The theme of the web series ‘Kaafir’ is so powerful that it will transcend all barriers, says its lead actress, Dia Mirza.
‘Kaafir’ is based on the struggle of a Pakistani woman and her daughter who have crossed into India and are held prisoner.
Mirza said the fact that the Kashmir-set story is inspired by true events, there was a deep sense of curiosity to understand what this entire situation entailed for women and how they got their freedom.
“When I first heard a one-line narration from Siddharth Malhotra [producer of the show], my instantaneous reaction was ‘you have to tell the story’. And then of course when I read the script that Bhavani Iyer had written, I was blown away by how much humanity there was in the story,” she said.
Mirza said the real challenge was to understand how prejudice works.
“Because it is such an inward journey and there is so much that one is representative of through the character and the narrative, within the storyline, I think the real challenge was to understand in depth what prejudice does to us as people,” the actress said.
The actor said prejudices create divisions among us.
“They fundamentally rob us of our true spirit — which is love,” she said.
“So that meant reading poetry of the Progressive Writers’ Movement, especially at the time of Partition, what families went through at the time and what families go through today even in the economic context,” Mirza said.
Also starring Mohit Raina, the web series currently streaming on Zee5 is directed by Sonam Nair.
