Iqra Aziz and Shuja Asad opened up about ‘toxic’ heroes in dramas during a recent interview. They were there to speak about their serial Paradise, directed by Aziz’s husband Yasir Hussain.

The interviewer brought up the recurring theme of ‘toxic’ heroes in dramas that seem to be popular among the audience despite the glaring red flags they present. “When it comes to toxic characters, you have a lot of margin to perform,” said Asad. “But I do believe it is high time for heroes to come back to the Pakistani drama industry. We’re done with the anti-heroes. We’re done with the villains. A hero is kind and gentle and helps people. He saves the heroine - at least those are the heroes I saw in my childhood.”

When asked to define a hero, Aziz said the man must show a range of emotions. “It’s important to show a person on the screen who has all the emotions. He gets angry, cries, gets jealous - he feels and expresses all the humanly possible emotions that are necessary in every person’s life. We’ve changed the environment for girls through dramas. We should do the same for boys.”