Dia Mirza opts for ‘sensible’ roles

Dia Mirza is not worried about not doing too many films these days. The actress is busy campaigning for AIDS and working as an ambassador for various organisations. "You will see my work in 2006," she says. "I have been doing a lot sensible commercial films. I am praying that I'll have a hit. I have a series of films lined up now," she adds.

Currently working with BBC World Service Trust in a reality show called Haath Se Haath Milaa in association with Doordarshan and NACO on the AIDS awareness mass media campaign, Dia Mirza says, "I am glad to be associated with this project and have learnt a lot from this show." The series has been created and formatted by well-known filmmaker Anu Malhotra.

In the show, Dia Mirza interacts with two Yuva stars Brijesh Sharma and Mohammed Sami who are two bright youngsters. They have given up their lucrative career and devoted an entire year to spreading HIV awareness.

"The boys are walking around the world on foot to spread awareness of AIDS. It has had a huge impact on me. I have learnt a lot from them. I was so impressed that I walked with them from Faridabad to Delhi. It was a gratifying experience for me," says Dia. In the show, Dia sets up a challenge — a treasure hunt through Palwal in Haryana, in which they have to message various groups of people to get their next clue.

They complete their challenge and Diya surprises them with the treasure. The series also has a spectacular title track, called Haath Se Haath Milaa, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar and music by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. It has been sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal.

"The music is mind blowing and has a lot of stars involved in it. Not many are aware that stars are working for this cause. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the seriousness of the disease. Not just the illiterate people, but even the educated youngsters are not serious about HIV and AIDS. They don't realise that sex is not the only way that the disease is transmitted," adds Dia.

Coming back to her career in films Dia says that she has no regrets at all. "If you analyse the work I've done, I think I have done some intelligent roles. Though I had done a cameo in Parineeta, the film was a major hit. I am glad I was part of a successful project, but now I do not want to be a part of a successful film. Instead, I want to be a success in my film. I have a few projects coming up. There's Vicky Chopra's Fight Club, Ashu Trikha's Alag and Basu Chatterjee's Prateeksha. I am looking forward to these films in 2006," she concludes.