'Kisne bola yeh?' Zaira Wasim denies oppression of women in Kashmir
Zaira said that success has not changed her life even a tad bit. Except for the hair cut and lots of love, life is still the same.
Mumbai: It has been a wonderful year for young actress Zaira Wasim. From featuring in a blockbuster film alongside superstar Aamir Khan in ‘Dangal’ to winning the Best Supporting Actress at the 64th National Awards, this little powerhouse of talent has left the country dumbfounded with her acting prowess.
On Wednesday, at the trailer launch of Zaira’s second feature film-- Secret Superstar-- which has been produced by her former on-screen father Aamir Khan, who is also playing a mentor to her in the movie, was happily sharing about the changes her life has undergone since ‘Dangal’ happened.
Since the film is about dreams and how some women are discouraged to chase them, Zaira was asked by a journalist if she had faced any such situations in her life. To which, she said, “Honestly, I never had any such barriers. I did not know acting and I had never experienced it (being in front of the camera, doing films) before. My family supported me throughout and Aamir sir too was very supportive.”
Till then, she was all smiles and happily taking questions from the media. But, when someone asked how easy or difficult it was for her to enter Bollywood since she comes from a place (referring to her hometown Kashmir) where women are not given equal opportunities. The question did not go down too well with her and she readily reacted, saying, “Yeh Kisne Bola? (Who told you this?)”
Both Aamir and his co-producer wife Kiran Rao jumped in for some damage control. Aamir immediately broke into a grin and said, “Kaam bolta hain unka (their work speaks).”
And Rao added to it, saying, “Girls have been oppressed for thousands of years. Everything we got later (after men). Not in this country but around the world voting rights also we got second. We got everything later. Worldwide women have to struggle for their rights, equal pay for equal work. All I want to say to women out there is ‘don't be scared to dream and desire and want things’. Follow your heart and dreams. I wish them luck and success.”
Earlier, Zaira Wasim faced backlash for meeting Jammu & Kashmir’s allegedly controversial Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. She then posted an apology, which was deleted later.
She also deleted all her posts on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook.