Trailer of Aamir-starrer ‘Dangal’ brings cheer in Kashmir

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 20

Ever since the trailer of Amir Khan’s film “Dangal” has been out, Zaira Wasim Khan in Kashmir has been receiving a lot of congratulatory calls and messages on the social media.

A Kashmiri actor who hails from Srinagar, Zaira is playing Amir Khan’s wrestler daughter in the much talked about film. Zara plays the role of younger Geeta Phogat while Fatima Sana Shaikh plays the role of grown-up Geeta.

The teenager is herself excited after seeing the trailer of “Dangal”, which is releasing in cinemas on December 23. “I am really very excited. I cannot express my feelings in words”, says Zaira with a small laugh.

The filmmakers, UTV Motion Pictures, took to Twitter to announce that the trailer of Dangal would be out on October 20, and within hours of its release on YouTube, the trailer had attracted over 8 lakh views.

“’Dangal’ is an extraordinary true story based on the life of Mahavir Singh and his two daughters Geeta and Babita Phogat. The film traces the inspirational journey of a father who trains his daughters to become world-class wrestlers,” reads the statement accompanying the trailer.

Zaira Wasim Khan, the bubbly girl from downtown Srinagar, which has been under lockdown for over 100 days owing to the unrest, was in her Valley home when the trailer was released.

“My parents today watched the trailer of the film and they loved it. Besides, I am receiving calls from friends and relatives, who also liked the trailer,” exclaims Zaira, who is not ready to share the plans related to the actual release of the movie.

“To be honest, I cannot reveal those details. I cannot talk about the film”, she says.

Zaira, who never acted before in films, has now become a household name in her native Kashmir. Before “Dangal”, the Kashmiri girl had done two ads for Microsoft Lumia. “That was my only encounter with the camera before getting the role of Geeta”, she said.

The experience of working with Amir has been a memorable one for Zaira, who was studying in Class 10 when she was shooting for the film in 2015. Playing Geeta Phogat demanded wrestling skills, which meant that Zaira had to undergo rigorous physical and mental training which included exhaustive morning sessions of running, swimming and wrestling.

The film "Dangal" is based on the true story of Geeta Phogat, who was the first woman wrestler from India to have won the gold in the 55 kg freestyle category at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.