Dia Mirza

Dia Mirza
Mirza during photoshoot for World Environment Day, June 2018
Born	Diya Handrich (1981-12-09) 9 December 1981[1][2] Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Residence	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Model, actor, film producer
Years active	1999–present
Title	Miss Asia Pacific 2000 Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 2000
Spouse(s)	Sahil Sangha (m. 2014)
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major competition(s)	Femina Miss India 2000 (Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 2000) (Miss Beautiful Smile) Miss Asia Pacific 2000 (Winner) (Miss Close-Up Smile) (Miss AVON)

Diya Mirza (born 9 December 1981) is an Indian model, actress, producer and beauty queen who won the Miss Asia Pacific 2000 title. Mirza has primarily worked in Bollywood and is known in media for her social work. She made her acting debut with Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein (2001).

She subsequently featured in several commercially successful films including Dus (2005), Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006), Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), Krazzy 4 (2008) and Sanju (2018). She co-owns a production house, Born Free Entertainment, with her husband Sahil Sangha.^[3] Their first film, Love Breakups Zindagi,^[4] was released on 7 October 2011.

Early and personal life

Mirza was born in Hyderabad, India. Her father, Frank Handrich, was a German graphic and industrial fair designer, architect, artist and interior designer based in Munich. Her mother, Deepa, is a Bengali Indian who is an interior designer, landscaper and currently does social work as a volunteer to help alcoholics and drug addicts. When Diya was four-and-a-half years old, her parents got divorced.^[5][6] Afterwards, her mother married Ahmed Mirza, a Dakhini Muslim man from Hyderabad, and Diya (then only a toddler) was given the last name of her step-father, although she and her mother remained practicing Hindus. Diya's step-father died in 2003.^[5]

When living in Khairatabad, Hyderabad city, Dia initially attended Vidyaranya High School, a co-ed school. On the insistence of her step-father, Dia was enrolled into Nasr School, a prestigious girls day school also located in Khairtabad. She credits Nasr School for giving her the confidence to pursue acting. She says it was the Nasr Dramatic Society, an in-school club which boosted her morale. After finishing school, Dia attended Stanley Junior College and completed her graduation in Bachelor of Arts from Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad.^[7]

In April 2014, she got engaged to her longtime business partner Sahil Sangha. Mirza and Sangha got married in a Hindu wedding on 18 October 2014 at her husband's sprawling farmhouse in Chattarpur on the outskirts of Delhi.^[8]

Biography

Mirza worked while in college as a marketing executive for a media firm, Neeraj's Multi-media Studio . At the same time she modelled for print and TV commercials for brands such as Lipton, Wall's ice cream, Emami and many more. She won Miss Asia Pacific in 2000.

Mirza wanted to complete her graduation in Arts by correspondence during the Miss Asia Pacific competition, modelling assignments, travelling and training. She could not complete her graduation due to being busy at work. She studied at NYU .

She debuted through Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein which did not do well at the box office, though it has developed a cult following among Indian youth. She then appeared in movies such as Dum, Deewanapan, Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge, Tumsa Nahin Dekha – A Love Story, Parineeta, Dus, Lage Raho Munnabhai and Salam Mumbai. In 2018, she appeared as Sanjay Dutt's wife Manyata Dutt in the biopic Sanju which ranks among the highest grossing Indian films.

She has garnered much praise for her social work . She got an IIFA 2012 Green Award for her contribution towards a green environment. She has done awareness campaigns on prevention of female foeticide, HIV awareness, the Cancer Patients Aid Association, PETA, ADAPT and CRY. She publicly supported the Naramada Bachao Andolan. She has written articles for Hindustan Times and other publications.

