Dia Mirza Reveals She Mortgaged Her Home to Bring Life to Vidya Balan’s Bobby Jasoos, Reflects on Her Fierce Belief in the Film: I was willing to put what I had on the line for that

At times when conversations surrounding female-led films and women producers were beginning to gain prominence in the Hindi film industry, Dia Mirza made a choice that was deeply personal as well as risky. In 2014, the actress placed herself as one of the younger female producers by backing Bobby Jasoos, featuring Vidya Balan at the heart of it. Mirza took a look back at the making of Bobby Jasoos and revealed she had to mortgage her first-ever purchased home to make the film.

For Dia, producing Bobby Jasoos was all about standing by a story that she believed in, and by an actor she respected immensely. The film was ready to roll. The team was present. Balan had her dates committed. However, when studios and financiers who might have backed the project disappeared, Dia was faced with a choice, whether to pave the way for the film or to let it go.

She stood by the film.

“I had bought my first home after years of working, and I mortgaged it to take a bank loan so we could make the film. It wasn’t something I did because I thought it was brave. At that moment, it simply felt like standing by my conviction. We had a story we believed in, an extraordinary actor who had trusted us with her time and talent, and a team that was ready to make the film. I felt we had to honour that,” she shared.

Beyond this, there was another conviction at the film’s core, one where the actress headlining the film had to be valued too. “One thing I remain very proud of is that we were able to pay Vidya what we believed she deserved. The entire film rested on her shoulders. If we were willing to recognise and remunerate a male actor for carrying a film, why should it be any different for a woman?”

At times when women don’t get a seat at the table, they build one, and that’s exactly what happened here. Dia and Vidya trusted each other enough to build the table themselves rather than waiting for someone to invite them.

“I was young, I believed fiercely in the film and I was willing to put what I had on the line for that belief. Looking back, what stays with me most is not the risk. It is the privilege of having been able to stand behind another woman’s talent and create something together. Women supporting women can change not only whose stories get told, but who gets the opportunity to tell them.”

Bobby Jasoos is directed by Samar Shaikh and it won hearts for telling a quirky tale of Bilqees Ahmed, a Hyderabadi woman who aspires to be a detective despite facing a string of obstacles.