Dia Mirza has come a long way, from being crowned Miss Asia Pacific in 2000 to now playing Ibrahim Ali Khan’s mother in his debut film, Shauna Gautam’s romantic comedy ‘Nadaaniyan’. She started off in the film industry as a lead actress, making her debut with Gautham Vasudev Menon’s 2001 film ‘Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein’. She recently opened up about how being a leading female actor came with its perks, but also a lot of concerns.
“I didn’t feel safe for a very long time. I always made my hairdresser share the room with me because I didn’t want any unexpected knocks on my door. But I know that my colleagues would get those knocks on their door,” Dia said. She attributed her safety to being a popular beauty pageant winner. “Interestingly and thankfully, I didn’t have any of those issues. But I’m extremely aware that I haven’t been an international beauty title holder. I didn’t come with the media backing that I had. We were household names when we came into the industry. We were well-known and spoken to regularly. I think maybe that could have been some form of a deterrent and we were safe,” added Dia.
Dia clarified that safety wasn’t the only issue female actors faced on set. She chose to take a step back, did acting workshops for years and returned to doing more meaningful roles later. “I thought I was just being commodified and sexualised. I’m not sure whether this is the path that gives me joy. I want to be part of storytelling that has substance. I’m Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil at heart, you understand? I want to be a part of cinema,” she added.