Titles

Dia Mirza was the second runner-up at Femina Miss India 2000 and was subsequently sent to Miss Asia Pacific 2000, where she won. She also won Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Avon and Miss Close-Up Smile in Miss India. When she won the Miss Asia Pacific title on 3 December 2000 in Manila, the Philippines, she became the first Indian since Tara Anne Fonseca to win this title in 27 years.^[9] She completed the hat-trick of India winning international pageants in the year 2000; Lara Dutta won the Miss Universe title and Priyanka Chopra won the Miss World title in the same year.^[10]

Community services and activism

Mirza has been involved with Cancer Patients Aid Association and Spastics Society of India, and has worked extensively with the government of Andhra Pradesh to spread HIV awareness, prevention of female foeticide, PETA, CRY and most recently the NDTV Greenathon – an effort to find tangible solutions against pollution and the book, "Deke Dheko" by Radio Mirchi (a campaign initiated to collect books for underprivileged children). Her other hobbies include writing, reading, painting, pottery, horse riding and theatre. She has written several articles for the Hindustan Times and other publications as a guest writer. She is on the board of the Coca-Cola foundation that works towards development in rural India. She is associated with campaigns such as Sanctuary Asia's Leave Me Alone and Female Foeticide.

In 2010 she adopted two cheetah cubs at the Prince of Wales zoological park in Lucknow.^[11][12]

Mirza, along with Aamir Khan publicly expressed support for the Narmada Bachao Andolan, a group protesting the building of a dam. This aroused the ire of political activists from the Bharatiya Janata Party, who led a protest march against the actress.^[13] Dia won the Green Award at IIFA 2012 for spreading awareness about environment-related issues.

Along with these, Mirza has endorsed The Body Shop for their stand on a ban on animal testing and propagation of recycled packaging and natural products.^[14] She is the Eco-Ambassador for Panasonic.

Mirza has been felicitated at award functions for her active involvement in social and environmental issues.

She has been named the ambassador for the Swachh Bharat Mission's youth-based 'Swachh Saathi' programme. As an ambassador, the actress would interact with school and college students from across the country through awareness sessions, community cleaning activities and motivational videos.^[15]

She joined Save The Children India as their first ever artist ambassador. As an ambassador, she will use the reach of her celebrity status to champion the rights of children in India and around the world.^[16]

On World Environment Day 2017, she was appointed brand ambassador for the Wildlife Trust of India. She has lent her support to WTI's wildlife conservation endeavors for several years now and is a founder-member of the organization's Club Nature initiative.^[17]

"I hope that over the next 15 months it will capture the country's imagination, corporate India, and people to come together and help secure 101 corridors for India's wild elephants," said WTI's brand ambassador Dia Mirza. n a bid to raise awareness about the shrinking space for wild elephants in the country, a ‘Gaj Yatra’ campaign has been launched in Mumbai. The campaign was launched on Sunday by NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) at the Siddhivinayak temple in Prabhadevi area where Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu was present.^[18]

Dia Mirza, has been appointed as UN Environment’s Goodwill Ambassador for India. She has been recognized by the United Nations for her contribution to environment conservation joining global celebrities like Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Katy Perry and Emma Watson. She is committed to protect, secure and strengthen the rich treasures that nature provides us all! ^[19]

Awards

2002

• Zee Cine Awards for Best Debut: Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein
• Bollywood movie award for Best Debut Newcomer: Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein
• Nominated, Screen Awards for Most Promising Female Newcomer: Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein
• Nominated, Screen Awards for Most Promising Female Newcomer: Deewaanapan
• Nominated, Popular Award for the Best Debut (Female): Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein

2005

• Great women achiever award for Beauty

2011

• Green Globe Honor for Extraordinary Work by a Public Figure
• Women's Achievement Award

2012

• The Jaipur Internatio kisser of the world for Best Actress award: Paanch Adhyay
• IIFA Green Award for Contribution Towards a Greener Environment

2013

• The Sixth Geospa Asiaspa India Awards for Eco Crusader of the Year

2016

• Ms Eternal Beauty At The Femina Miss India
• The Woman Of Substance At Rotary Awards

2017

• Green Crusader of the Year Award at IAA - India Chapter Olive Crown Awards
• The 'Valerian Of Environmental Issues by the makers of the film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Filmography

Television

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dia Mirza.

• Official website
• Dia Mirza on IMDb