Dia Mirza highlights ageism in Bollywood, questions casting norms: ‘No one decides a woman’s peak but her’
Dia Mirza is once again using her voice to spotlight inequality, this time calling out how women seem to quietly disappear from the screen as they grow older. Known for choosing a female priest for her wedding and speaking passionately about the environment, the actor is now asking why an industry that celebrates male ageing still struggles to see older women as romantic leads.
Dia laments women paired with far older men
At the recent event, curated by journalist Barkha Dutt and highlighted across the platform’s coverage, the Sanju actor reflected on how little casting patterns have shifted over the years. Dia Mirza pointed out that women are still routinely paired with male co-stars who are far older than they are. She said, “I find it interesting that I’m cast opposite actors in their late 50s, 60s, and even 70s, and we’re meant to be seen as romantic equals on screen.”
She then flipped the scenario to expose the double standard. Dia argued that it is almost unimaginable to see a 60 or 70-year-old woman cast opposite a man in his 40s as a romantic lead, even though the reverse is considered normal. The message was clear: the rules about who is allowed to age on screen and remain desirable are very different for men and women.
Dia talks about women denied the right to age onscreen
Dia also explained that the problem lies in how the industry stops seeing women as desirable after a certain age. According to her, on-screen pairings where the woman is older than the man rarely exist because filmmakers still struggle to imagine older women as desirable, relevant, and central as they age. Her concern, she noted, is not with men growing older, but with the way women are pushed aside. “It’s about women being denied the right to age with visibility, dignity, and complexity on screen,” she stated.
Later, sharing a post about the event, she said, “The power years, truly! Women over 40 know their hearts and minds. I don’t believe anyone gets to decide when a woman reaches her peak, when she becomes irrelevant, or when her story ends. We decide that for ourselves. Always.”
On the work front, Dia was last seen in Nadaaniyan, released in March 2025, where she plays a supporting role alongside debut actors Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor.
