{"id":41962,"date":"2017-10-06T01:59:36","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T08:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=41962"},"modified":"2017-10-06T02:16:43","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T09:16:43","slug":"dont-like-being-called-inspirational-role-model-zaira","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/dont-like-being-called-inspirational-role-model-zaira\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Like Being Called \u2018Inspirational,\u2019 \u2018Role Model\u2019: Zaira"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zaira Wasim, seen here with Aamir Khan (c), Suhani Bhatnagar (l) at a promotional event for ‘Dangal,’ in Mumbai, Nov. 12, 2016. (AFP\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Zaira Wasim<\/strong> has worked in two big films and bagged a National Award for her performance at the age of 16, but the young Kashmiri actor wants people not to consider her as a role model and rather find their own path, writes Justin Rao.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Zaira made her debut in Aamir Khan\u2019s \u201cDangal,\u201d playing the younger self of wrestler Geeta Phogat, and eventually won the National Award for her performance in Nitesh Tiwari\u2019s biographical sports drama.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to tell people, don\u2019t look up to me. I don\u2019t have that responsibility on me right now. I am not telling you or asking you to do it. Please don\u2019t do it in my name, follow yourself, build your path, create it, invent it. Why do you want to do something which someone else is already doing?,\u201d Zaira says.<\/p>\n

In an interview with PTI, she says an undue pressure gets created when people start giving labels and tags.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like it when people come and tell me \u2018you are an inspiration, a role model.\u2019 I am not brave enough to take the blame of your actions. I have seen a lot of girls wanting to be like me but I\u2019d say instead of following my path, build your own,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot comprehend the fact that someone can dedicate their aspirations, ideas and dreams to a person\u2019s life which they don\u2019t even know about,\u201d she further says.<\/p>\n

Post her big screen debut, Zaira found herself in a controversy after she met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. The actor was trolled following which she had to apologize.<\/p>\n

For any other 16-year-old, coming in this much public scrutiny would have been unnerving, but Zaira, rather than being depressed, was sad about how the media handled the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very upset about how the media blew it out of proportion. The way the media represented it, it was nowhere close to what it actually was. I was very upset about that fact. I was disturbed by how it was blown out of proportion and misunderstood but it was a phase of course and now it has passed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The actor has put the controversy and the success of \u201cDangal\u201d behind and has her eyes now set on her next film, \u201cSecret Superstar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written and directed by Advait Chandan, the film chronicles the story of a child who aspires to be a singer.<\/p>\n

Unlike \u201cDangal,\u201d her character in \u201cSecret Superstar\u201d is entirely fictional and to draw references, Zaira relied heavily on Chandan\u2019s instructions and her own experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could not personally connect with the character. I come from a very supportive and encouraging family. In this case, it\u2019s absolutely opposite where the father is very hostile, rude and patriarchal…,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a very bad actor. I can\u2019t pretend and act. So, I would fetch one event or an experience which is remotely connected to the situation on screen. I would look for the closest emotion. If I couldn\u2019t find, then I would build an emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film is scheduled to release, October 2017, and one would assume Zaira already has more movies up her sleeves and a possible relocation to Mumbai, but she dismisses both.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have serious doubts about leaving Kashmir. I wonder if I will ever be able to (leave). The concept of stability is very important for me. If you\u2019re sad, you would know where to go,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if I move to Mumbai, I wouldn\u2019t know anything, anyone. Even if I do, it\u2019s a very difficult thought for me to leave Kashmir. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever be able.\u201d Zaira says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zaira Wasim, seen here with Aamir Khan (c), Suhani Bhatnagar (l) at a promotional event for ‘Dangal,’ in Mumbai, Nov. 12, 2016. (AFP\/Getty Images) Zaira Wasim has worked in two big films and bagged a National Award for her performance at the age of 16, but the young Kashmiri actor wants people not to consider…<\/p>\n

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