4 min readNew DelhiMar 28, 2026 08:05 PM IST
Dia Mirza made her Bollywood debut 25 years ago with Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, a film that has since achieved cult status among audiences. But when it first released, it failed at the box office followed by her many projects failing despite her performances receiving praise. In a recent conversation, Dia has opened up about being labelled “unlucky” in the industry and how she eventually found a turning point with Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju.
Dia Mirza says people perceive her as ‘bad luck’
Looking back at her initial years in Bollywood, Dia said she had to constantly fight preconceived notions about her.
“I feel I managed to defy everybody’s idea of me and create my own. When I started off, there were all these comparisons with Aishwarya Rai. I remember being an impediment to access an opportunity. Then box office failures of my so-called big films—and how it in turn renders you jobless, because people who were otherwise queuing up to sign you suddenly perceive you as a panauti, bad luck. I have been through all of that.”
Despite the setbacks, she said critics often acknowledged her potential, even when opportunities didn’t follow.
“If you go back and read some of the reviews from my first five years in films, you see critics saying ‘deserves more’, ‘underutilised’, ‘not getting her due’.”
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Dia recalls taking sabbatical at 24
Dia also spoke about stepping away from work at a young age following a personal loss.
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“I took a sabbatical at the age of 24 when I lost my adoptive father. I was like something is wrong here. I am working hard, I am doing my best, but people’s expectations of me aren’t matching what is happening to me.”
When Dia called Rajkumar Hirani for work
The actor revealed that things began to change after she actively reached out to filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani during the casting of Sanju.
“There has always been this desire to do more, and I think it’s only in the last decade, post Sanju. I remember the phone call I made to Rajkumar Hirani when he was casting the film. I had already done Lage Raho Munna Bhai with him and I said, ‘please give me work, please, I have no work and I am struggling to find an opportunity to get a foothold, nobody is giving me jobs. You are doing this film and I promise I will do a screen test, whatever you want, but please give me the job.’”
“And he said, ‘let me talk to Ranbir and the rest of the team and get back. There is something which I think you may be good for.’ And I played Manyata, Sanjay Dutt’s wife. It was a lifesaver.”
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Before Sanju, Dia had also turned producer with films like Love Breakups Zindagi and Bobby Jasoos.
“After I started producing with Love Breakups Zindagi followed by Bobby Jasoos, in which I didn’t cast myself—we cast Vidya Balan—I don’t know what it was. Whether it was a combination of ‘oh, she is producing films so she doesn’t want to act’ or that they had other choices, I don’t know. But I wasn’t getting work.”
The success of Sanju, however, changed the trajectory.
“Sanju happened and it gave me a lease of life. Then Siddharth P. Malhotra, who is a producer, called me for Kaafir—and that really created a huge dimensional shift for me. That part and that story changed my life in so many ways.”
Dia Mirza was last seen in Nadaaniyan, also starring Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor and web series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.
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DISCLAIMER: This article is an editorial reflection on personal career challenges and professional resilience in the entertainment industry. It is intended for informational and storytelling purposes and does not constitute professional or psychological advice.
