Actors Faysal Quraishi and Hareem Farooq have raised concerns regarding alleged paid negative publicity targeting the film Mango Jutt. Quraishi addressed the situation in a video posted to Instagram, where he questioned the motives of those spreading misinformation.
The actor stated, "Because it is a negative thing, which has been fed [to them], you’re saying the same thing. But seriously, while focused on your gains, how many people are you harming?" Quraishi noted that while serious critics typically wait until the weekend to publish reviews, paid propaganda often results in a flood of negative comments starting the day after release.
He warned that such coordinated efforts against dramas or films cause significant losses to a domestic industry that is already quite small. Hareem Farooq, who both stars in and produced Jutt, shared screenshots on Instagram highlighting the negative posts directed at the project.
Several cinemas have already removed Jutt from their schedules, while others have moved screenings away from prime-time slots or reduced the number of shows. Reports suggest the decline in screenings stems from a combination of negative word of mouth and competition from Hollywood releases.
A shared message exchange included a query asking, "And is it a paid post?" to which the reply was affirmative. A subsequent question in that same exchange asked if the cost or budget for the posts would be shared.
