Dia Mirza on her early days in Bollywood: ‘People were making sexist cinema and I was a part of these stories’

Bollywood actor Dia Mirza made her debut in movies with the 2001 film Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, and her journey in the entertainment industry has had several ups and downs. In an interview with Brut India, the actor opened up about her early days in the film industry and the rampant sexism that existed those days.

Dia said, “People were writing, thinking and making sexist cinema, and I was a part of these stories. Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein has sexism in it.” She also gave an example stating that during those times, a makeup artist could only be a man, and the job of a hairdresser could only be done by a woman.

She continued, “When I started working in films, there were at best only 4 or 5 women on any given film crew with a unit strength of over 120, sometimes 180 people. There would just never be any female representation on a film crew, so the gender ratio was skewed. Nobody really cared about it. We live in a patriarchal society, and it is an industry that is largely led by men. So there is rampant sexism. And I think for a large part, it is not even conscious sexism because there are so many men who are writers, who are directors, who are actors, who are not even aware of their sexist thinking.”

“I am sure things have improved now because there’s been just so much advocacy work and an improved understanding of what patriarchy is and what sexism is that people know better now,” the actor shared.

Dia Mirza also spoke about her choices in those early days and how they were driven completely by instinct. “I had no mentor and no one who could guide me or help me understand how to go about consolidating my choices or even making the right choices. I kind of completely and solely depended on instinct and my managers at the time,” she said.