Bengaluru is almost home: Dia

Having started her modelling career in the city, actress Dia Mirza is concerned about the depleting green cover here.

Beauty queen and actress Dia Mirza may not be a regular face on the big screen these days (she was last seen in ‘Sanju’) but she has been keeping herself busy.

Apart from acting in two web series; one in which she will be working with Shabana Azmi and Ronit Roy, Dia is also mentoring the contestants of Femina Miss India 2019, along with Neha Dhupia.

As a producer, she has another web series titled ‘Mind The Malhotras’ in her kitty.

The Hyderabad-born actress was in the city to launch Germany-based Brita water purifiers. Smiles and candid confessions (“I really want to work in Kannada movies”) marked her interactions with the press. Rajitha Menon spoke to her about movies, web series and more.

What have you been busy with?

I have been dabbling with a lot of things like producing a show at my production company, shooting for my web series, travelling and doing public motivation talks, engaging with school students on environmental consciousness, doing my work with United Nations’ environment programme, Save the Children and Wildlife Trust of India. In between all of that, I manage a home too.

You are mentoring the Miss India contestants. How different is the competition from your time?

It’s very different because of the fact that there is a state-wise contest happening (the pageant is conducting a nationwide hunt in all 30 states). It gives many more girls an opportunity to participate, learn and discover. It also gives them access to many experts whom they would earlier have had access to only after qualifying for the finals.

It is exciting to see girls from remote areas participating in a beauty pageant. Irrespective of whether she wins the final, if the girl becomes a state-title holder, tremendous opportunities will come her way.

Work-wise, how different is a web series from a movie?

I think the main difference is that you get a lot more time to invest into the character. It is like reading a novel because you have the luxury of time to establish and discover a character. That’s what makes it more exciting.

Which was the last movie you saw in a theatre?

Gully Boy. I loved it! I have promoted that film like it’s my own because I think it is a very timely, uplifting, important film. For me, the most impactful message that came through was the fact that social and economic barriers should not restrict us from pursuing our dreams and ambitions and that art transcends all borders. The song ‘Doori’ made me cry because I always think about the paradox we live with; where the economic divide is becoming so visible it’s heart-wrenching.

Bengaluru is almost home to you. How do you think it has changed over the years?

I started my modelling career in Bengaluru. I used to take the overnight bus from Hyderabad to Bengaluru to do photoshoots and endorsement shoots. I feel it has now become like every other city — crowded with a lot more vehicles on the road.

What I have always loved Bengaluru for is its green cover; it is a healthy reminder that biodiversity and nature doesn’t have to be so far removed from an urban centre. I know a lot of residents are saying that we are losing the green cover and I hope something is done to rectify this soon.

Your association with Brita...

For me, as an individual, it is important to find a value-based resonance with the brand. Apart from the fact that it is a reverse osmosis system that delivers healthy drinking water, I love the fact that it doesn’t waste as much water as regular reverse osmosis.