Bollywood actress Dia Mirza has revealed that she put her first home up as security for a bank loan after studios and financiers withdrew their support for ‘Bobby Jasoos’ at the last moment.
Mirza, who made her Bollywood debut with ‘Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein’ in 2001, entered film production about a decade later.
In 2014, she decided to back the woman-led ‘Bobby Jasoos’, but the financial backing she had expected disappeared even after the project had been written and its cast and crew assembled.
Determined not to abandon the film, Mirza took a personal financial risk to keep the production moving.
“I mortgaged my first home that I had ever bought to be able to tell the story that I wanted to tell because the film had been written,” she recalled.
The project already had Vidya Balan attached to the lead role, with Mirza describing her as an artist she deeply respected. Balan had also established a strong commercial and critical record through films including ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’, ‘Heyy Babyy’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, ‘Kismat Konnection’, ‘No One Killed Jessica’, ‘The Dirty Picture’ and ‘Kahaani’.
Yet the financial situation changed suddenly.
“Suddenly, studios and financers disappeared. I was like, ‘We have to make this film’ and we will make this film, and the team was like, ‘How can we make it? We don’t have money.’ So, I took a bank loan and I mortgaged my home and we made the film we wanted to make,” Mirza said.
The actress-turned-producer also recalled the difficulties she faced after entering film production as a woman. Speaking to She The People about a year ago, she said people had warned her that producing films could affect her acting career.
According to Mirza, those concerns proved partly accurate as acting opportunities declined for a period. She recalled approaching a major producer for an acting role, only to be told that he assumed she was no longer interested in acting because she had started producing films.
Mirza said she eventually had to challenge that perception and demonstrate that producing and acting were not mutually exclusive.
Despite the financial crisis surrounding ‘Bobby Jasoos’, she remained particularly firm about paying Balan her full fee.
“I didn’t ask Vidya for a discount. I paid her her full salary. And I think I paid her one of her career’s best salaries, which I am very proud of because she was carrying the film,” Mirza said.
She argued that female actors should receive the same financial recognition as male performers when they carry a film. Mirza added that the experience also strengthened her relationship with Balan, whom she considers a lifelong friend.
‘Bobby Jasoos’, reportedly made for around Rs26 crore, did not perform strongly at the box office and earned about Rs20 crore worldwide during its theatrical run. However, Mirza said subsequent satellite and studio deals allowed her to recover the money she had invested.
“We went on to make that film exactly the way we wanted to make it. It eventually got a great satellite deal and a fantastic studio deal. And, I was able to pay off my bank loan and release my mortgage,” she said.
Mirza had earlier established Born Free Entertainment Production House with actor Zayed Khan and filmmaker Sahil Sangha, whom she married in 2014 before their separation in 2019.
On her birthday in December 2019, she launched another production company, One India Stories LLP, with an emphasis on diverse, meaningful and women-led stories.
Through the newer banner, Mirza has since produced two short films, ‘Aasmani’ and ‘Panha’, further expanding her work as a producer beyond mainstream commercial films.
