Dia Mirza, who was in Delhi for Jashn-e-Rekhta recently, said that she is getting the best roles of her career at the age of 40. “Chaalis saal ki umar mein mujhe aise roles (like the one in Thappad) mil rahe hain. I’m really grateful. Agar aap 23 saal ki Dia se kehte ki aap ka sabse achha kaam aap ko 40 ki umar mein milega toh main bilkul believe nahi karti. Yeh haqeeqat hai, ageism is prevalent not only in the Hindi film industry but in our society, too. Aap ki umar thodi badh jati hai toh log kya kehne lag jate hain? Aunty! Aunty me kya burai hai? That’s something we all are working to change and hopefully, we will change that,” she added.

At the Urdu poetry festival, the actress also discussed the impact that poetry has had in her life. She shared, “I always keep some poems with me. Sometimes when I’m doing a role, I refer to a poem to find a connect. For instance, in Kaafir, to get the essence of that role I referred to Kaifi Azmi’s poem Aurat.”

She added that her husband, Vaibhav Rekhi, writes a nazm every time she returns from an out-of-town visit. “He has a really good understanding of poetry. I have collected all those cards. I wonder when he will stop, but you never know...this may go on forever.”

For her, beauty lies in personal growth. “My mother told me that beauty is what beauty does. There is nothing more beautiful than personal growth. Tabu ko dekh lijiye. Iss saal ki do sabse badi hit filmon mein woh hain,” she said.

Responding to a question about why she named her son Azaad, Dia said, “Two years ago, I tattooed ‘azad’ on my hand. I don’t have any other tattoo. I got this tattoo because I discovered something, and as a woman it is so important to discover this – the ability to befriend fear. Azadi for me, is freedom from fear... Kyunki har bachha bekhauf paida hota hai. Aur meri ummeed hai ki woh zindagi bhar bekhauf rahe.”