Dia Mirza says she once rejected good films over screen time; ‘I was young and stupid’
Actor Dia Mirza has opened up about how her approach to selecting film roles has evolved over the years. The actor, who has appeared in’ Alpha’, ‘Ikka’, and will next be seen in ‘Operation Safed Sagar’, said she no longer judges a character by the length of its screen time. Instead, she now focuses on the emotional impact a role brings to the overall story.
Dia Mirza says screen time no longer matters
Speaking in an interview with News18, Dia explained that the duration of a role has never been her deciding factor in recent years. According to her, what truly matters is whether the character contributes meaningfully to the narrative.She said, “Evaluating whether you want to make time and be a part of a story should never be determined by the length of the part.” Elaborating further, she added, “I think it should be determined by the resonance or the truth you find in it. Sometimes, you’re also drawn to the person you’re supposed to play and you believe that you can live that truth the character has to embody.” Dia plays the wife of Wing Commander Tony Dhanoa in Operation Safed Sagar, a series based on the Indian Air Force’s Golden Arrows Squadron during the 1999 Kargil War.
Looks back at the early years of her career
The actor admitted that her outlook was very different when she first entered the film industry. She revealed that she had declined some notable projects because she believed the parts offered to her were too small. Reflecting on those decisions, Dia said, “In the first five years of my career, I was young and stupid and I was trying to figure my own head out. I may have said no to some really great work because the role wasn’t long enough. But I’ve never done that in the last 20 years of my career.” She explained that those experiences helped her understand that a character’s importance cannot be measured by the number of scenes it has.
Story matters more than the role’s length
Dia said her perspective changed after working on several acclaimed films during her career. She now believes that a well-written character can make a lasting impression even with limited screen time. She said, “Over the years, I did films like Parineeta, Lage Raho Munna Bhai and many others. I had never ever decided whether I want to play a part based on its length. Length and screen-time really don’t matter. What matters is how my character anchors the story. What has always mattered is the story and the grounding and depth the character offer to the narrative.” She also praised Operation Safed Sagar director Oni Sen and appreciated the way the series has been written. Speaking about the script, Dia said, “It’s important for content to be balanced, nuanced and humanistic. And I really love the way in which this story has been written.”
Dia Mirza praises the writing of ‘Operation Safed Sagar’
The actor further explained that the quality of writing often reflects the filmmaker’s integrity. According to her, experienced actors can understand the tone of a project within the first few pages of a screenplay. She said, “You can tell that so much effort and time has gone into really doing justice to the reality and the starkness of it. And how someone writes always reflects their integrity. You’ll know in the first five pages of a script what the tonality of the storytelling is going to be.” Dia concluded by saying, “We’re actors who’ve been around for a couple of decades and to understand very quickly what’s the direction a story is going to take is the bare minimum we should be equipped with.”Operation Safed Sagar is set to premiere on August 7. Before the series, Dia was seen in the legal thriller ‘Ikka’, directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra. Released on July 10, 2026, the film also featured Sunny Deol, Akshaye Khanna, and Tillotama Shome in key roles. Go to Source
