Dia Mirza speaks up about ban on Pakistani artists in India

Art always suffers at the hands of fear, says the actor

Bollywood actor Dia Mirza says the ban on Pakistani stars working in India is a disservice to both sides.

Mirza, who plays a Pakistani woman in the web series ‘Kaafir’, was speaking at the show’s launch in Mumbai.

Pakistani artists were barred from working in India by the All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) after an attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, in February in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed.

Actor Dia Mirza. PHOTO: DESI MARTINI

“Art always suffers at the hands of fear... but also art is also reunited and refuelled because of fear. I believe that these prejudices that have been imposed on us, not just take us away from our neighbours, it takes us away from ourselves,” Mirza said. “And when we deny ourselves the opportunity to communicate and exchange... we are only expressing to the world how fearful we are.”

Kaafir, the new web series to be released by Zee5 on June 15, shows us a powerful socio-political drama set in present-day bleeding Kashmir, steeped in poignancy and humanism that is rare in films about militancy in the Valley.

Dia made her Bollywood foray with Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein PHOTO PUBLICITY

 

Given the superb craft and raw emotions that seem to have gone into weaving Kainaat’s story, Kaafir seems to be among the best web series in recent times,  if not the best.

And it is revealing of the political reality of Kashmir that most of us would like to turn a blind eye to. Mirza sinks into the role of the Pakistani woman drifting into the melting pot of Kashmir.

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