Dangal actor who has been in the eye of a storm for her social media posts appealing Kashmiris to not look upto her as a role model today had a Twitter spat with Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel. The BJP leader tweeted painting of a woman wearing burqa, tagging Zaira Wasim in the comment: “This painting tells a story similar to @zairawasim, our daughters are breaking the cages of oppression. More power to our daughters! ” This comment irked the Dangal actress, who played the role of a young Geeta Phogat in the blockbuster Dangal. She said: “Women in hijab are beautiful and free.” She also added: “Sir, with due respect to you I feel I must disagree. I request you not to connect me to such a discourteous depiction.”
Read more: Exclusive: Dangal girl Zaira Wasim should return from the ‘filth’ of Bollywood, says separatist Asiya Andrabi
Vijay Goel had shared this image while tagging Zaira:
The image disappointed Zaira. And here’s what she had to say:
The 16-year old faced social media backlash in Jammu and Kashmir for meeting the state’s chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. She was also bullied by Islamic hardliners for acting in Bollywood films. A week back she made her sense of hurt public on social media. She wrote: “I’m a just a 16-year-old girl and I hope you treat me accordingly. I’m sorry for what I did but it was not a deliberate decision and I really hope people can forgive me.
There are few more things which are very important and I want to clear them as well. The first and foremost thing is that I am being projected as a role model for Kashmiri Youth. I want to make it very clear that I do not want anyone to follow in my foot steps or even consider me as a role model. I’m not proud of what I’m doing and I want everyone, especially the Youth to know that there are real role models out there whether they be in this time or in our history.” This kicked up a debate on whether the young achievers of state are under pressure from different forces in the conflict zone.
However, she received huge support from entire Bollywood including Aamir Khan. The Phogat sisters, whose biopic she was part of also came out in support of her.
