National Award-winning actress Zaira Wasim, 18, announced her exit from the film industry in a lengthy Facebook post, saying that the profession interfered with her faith and religion. Indians on social media were quick to react to the news, with many criticising her reasons for quitting.
"This journey has been exhausting, to battle my soul for so long," she wrote. "This field indeed brought a lot of love, support, and applause my way, but what it also did was to lead me to a path of ignorance, as I silently and unconsciously transitioned out of imaan [faith]. While I continued to work in an environment that consistently interfered with my imaan [faith], my relationship with my religion was threatened." She added that the career often put her in a "vulnerable" position. About announcing the decision on social media, the actor said she was openly doing so not to paint a holier picture of herself, but “this is the least I can do to start afresh”.
Earlier in May last year, Zaira made it to the headlines when she revealed that she has been suffering from depression since the age of 15. Wasim, rose to fame in 2016 when she starred in one of Bollywood's highest grossing films 'Dangal'. She will next be seen in 'The Sky is Pink', which also stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Farhan Akhtar. The film completed shooting in March.
