cast in widely acclaimed popular royal court drama The Crown surfaced. But now it has been confirmed that another Pakistani actor Humayun Saeed has been cast as Dr Hasnat Khan, the love interest of Princess Diana. Saeed will be seen in the fifth season of the series which is being streamed on Netflix.
Dr Hasnat Khan, a British Pakistani heart surgeon, had given a statement after the death of Princess Diana that both were in a relationship between 1995-1997, after which she broke up with him to be with Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed. Fayed and Princess Diana died together in a road accident in Paris in 1997.
Fans who wished to see Fawad in the role have been left disappointed. But some are glad that there is finally a “Pakistani representation”. Users online had raised objections when a Pakistani role in Netflix’s popular Korean series Squid Game was played by an Indian.
This guy exist!! THE FAWAD KHAN. https://t.co/B2NNEDQiwN pic.twitter.com/bOFrY0biPx
— -Zeïnab.?️? (@McGoonergall) January 9, 2022
So happy and proud @iamhumayunsaeed is such an apt cast for the show. Finally!! We're getting proper Pakistani representation and this is how it should be?? A Pakistani should play Pakistani roles?♀️
— Mehvish Khan (@MevKhan1) January 9, 2022
A Twitter user asked if Fawad Khan was too busy to play the role.
was fawad khan busy? ? https://t.co/u4hxrNYy9C
— ?????? ?????? ? (@coconutwatre) January 9, 2022
love the fact that they hired a Pakistani but does it have to be this one? https://t.co/GWTkqmFbF3
— Shirin Jalal (she/her) (@siruslyShirin) January 9, 2022
Not just Pakistani, but Indian fans too thought Fawad should have been chosen for the role. Khan was last seen in Kapoor & Sons, in Bollywood.
Fawad ko le lete https://t.co/yDikHVmGHM
— Shreemi Verma (@shreemiverma) January 9, 2022
However, some have a ‘genuine’ query — why a chubby-cheeky Hasnat Khan had to be played by Fawad?
Why do people think Fawad Khan wouldve been a better option to play this guy pic.twitter.com/oRdyPrGL4y
— N (@__Dragunov) January 9, 2022
Some Pakistani fans don’t want the two actors to be pitted against each other.
Elated to see a Pakistani character played by a Pakistani actor on #Netflix Please don't pit one against another. They're both national treasures. We're proud of them. All the best to @iamhumayunsaeed look forward to Dr. Hasnat #TheCrown #HumayunSaeed #HumayunSaeed #FawadKhan pic.twitter.com/0YLcPOdAba
— shazia saqib habib (@Shaz004) January 9, 2022
There were also those who just made their peace with Pakistan’s representation on Netflix.
Who cares if it's Fawad Khan or Humayun Saeed playing Hasnat Khan. Atleast Pakistan got it's first representation on Netflix.
How would we have liked if The Crown did a SquidGames on us and got an Indian to play a Pakistani's role?
Roz nayaa manjan chaahiye larne ko.smh— LadySaga (@NakviTazi) January 9, 2022
Saeed, who made his debut as an actor in 1999, is popularly known for his films Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (2015), for which he won Pakistan’s ARY award for best actor, and its sequel Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 (2018).
Fawad Khan was also recently in news for his debut into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in its upcoming series Ms Marvel which follows the life of a Pakistani-American teenager and Avengers fan Kamala Khan.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)