"But, if I have to be simple, it was hard and terrifying."
Dia Mirza has opened up about her difficult journey in Bollywood, sharing how a lack of industry connections meant she had to find her own ways to stay safe.
The actress shot to fame after winning the Miss Asia Pacific International title in 2000.
She later made her Hindi film debut opposite R Madhavan in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein.
Despite the breakthrough, Dia revealed she lost several roles to star kids and in an interview, she reflected on her experience navigating the industry without backing.
She said: “I’ll have to write a book about that someday. There’s so much, there are so many layers to that question.
“But, if I have to be simple, it was hard and terrifying.”
To protect herself early in her career, Dia shared a room with her hairdresser for several years.
“My hairdresser used to share my room with me for many years to ward off unwanted visitors. It was really hard. I myself look back now and think I don’t know how I managed.”
Raised by a single parent, Dia spoke about lacking the support many of her peers had:
“A lot of the women in the industry have always had some parent around.
“Somebody’s father or mother has always been a very active participant in their film career.
“I never had that. My team – hairdresser, makeup artist, and spotboy were my safety net. Which is why I never changed those technicians and that support group for years.
“Prasad Anna was my spotboy for all of the years that I worked until he passed away. I lost him during Covid.
“My hairdresser worked with me for 16-17 years straight, from my first film. That kind of created a safety net for me.
“We have to find our own ways to survive.”
Dia Mirza also reflected on how female characters in cinema have evolved over time. She credited this shift to the presence of more women behind the scenes.
“There are so many things that I have done as scenes or the kind of characters that I have played in my earlier films, without even realising how regressive some of that was or how I was being objectified, or how patriarchal the mindset was in the projection of the character.
“All of that only becomes something that you learn about and become aware of, therefore, you can make better choices later.”
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