‘My Mom Was Terrified When I Was Threatened With Rape, Death': Dia Mirza
Dia Mirza shares what the work culture for a female actor was like in the early 2000s.
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Dia Mirza started her acting journey in 2001 after winning the title of Femina Miss India Asia Pacific in 2000. The actor, who has been a part of films like Rehna Hain Mere Dil Mein, Parineeta, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and recently Dhak Dhak, spoke to The Quint for our show Tell Me All.
Dia spoke about dealing with tragedies at a young age, why she took a break from acting, the work environment in the industry when she started out, the need to protect herself in the early days of her career, receiving rape and death threats, how sexist the films were in the commercial space, and more.
Speaking about how she dealt with the work culture in the early 2000s, Dia replied, "I refused to sleep alone in a hotel room. You never know who could turn up at your door at what time of the night. We had to protect ourselves in ways that won't hurt egos of men we were working with." She added that she always shared the room with her hairdresser.
Dia also shared why she has stopped expressing her opinions on issues she feels deeply about. "I stopped giving an opinion because personal attacks were made, and my mom was terrified when I was threatened with rape and death."
She added that she didn't want her voice to be a reason for her "children to have to deal with pain."
Watch the video for more.
Editor: Veeru Krishan Mohan
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