Mani opens up on 'zan mureed' tag for being a supportive husband

Actor-host Salman Saqib Sheikh, aka Mani, addressed the ‘zan mureed’ label, often thrown his way for being a supportive husband to Hira, who helped her establish a successful acting career.

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In his recent outing on actor-host Ahmad Ali Butt’s podcast ‘Excuse Me’, Salman Saqib Sheikh, or as he is popularly known as, Mani, who encouraged and supported his wife Hira, in establishing a strong career, first as a VJ and later as an actor, after their marriage, reflected on being tagged as a ‘zan mureed’ husband to the ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’ actor.

As the podcast host hailed Mani for being someone who ‘made his wife’, the ‘Bandish’ actor responded, “People often troll me for being too supportive to her and even call me zan mureed, but that’s how one should be.”

“If I had a daughter – I have two sons – I would also want her to be a swimmer and an athlete, or maybe some creative artist. Basically, I would want her to stand on her own two feet, to work,” he asserted. “Even if Hira wasn’t my wife, if it were someone else, I would’ve been the same way. If this other woman had any kind of talent, I would let her pursue it. So that tomorrow she doesn’t turn around and say she didn’t become something because I didn’t let her.”

Further criticising the rigid family systems in the subcontinent, for forcing a khandani system and paramparas down everyone’s throat, Mani opined, “We’ve seen that in societies where women work in tandem with men, there is less room for arguments and fights. There’s also a sense of joy in such societies and a decrease in economic crises.”

To sum up his stance, the actor maintained, “So whether it’s my wife, or daughter, or even my wife’s sister, it would make me happy to see any relative of mine accomplish their goals.”

Notably, Hira and Mani, who have been married for 17 years, share two sons, Muzammil and Ibrahim.

Also Read: Hira Mani inspired Geet from ‘Jab We Met’?