Bollywood actress Dia Mirza will play a Pakistani mother in her debut web series Kaafir. The former Miss India took on the role to highlight how fear is fueled by prejudice, and how her portrayal can help remove that fear from people’s mind.
Kaafir premiered on Saturday 15 June 2019. A special screening for the show was held earlier on Friday.
I am so PROUD to call this my first show as an actor❤️🙏🏻
Lautne ki tamanna hai meri aur waapsi ka bhi yakeen hai… Mazhab hamare jo bhi hon, hamari insaaniyat sabse haseen hai! #Kaafir, premieres on 15th June, only on #ZEE5. @zee5premium @mohituraina @sidpmalhotra @chink_ster pic.twitter.com/Lj6Ey4OzHk— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) May 28, 2019
Kaafir cast Dia Mirza as a young Pakistani mother who ends up in India under strange circumstances, and is unable to go back home.
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Dia Mirza’s Response
During the screening, the former Miss Asia Pacific 2000 opened about choosing to play a Pakistani character in the series. The Sanju actress mentioned how she was asked:
‘Weren’t you afraid of playing a Pakistani character in the show?’
The actress stated that the series aims to overcome the prejudice that we have in Indian society, especially against Pakistanis.
“This show is trying to address the prejudices that we have in our society……..I feel that our show is trying to question that fear and we are trying to remove that fear from people’s mind,”
Agar nafrat ki nigahon se dekhen toh nafrat nazar aata hain. Agar hum duniya ko pyaar ki nigaaho se dekhein toh humein pyaar nazar aata hain. – Kaafir #HumanityIsMyReligion https://t.co/ctlc43Udia #Kaafir @ZEE5Premium @mohituraina @tarunkatial @sidpmalhotra @chink_ster @milxind pic.twitter.com/jg4AuKxLSI
— Dia Mirza (@deespeak) June 16, 2019
Dia Mirza expressed her happiness on being part of this show.
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Dia Mirza was honest about the fact that we all have our implicit prejudices. These prejudices are often formed as a result of the culture and community we grow up in.
The actress said that this was an ‘unfortunate way to view humanity.’
“There is a problem all over the world that we see people from unfortunate lenses which include lenses of culture, country and caste and I feel these are very unfortunate ways to view humanity.
We shouldn’t be prejudiced against people because of religion, caste or place that they belong to. That is precisely what Kaafir addresses and I hope after watching this show, people will get their answers.’’
The Lage Raho Munnabhai actress added how working on such projects is a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’.
