Actress Raveena Tandon has amended her tweets about Zaira Wasim, the 18-year-old who quit Bollywood citing religion, after news channel Times Now offered a video as evidence that Ms Wasim was being persecuted. Ms Tandon deleted her previous tweet calling her young colleague an 'ungrateful two-film-old' who should 'keep her regressive views to herself' and wrote in a fresh tweet: "If this is true and the reason for her to quit, if she was or is under pressure, then I do feel sad for the girl. Was she forced into writing the long statement by radicals out of fear? She was a role model to so many youngsters with dreams and inspirations that they could achieve."
In a separate tweet, Raveena Tandon wrote: "I wish her luck and strength after seeing this, I now regret my first immediate tweet after reading her statement. Maybe she was forced to write what was unacceptable to people like me who love films, cinema, the industry, that I was born into. Deleting the tweet that now sounds harsh."
Read Raveena Tandon's tweets:
If this is true and the reason for her to quit,if she was or is under pressure, then I do feel sad for the girl.Was she forced into writing the long statement by radicals out of fear?She was a role model to so many youngsters with dreams and inspirations that they could achieve. https://t.co/Ym4aih4PBC
— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) July 1, 2019
I wish her luck and strengthAfter seeing this,I now regret my first immediate tweet after reading her statement.Maybe she was forced to write what was unacceptable to people like me who love films,cinema,the industry, that I was born into.Deleting the tweet that now sounds harsh. https://t.co/Okcg3NrCFa
— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) July 1, 2019
The video that Times Now is circulating as proof that Zaira Wasim was bullied into quitting her acting career is, however, believed to be some four-odd years old and unlikely to be the immediate trigger for the announcement she made on Saturday.
Zaira Wasim, who made her debut in Aamir Khan's 2016 film Dangal, wrote in a lengthy note posted on her social media accounts that she was exiting the film industry as it has damaged her "peace, imaan and relationship with Allah." An excerpt from her post read: "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, my relationship with my religion was threatened."
Read Zaira Wasim's entire post:
Controversy followed instantly. Many criticised Ms Wasim's choice to link her decision to quit with her religion. Others pointed out that she was entitled to her decision, no matter the reason. Zaira Wasim later shared a second post busting a rumour that her account had been hacked - the resignation was written by her, she confirmed.
Zaira Wasim won the National Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Dangal. Her second film, Secret Superstar - also an Aamir Khan production and featuring him in a supporting role - won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. Despite these accolades, it hasn't been easy for her - she was brutally trolled some years ago for meeting Mehbooba Mufti, then the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir; Ms Wasim revealed last year that she had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and struggled with suicidal thoughts.
Zaira Wasim has a third film in production, The Sky Is Pink, which also co-stars Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar.
