"It's about women being denied the right to age."
Dia Mirza has reopened the ongoing debate around age based bias in Bollywood by challenging how women visibly disappear onscreen as they grow older.
She addressed the issue during a recent event with journalist Barkha Dutt, where she criticised the persistent casting imbalance favouring aging male stars repeatedly.
Mirza explained that she is regularly paired opposite male actors who are significantly older, sometimes by two or three decades.
She said audiences are expected to accept these pairings without question, despite the clear difference in how aging is treated.
Her comments urged people to imagine whether a woman in her sixties would ever be cast romantically opposite a man in his forties.
She argued that such a pairing remains unthinkable in mainstream cinema, revealing how deeply embedded the double standard continues to be.
According to her, the problem is not the longevity of male stardom but the shrinking of opportunities for older women.
She stated: “It’s about women being denied the right to age with visibility, dignity, and complexity on screen.”
Mirza emphasised that female characters over forty can offer layered experiences that are rarely allowed space within commercial storytelling.
After the event, she continued the conversation through a reflective social media post celebrating what she called the power years for women.
She wrote that women above forty understand themselves more clearly and should define their worth without outside interference or imposed limitations.
“I don’t believe anyone gets to decide when a woman reaches her peak.”
Her message encouraged women to claim control over their narratives instead of waiting for the industry to acknowledge their relevance.
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Mirza has long used her platform to challenge outdated norms, extending her activism beyond film and into broader social spaces.
She previously drew attention for selecting a female priest for her wedding ceremony, which many praised for disrupting tradition meaningfully.
On the professional front, she recently appeared in Nadaaniyan, released in March 2025, playing a significant supporting role.
She starred alongside newcomers Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor, contributing steady experience to a cast filled with fresh talent.
Dia Mirza’s renewed critique of ageism adds pressure on an industry slowly beginning to confront its long held biases and inequities.
Viewers are now echoing her call for more balanced representation, believing audiences are ready for stories centred on mature women.
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