Dia Mirza Says Film Industry Is Male-Dominated; 'Older Men Like To Be Cast Opposite Younger Women'

Dia Mirza Reveals Why She Is Grateful For OTT Platforms

The actress told ETimes , "I think stories and opportunities for female characters have opened up significantly. There are more female representations now, more than ever. We have more female directors, DoPs, and editors. The number is lagging far behind even now but it is definitely more from the time I started working. It is that representation that has opened up the narration but I think that the advent of the OTT platform has truly given narratives that are driven from a feminine lens are increasing manifold. I am grateful for it."

Dia Mirza Says It's Unfortunate To See An Older Man Playing Younger Roles

Speaking about how older men still play the lead in films which isn't the case with older women in Bollywood, Dia told ETimes, "I hope that this expression of female actors allows them to play the leading part even when they are older. But the unfortunate truth of the matter is that stories are not written for the female older characters as much as the male ones. It is even more unfortunate to see an older man playing younger parts."

'The Industry Is Male-Dominated,' Says Dia Mirza

Throwing light on how Bollywood is male-dominated, the actress continued, "The industry is male-dominated. Older men like to be cast opposite younger women to extend their own shelf life. It is bizarre that a 50 plus something actor is acting opposite a 19-year-old actress."

Dia Mirza Makes A Valid Point

"The idea of beauty is always associated with youthfulness. I think that is why there is a large interest in consuming younger faces. An aberration to this would be an actress like Neena Gupta ji. She literally has said it out loud more than once, ‘I am an actor. I love my job. Please cast me.' Thankfully, some interesting filmmakers decided to cast her in lead parts that were defeating her age. But there are a lot of actresses in their middle ages who are struggling and aren't being cast because no stories are being written for them," the actress told the tabloid.