Dia Mirza opens up about rampant sexism in Bollywood

By: Mohnish Singh

Bollywood actress Dia Mirza, who never shies away from sharing her views on different issues, recently opened up about rampant sexism in the Hindi film industry, which is largely dominated by men. She admits that even her debut film Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, co-starring R Madhavan, has several sexist elements in it.

“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. I was acting with these people. I was working with these people. It is crazy. I will give you small examples. A makeup artist could only be a man, could not be a woman. A hairdresser only had to be a woman. When I started working in films, there were at best about four or five women on any given crew with a unit strength of over 120... sometimes 180 people,” she told a publication.

She went on to add that Bollywood abounds a number of filmmakers and writers who are not even aware of their sexist thinking. “We live in a patriarchal society and it is an industry 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,” she added.

Before setting her foot in Bollywood with now cult film Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, Dia Mirza was a popular model who appeared in several prints and television commercials. She won the Miss Asia Pacific crown in 2000, and there has been no looking back for her ever since.

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