Dia plans book on unsung heroes
ACTRESS and environmentalist Dia Mirza who could soon pen a new book on the “unsung” foot soldiers of conservation in India, says that her literary tastes have evolved over the years.
Speaking at the launch of a poetry collection, Dia says she has “a deep desire to write a book on the unsung heroes of India, who are on the frontier of, or are the foot soldiers of, conservation”.
“The book will be about those heroes who put their life at risk to protect nature and wildlife, the planet, and all of us,” she says.
The UN’s Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India says preparations for the book are under way.
“I’ve done my research – I know who exactly I want to write about. It’s only a matter of taking the time out and sitting down to write it,” says Dia, who is one of Bollywood’s most active spokespersons on environmental issues. The book can be expected within the next year.
Dia, who was last seen in
Sanju (2018) as Maanayata Dutt, is all set to play the character of Khanzada Begum – Mughal ruler Babur’s sister – in Nikkhil Advani’s Moghuls.
The historical account, also starring actors Ronit Roy and Shabana Azmi, has been adapted from Alex Rutherford’s six-volume historic fiction novel Empire of the Moghul.
Asked if she had read the complete novel, the Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein star responded that she had to.
When approached about Khanzada’s role, she realised the character hadn’t cropped up in any of the history books she had read.
Reading it helped her understand “the circumstances that the person lived in – and to embody the time, the emotion, and the understanding of the world as it existed at that time”.
Dia named Shashi Tharoor and Romila Thapar as two of her favourite Indian authors, “incredibly engaging and insightful” writers.
“I think so much of your evolution is determined by literary works,” she says.