Dia Mirza chats with 'Panga' director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari on environmental issues

Dia Mirza’s conversation with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari delved into the little things in her films that seamlessly incorporated elements of nature into her characters, locations, and even details of individual scenes.

New Delhi: Bollywood actress and former beauty queen Dia Mirza resumed her #DownToEarthWithDee sessions recently. Dia started with her live Instagram sessions on every Wednesday, starting this Earth Day and will continue till World Environment Day on June 5, 2020. 

This series is her attempt to reconnect with nature through conversations with individuals who have made their own unique contributions towards sustainability. She recently was in conversation with the 'Panga' director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and discussed on keeping nature a constant in the craft of cinema.

Tiwari, who has written and directed genre-defining films like Nil Battey Sannata, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and most recently, the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Panga, engaged with Dia on how she continues to be inspired by nature and the role environmental consciousness has played in her filmmaking journey.

“Ashwiny is an incredible storyteller who puts a lot of heart into everything that she does. What resonates with me most strongly about her is how she weaves the narrative of nature and environmental consciousness into her stories,” Dia said about her guest. 

“I grew up in a family where conversations were mainly about stitching clothes and growing food!” Ashwiny recalled. 

“I’ve always been socially inclined, and I found that through films I could tell stories and that would be my way to entertain and convey a message to society.” the director said, mentioning 'Nil Battey Sannata' where an important location in the film was a greenhouse. 

Dia’s conversation with Ashwiny delved into the little things in her films that seamlessly incorporated elements of nature into her characters, locations, and even details of individual scenes. She successfully conveyed the fondness people have for their hometowns, despite moving to urban, metro cities, candidly saying “Pizza pasta bahut ho gaya, abhi daal chawal chahiye.”

With Panga, Ashwiny told Dia, she got to explore the characters' interaction with nature much more. “It was exciting to see a filmmaker using the context of that environmental consciousness in their narrative and bringing that into the story. The metal bottle has a character of its own in the film, as it forms a crucial part of Kangana’s narrative,” Dia pointed out, reminiscing of her 2018 campaign to #BeatPlasticPollution with the UN which led to a historic declaration by PM Modi to make India single-use plastics free by 2022.

From going to Ranthambore to Corbet to Kaziranga National Parks to growing vegetables in her own home now, the director has done it all with her kids and feels that they have now built individual relationships with nature. 

“There is nothing that teaches us to discover balance better than nature does. I wish more mothers like you foster an understanding that all of life is connected because the best gift we can give our children is a relationship with nature,” Dia finished, bidding goodbye to her guest for the evening.

The actress has a list of guests for her Wednesday sessions which will last till the World Environment Day.

“I hope these conversations on #DownToEarthWithDee help all those seeking ways to live in better harmony with nature despite living in cities. I hope they find some magic, inspiration, and solutions in our conversations,” Dia Mirza concluded saying.