Diya Mirza Biography

Diya Mirza Handrich nicknamed Dee and more popularly known as Dia Mirza, (born on December 9, 1981) is a Indian model and actress who appears in Bollywood films. She was a second runner up at Femina Miss India, 2000 and was subsequently sent to Miss Asia Pacific, 2000, where she won. She completed the hat-trick of India winning international pageants in the year 2000 (Lara Dutta won the Miss Universe title and Priyanka Chopra won the Miss World title in the same year) when she won the Miss Asia Pacific title on 3 December 2000 in Manila, Philippines, also making her the first Indian contestant to win this title in 29 years. The actress along with her boyfriend Sahil Sangha and good friend Zayed Khan has started her own production house, Born Free Entertainment, and is making the first film Love Breakups Zindagi under the banner.

Diya Mirza

Personal life and education
Diya Mirza was born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Her father, Frank Handrich, was a German graphic and industrial fair designer, architect, artist and interior designer from Munich and her mother, Deepa is a Bengali Indian who is an interior designer, landscaper and currently does social work as a volunteer to help alcoholics and addicts. They separated when she was six years old. Her father died when she was nine and her mother remarried Ahmed Mirza, who died in 2004. She adopted her stepfather's surname Mirza and has recently adopted the last name of her birth-father and became Dia Mirza Handrich. Though she has been brought up in a Muslim household, she does not consider herself a Muslim; she is a Hindu and believes in Ganesha.

When living in Khairatabad, Hyderabad district, Diya Mirza attended Vidyaranya High School for Boys And Girls, a school based on the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti, and later Nasr School, in Khairtabad. She attended Stanley Junior College and completed her graduation in Bachelors of Arts from Andhra Pradesh Open University, Hyderabad.

Career

Diya Mirza

Diya Mirza started working at the age of 16 years while continuing her college education. She worked as a marketing executive in a multi-media firm called Dr. Neeraj’s Multi media studio. She simultaneously modeled for the print and television advertisement campaigns of various brands such as Walls, Lipton, Emami etc. Diya Mirza wanted to complete her graduation in Arts by correspondence, but decided to postpone it as it was becoming difficult to juggle between the Miss Asia Pacific competition, modeling assignments, traveling and training. She is proficient in Telugu, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, and English.

Film career
Diya Mirza made her cinematic debut with Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein opposite R. Madhavan. Though, the film was not a box office success, but she received a nomination for 'Best Female Debut' at the Zee Cine Awards.

In 2005, Diya Mirza appeared in Parineeta, a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production. She also starred in the music video, Kajara Mohabbat Wala alongside Sonu Nigam from his album Kajara Nite. The album contained multiple remixes, but was mainly advertised with the title song, sung by Sonu Nigam and Alisha Chinai.

Diya Mirza also appeared in the films Dus and Fight Club. She was the only female actor among the six key characters in the film, Acid Factory in which she played a femme fatale who is also a gangster.

Community Services

Diya Mirza

Diya Mirza has been involved with Cancer Patients Aid Association, Spastics Society of India, and has worked extensively with government of Andhra Pradesh to spread HIV awareness, prevention of female foeticide, PETA, CRY and most recently the NDTV Greenathon – an effort to find tangible solutions against pollution and book, "Deke Dheko" by Radio Mirchi (a campaign initiated to collect books for underprivileged children). Her other hobbies include writing, reading, painting, pottery, horse riding and theater. She has written several articles for The Hindustan Times and various other publications as a guest writer. She is on the board of the Coca Cola foundation that works towards development in rural India. She recently adopted 2 cheetah cubs at the Prince of Wales zoological park in Lucknow.

Controversies
Diya Mirza and fellow-actor Aamir Khan publicly expressed support for the Narmada Bachao Andolan, a group protesting the building of a dam. This aroused the ire of political activists from the Bharatiya Janata Party, who led a protest march against the actress.

Filmography

2001 Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein Reena Malhotra
Deewaanapan Kiran Choudhary

Diya Mirza

2002 Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge Muskaan
2003 Tehzeeb Nazneen Jamal
Pran Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye Saundarya
Dum Kaveri
2004 Stop! Shama
Tumsa Nahin Dekha Jia Khan
Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na Preeti Special appearance
2005 Naam Gum Jaayega Natasha/Gitanjali
My Brother… Nikhil Special appearance
Blackmail Mrs. Rathod
Parineeta
Dus Anu Dheer
Koi Mera Dil Mein Hain Simran
2006 Fight Club - Members Only Anu Chopra
Phir Hera Pheri Item number (song)
Alag Purva Rana
Lage Raho Munna Bhai Simran
Prateeksha Reena Brown TV release
2007 Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. Shilpa
Shootout at Lokhandwala Mita Matu
Cash Aditi
Heyy Babyy Herself Special appearance in a song
Om Shanti Om Herself Special appearance
Dus Kahaniyaan Sia
2008 Krazzy 4 Shikha
Kaho Naa Yaar Hai Herself A reality based game show TV, Appeared with her best friends
Syed Kafait Ali and Amna humdani along with Sajid Khan and
his friends as competitors on 1 March 2008 aired on Star Plus.
2009 Kissan Priya
Jai Veeru Anna
Acid Factory Max
Fruit and Nut Monica Gokhale
Kurbaan Rihana (WIACB reporter) Special Appearance
Luck By Chance Herself Special Appearance
2010 Hum Tum Aur Ghost Gehna
Shoebite
2011 Johnny Mastana Filming
Alibaug Filming