Hyderabad: Actor Dia Mirza has spoken up about the difficulties she had early in her Bollywood career, specifically the disregard for a woman's space on film sets. Dia recently told a news outlet that she was being dismissed when she raised questions while filming the 2002 film Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge, directed by Pankaj Parashar and starring Salman Khan.
Dia shared that during the film's shoot, the script was not readily available to her, and scenes were written in Bhojpuri despite her character being from Rajasthan. "My lines were given to me just minutes before I went to shoot. My character was supposed to be Rajasthani, yet I was speaking Bhojpuri. When I pointed this out, no one seemed to care," she said.
She also described the chaotic nature of production, where key elements such as costumes were handled haphazardly. "My clothes were being stitched on the fly and arriving just before the shoot," she recalled. In addition, there were no workshops or script readings, making it difficult for actors to prepare.
When Dia attempted to question these inconsistencies, she was met with resistance. "I asked why my character was wearing a chaniya choli and was told, 'You ask a lot of questions. Don't do that. Just do whatever you're told'," she revealed. The experience, she said, left her feeling stifled and highlighted the lack of respect for female actors' input in filmmaking at the time.
While Bollywood has seen progress in recent years, Dia pointed out that many aspects of film production still revolve around male actors' schedules and location availability. However, she acknowledged that it is now easier to navigate the industry if one understands the story and the process better.
Speaking of her recent professional endeavours, Dia Mirza was last seen in Nadaaniyan, a film that marks the debut of Ibrahim Ali Khan and also stars Khushi Kapoor.
READ MORE
