‘Midsummer Chaos’ cast and story raise eyebrows in Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistani web series “Midsummer Chaos “cast originally included Mehar Bano, Saman Ansari, Mustafa Babar, Kamila Aazeen, Nael Aamir and Zainab Ejaz.

Write and director Ahmed Sarym had to cast some new members including model Khushhal Khan, Mamia Shajaffar and Hiba Ajaz after he had to reshot almost the entire series as original cast developed creative differences with the production team.

The director told Dawn that at one point he thought of shelving the series when some cast members said the story was not in line with their personal beliefs. And it happened in March this year when the first episode of the web series about the lives of a group of teenagers in Islamabad was about to air.

The web series finally released on June 12. Actress Mehar Bano sparked controversy earlier this year when she supported same sex marriage during Aurat March in Pakistan. Her character in the series has also raised some eyebrows in Pakistan while the first two episodes of the series triggered thousands of memes online.