Dia Mirza Rekhi (born Dia Handrich on December 9, 1981) is an Indian model, actor, producer, and social worker best known for her work in Hindi cinema. Mirza was crowned Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 2000 before being crowned Miss Asia Pacific International in 2000. Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (2001) was her acting debut.
She went on to appear in films such as Dus (2005), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), and Sanju (2018). Born Free Entertainment was a production company she co-owned with her ex-husband Sahil Sangha. Love Breakups Zindagi, their debut film, was released on October 7, 2011. In December 2019, she founded her own production company, "One India Stories," following their divorce. In 2019, she also participated in the web series Kaafir.
Mirza was born in the Indian city of Hyderabad. Frank Handrich, her father, is a German graphics and industrial fair designer, architect, artist, and interior designer located in Munich, while Deepa, her mother, is a Bengali interior designer and landscaper who also volunteers to aid alcoholics and drug addicts. Her parents split when she was four and a half years old. She took her stepfather's surname after her mother married Ahmed Mirza, a Muslim man from Hyderabad. He passed away in 2004.
Mirza was enrolled in Nasr School, a girls day school in Khairtabad, after attending Vidyaranya High School, a co-ed school. She went on to attend Stanley Junior College before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ambedkar Open University in Hyderabad.
Career Modelling
Mirza worked as a marketing executive for a media company, Neeraj's Multi-media Studio, while in college. Simultaneously, she modeled for print and television advertising for brands such as Lipton, Wall's ice cream, Emami, and many more. She finished second in the Miss India pageant in 2000 and went on to win the Miss Asia Pacific title the following year.
Acting
In Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, she made her acting debut. Alag, Dum, Deewaanapan, Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge, Tumsa Nahin Dekha: A Love Story, Parineeta, Dus, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and Salaam Mumbai were among her subsequent films. In 2018, she starred as Sanjay Dutt's wife Manyata Dutt in the biopic Sanju, which was one of India's highest-grossing films. She starred in Thappad, which won the Filmfare Award for Best Film in 2020.
In 2019, she appeared in the ZEE5 web series Kaafir. She starred in the series, which was set in Kashmir, alongside Mohit Raina.
Producer
Born Free Entertainment, a production company she co-founded with her ex-husband Sahil Sangha, was founded in 2011. She has also produced Love Breakups Zindagi, Bobby Jasoos, and Mind the Malhotras, an Amazon Prime Video sitcom web series. Cyrus Sahukar and Mini Mathur star in the series. She revealed in December 2019 that she was launching a new production company called "One India Stories" to develop original content.
Humanitarian issues
Mirza provided the voice of a snow leopard named Layla for a Run Wild environmental podcast, which is a cooperation between Runtastic, the UN Environmental Programme, and the Internet of Elephants.
She has contributed to the Hindustan Times and other media with articles.
Titles
Mirza finished second in Femina Miss India 2000 and was then sent to Miss Asia Pacific 2000, where she won. In Miss India, she also won Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Avon, and Miss Close-Up Smile. She became the first Indian to win the Miss Asia Pacific title since Tara Anne Fonseca in 27 years when she won it on December 3, 2000, in Manila, Philippines. In the year 2000, she accomplished India's hat-trick of international pageant victories; Lara Dutta won Miss Universe and Priyanka Chopra won Miss World in the same year.
Volunteering and activism in the community
Mirza has worked extensively with the government of Andhra Pradesh to spread HIV awareness, prevention of female foeticide, PETA, CRY, and most recently the NDTV Greenathon - an effort to find tangible solutions against pollution and the book, "Deke Dheko" by Radio Mirchi (a campaign initiated to collect books for underprivileged children). She serves on the board of the Coca-Cola Foundation, which promotes rural development in India. She has been involved in projects such as Sanctuary Asia's Leave Me Alone and Female Foeticide.
She adopted two cheetah kittens from the Prince of Wales zoological park in Lucknow in 2010.
Mirza and Aamir Khan both publicly supported the Narmada Bachao Andolan, an organization against the construction of a dam. This infuriated Bharatiya Janata Party activists, who staged a protest march against the actress. She received the Green Award at IIFA 2012 for her efforts in raising awareness about environmental issues.
Mirza has also endorsed The Body Shop for their stance on animal testing and the proliferation of recycled packaging and natural products. She is Panasonic's Eco-Ambassador.
Mirza has received recognition at award ceremonies for her strong commitment in social and environmental issues.
She has been named the Swachh Bharat Mission's youth-focused 'Swachh Saathi' ambassador. As an ambassador, she will interact with children from around the country through awareness seminars, community cleaning initiatives, and motivational videos.
She became Save The Children India's first artist ambassador.
She was named brand ambassador for the Wildlife Trust of India on World Environment Day 2017. She has been a long-time supporter of WTI's animal conservation efforts and is a founding member of the organization's Club Nature project, as well as a supporter of a campaign to raise awareness about the country's dwindling habitat for wild elephants.
She was also named the UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India in 2017, and her term was extended till 2022 on May 7, 2020. She was designated by the United Nations Secretary-General as an ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals. She also became a blogger in order to conserve the environment and raise awareness. She co-hosted the United Nations Champions Gala 2019 with actor Alec Baldwin. She was present at the 14th United Nations Conference of the Parties and hosted the closing banquet.
Mirza launched a cleanup campaign at Juhu beach on Independence Day 2019 and another at Mahim beach on January 26th to rid the coastline of single-use plastic.
Mirza is an advocate for Ramky's BIG Green Ganesha and presented the winners with Tree Ganeshas in 2019.
