The conservationist in Dia Mirza finds an outlet in cinema too as the actress plans to make films based on real stories
Sheetal
Actress-producer Dia Mirza likes films based on true stories. Her recent release Bheed may be fictional but one that evokes all the real emotions associated with the pandemic.
She says, “The feedback for the film has been amazing. It’s deeply satisfying as an artiste to be a part of cinema that has such a strong and powerful voice.”
As a producer too, Dia is all for making films that relay the truth. “I am inspired by true stories. And in the OTT space, more and more stories are emerging from the real world. That’s something I want to focus on as a producer, something that is set in the natural world, highlights individual achievements in the field of conversation and such issues. Hopefully in coming years I will be able to do so.”
The environmentalist is happy that The Elephant Whisperers won an Oscar. “It’s clearly not easy. Firstly, it’s hard to find takers for documentary films and then, of course, to go on and break the glass ceiling the way Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves did. It’s not just about the big Oscar win but standing true to the story that they chose to tell is motivating and inspiring.”
On ageism in Bollywood, Mirza opines, “Gender equality is not a reality in Indian film business. There’s less than 10 per cent representation of women but that’s gradually changing. Women are now engaged in different aspects of filmmaking. But to be able to really get out of the stereotypical mindsets that have been prevalent in the industry, we need much more wider representation of women across all spheres. Having said that, ageism was prevalent and continues to be so even though more women in their 40s are now getting to play incredible parts in cinema. I would not be playing some parts that I am playing today.”
Mirza embraced motherhood in 2021 around the Covid times and in Bheed too, she plays a single mother. She calls it the most exciting and magical experience of her life. “I have always been extremely maternal. But being a mother of two children every day and every moment is a cellular shift as an individual. I feel more awake and alive to every moment. But that also makes you more awake about horrors of the world.” Exploring nature in India through her travel diaries, ask her what’s on her travel list next and pat comes the reply, “I wish to visit Dachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir. It’s a forest that you can explore on foot.”
Dedicating the film to all the children, the artiste says, “The script moved me emotionally. I was crying in the opening credit sequence itself. It is interesting the way the story unfolds and the characters are written. Also, to get an opportunity to play a flawed character of someone, who is privileged! It’s a story of a single mother, who is empowered yet vulnerable and helpless in the given circumstances. And how in the moment of reckoning, she is driven by her selfish needs to get to her child. This made the role unique.”
