Filmmakers know Dia Mirza, but do they understand her? Casting directors have watched her work for years, but do they see her? The actor, who has spent more than two decades in the Hindi film industry, finds herself in a position where she is ready to reset. The hunger in Dia Mirza now is as much to move forward as it is to begin again. "When we become actors, we sign a bond of heartache," Dia tells indianexpress.com as she settles down to have a chat about her public career and private dreams. One of the biggest truths of an actor's life is waiting. For some, waiting is for too long and too much. For Dia, it is a reality she had made peace with. The heartache - of endless wait, missed opportunities, failures - is part of the big acting journey, which almost every actor has to endure, she says, and there are no short cuts to success and sometimes, no happy endings either. "Heartache when your stories don't find audiences, heartache when your stories don't find producers, heartache when you are just waiting endlessly for someone to send work your way. It is really tough. Every time you think, 'Ok this film! Because everyone has liked it, loved my part and that is going to drive more work my way' and then you find yourself chipping away again at that block of stone, begging, waiting. It is an endless wait, I have made peace with that," she adds. Dia broke into the scene with the charming - though now rightfully called problematic - Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein in 2001, a year after she won the title of Miss Asia Pacific International. In the last two decades, Dia has had a bumpy ride. She transitioned from an actor starring in romantic dramas, big commercial movies, multi-starrers, put her money in production to finally becoming an artiste, who was comfortable in embracing her voice. "As actors, we are so starved for good parts, opportunities, that we wait a lot. Wait for stories that resonate with us. I have always perceived myself as a working artiste, which means you want to be employed as much as possible. But after a certain stage in your life and career, you don't want to be just an employed artiste, you want to be someone who is using their craft to help make a difference." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dia Mirza Rekhi (@diamirzaofficial) But the road to the enlightenment wasn't easy. Between 2014, when her debut production Bobby Jasoos released and 2018, when she bounced back in the scene with Rajkumar Hirani's smash hit Sanju, Dia had just one release- Salaam Mumbai, an Iranian-Indian film. Much of what Dia has been able to do since Sanju, like her acclaimed series Kaafir, her performance in Anubhav Sinha's Thappad and now her outing in the filmmaker's upcoming Bheed, dates back to the phone call she made to Hirani. "Sanju for me was oxygen. I really needed it. remember for the first time in my career, I called a friend, because Raju is a friend, and said, 'Please cast me in your movie. I need to work, and I want to be in a film, I am not getting any work.' They then tested me, and liked what they saw and I landed the part. I had never done it before because I am shy, and I am extremely awkward about putting those calls in. May be that's one of the reasons why I have not landed other jobs, maybe it takes for you to call and tell the filmmaker that, 'I want to work with you.'" Thriving in the industry, which sees a huge influx of new faces almost every alternate Friday, is not easy. Dia knows that "there will always be new talent" vying for a part that she also has her heart on. So, she has to showcase her craft to full glory to get the part she desires, the film she dreams of, but even then, it may not be enough, for casting of films is not always necessarily on merit. "There have been so many times in the recent past when jobs I really wanted to do, films I really wanted to be a part of that almost happened but didn't because someone else got the part. I feel happy for that person, but very sad for me! Which is natural, I guess. But I don't sit and start reflecting.. That's a dark path. It could be something as basic as the male lead actor in the film saying, 'Hey why don't you cast this one?' It is not simple, but it happens a lot. You can't take these things personally at all." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dia Mirza Rekhi (@diamirzaofficial) The best way for Dia to navigate the situation, is to constantly be on the lookout for stories that resonate with her on an "empathy" level and chase creators, who will bet on her craft in a new light. To do more good work, Dia says she has to re-introduce herself to people who matter. "I told my agents recently that I want to meet all the casting directors again, let me re-introduce myself again. They all say, 'But you have been working for 23 years, you don't need to introduce yourself.' But my thing is, maybe I do, because they need to know I am hungry, that I want to work. "After Sanju, I started doing this with more filmmakers. I call them and tell them that next time they are making something, please consider me for the film. I am grateful that today most casting is dependent on casting directors, they kind of really bring the cast together. I am happy to chase casting directors and tell them to help me find a space," she adds.
