DIA MIRZA IS PUSHING FOR A Sustainable NEW WORLD
Long before the urgency of ‘sustainability‘ pierced its way into our everyday lexicon and collective consciousness, Dia Mirza was practising and preaching it.
Archived newspaper reports swirling around the Internet will tell you that in 2010, the former Miss India Pacific had adopted two leopard cubs—Ashoka and Naks—at the Lucknow zoo. (A noteworthy detail is that the cubs‘ mother had been rescued in Mirzapur, and named ‘Dia of Mirzapur‘ by the forest staff.) Nearly a decade later, a baby rhino at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya was also named ‘Dia Mirza‘, and a delighted Dia (the actor, not the rhino) took to Instagram to post a photograph of her namesake, urging followers to do their bit to conserve wildlife.
Over the years, the Thappad actor has used her voice and influence to spread awareness about the perils of plastic, the need for greater mindulfness in matters of consumption and climate change, and why it is so important to maintain a balanced ecosystem. Her work as the brand ambassador for the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) includes drawing attention to the danger—and suffering—faced by several animal species. Her longstanding support of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also features a compelling ad campaign that shows Dia dressed as a bloodied snake, imploring people to give up wearing and carrying animal skins. And in 2018, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UN Environment (alongside custodians like model Gisele Bundchen, singer Ellie Goulding, and Alibaba Chief Jack Ma).
Dia‘s appointment with the UN gave the actor greater impetus to use her social media assets for change. Her Instagram feed is brimming with stirring messages, urging her Followers to rethink their environmental choices. Occasionally, the said Followers are also treated to photographs of majestic elephants, often in regards to securing safe elephant corridors (“Just the thought of being near an elephant makes me happy,” Dia said in a post from 2018).
But perhaps the greatest testimony to our covergirl‘s passion for the environment comes from the changes she has brought into her own life—Dia is covershoot, incidentally, the actor carefully scrutinised each garment on the styling rack, before giving it a ‘sustainable’ nod of approval. “We are confronted by an existential crisis,” she tells me later, her voice imbued with significance. “The way we have built the world, the way we have created patterns of consumption and economies, it’s simply sustainable. The Earth is running out of resources, and we won’t be left with clean air, clean water, or the kind of climate that is necessary to grow food. We just have this decade to fix what we have done wrong. This pandemic should have been our biggest wake-up call, because if we don’t change the way we live our lives, things will only get worse.”