Private life
She got engaged to her longtime business partner Sahil Sangha in April 2014, and they married on October 18, 2014, at his home in Chattarpur, on the outskirts of Delhi. Mirza announced their divorce in August 2019.
Mirza married businessman Vaibhav Rekhi in Bandra, Mumbai, on February 15, 2021.
She announced that she is expecting her first child on April 1, 2021. On 14 July 2021, she stated that she gave birth to a baby boy, Avyaan Azaad Rekhi, prematurely on 14 May and that he was in the NICU for two months. Mirza also has a stepdaughter from Rekhi's first marriage, Samaira Rekhi.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | En Swasa Kaatre | Dancer | Tamil film; Extra |
| 2001 | Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein | Reena Malhotra | |
| Deewaanapan | Kiran Choudhary | ||
| 2002 | Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge | Muskaan | |
| 2003 | Dum | Kaveri | |
| Praan Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye | Saundarya | ||
| Tehzeeb | Nazneen Jamal | ||
| 2004 | Kyun! Ho Gaya Na... | Preeti | Special appearance |
| Tumsa Nahin Dekha | Jiya | ||
| Stop! | Shama | ||
| 2005 | Blackmail | Anjali Mohan | |
| My Brother…Nikhil | Special appearance | ||
| Naam Gum Jaayega | Natasha/Gitanjali | ||
| Koi Mere Dil Mein Hai | Simran | ||
| Parineeta | Gayatri | ||
| Dus | Anu Dheer | ||
| 2006 | Fight Club – Members Only | Anu Chopra | |
| Prateeksha | Reena Brown | Television film | |
| Phir Hera Pheri | Item number (song) | ||
| Alag | Purva Rana | ||
| Lage Raho Munna Bhai | Simran | ||
| 2007 | Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. | Shilpa | |
| Shootout at Lokhandwala | Meeta Mattoo | ||
| Cash | Aditi | ||
| Heyy Babyy | Herself | Special appearance | |
| Om Shanti Om | Herself | Special appearance | |
| Dus Kahaniyaan | Sia | ||
| 2008 | Krazzy 4 | Shikha | |
| 2009 | Luck by Chance | Herself | Special appearance |
| Jai Veeru | Anna | ||
| Kisaan | Priya | ||
| Acid Factory | Max | ||
| Fruit and Nut | Monica Gokhale | ||
| Kurbaan | Rehana (WIACB reporter) | Special appearance | |
| 2010 | Hum Tum Aur Ghost | Gehna Sinha | |
| 2011 | Love Breakups Zindagi | Naina | |
| 2012 | Paanch Adhyay | Ishita | Bengali film |
| 2014 | Bobby Jasoos | Producer | |
| 2016 | Salaam Mumbai | Karishma | Iranian-Indian film |
| 2018 | Sanju | Manyata Dutt | |
| 2020 | Thappad | Shivani | |
| 2021 | Wild Dog | Priya Verma | Telugu film;Special appearance |
| 2023 | Bheed | ||
| 2023 | Dunki | TBA |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kaafir | Kainaaz Akhtar | |
| Mind the Malhotras | Producer | ||
| 2021 | Call My Agent: Bollywood | Herself | Episode 1 |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Ganga – The Soul Of India | Herself |
2002
2012
2016
2019
2022
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Dia Handrich |
| Profession(s) | Actress, Model, Film Producer & Social Activist |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height | in centimeters- 168 cm in meters- 1.68 m in feet & inches- 5’ 6” |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Career | |
| Debut | Bollywood Film: Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (2001)as 'Reena Malhotra' Bengali Film: Paanch Adhyay (2012) TV: Ganga - The Soul of India (2016) Web Series: Kaafir (2019) As a Producer: Love Breakups Zindagi (2011) |
| Awards, Honours, Achievements | • 2020: Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival - Award for Best actress for the web series “Kaafir” • 2019: Filmfare Glamour & Style Awards for Woman of Style & Substance • 2019: IWM Digital Awards - Best actor female (critics) for the web series “Kaafir” • 2017: The ‘Valerian of Environmental Issues’ by the makers of the film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” • 2016: Rotary Awards - The Woman of Substance • 2016: Femina Miss India - Ms. Eternal Beauty • 2011: Women’s Achievement Award • 2011: Green Globe Honor for Extraordinary Work by a Public Figure • 2005: Great Women Achiever Award for Beauty |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 9 December 1981 (Wednesday) |
| Age (as of 2022) | 41 Years |
| Birthplace | Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh |
| Zodiac sign | Saggitarius |
| Signature |  |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh |
| School | • Vidyaranya High School, Hyderabad • Nasr School, Hyderabad • Stanley Girls High School, Hyderabad |
| College/University | Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad |
| Educational Qualification | Bachelor of Arts from Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad |
| Religion | Her father was a German Catholic, her mother is a Bengali, and her step-father is a Dakhini Muslim. Despite these factors, she follows Hinduism. |
| Food Habit | Non-Vegetarian |
| Hobbies | Cooking, Reading, Doing Photography & Travelling |
| Tattoo(s) | 'Aazad' imbibed on the wrist of her left hand |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Marriage Date | • First Marriage: 18 October 2014 • Second Marriage: 15 February 2021 |
| Marriage Place | • First Marriage: Sahil Sangha's farmhouse in Chattarpur, Delhi • Second Marriage: Dia Mirza'a residence in Bandra, Mumbai Note: The wedding function of Dia Mirza and Vaibhav Rekhi was conducted by a priestess. |
| Family | |
| Husband/Spouse | • First Husband: Sahil Sangha (m.2014-d.2019) • Second Husband: Vaibhav Rekhi (businessman) |
| Children | She gave birth to a son named Avyaan Azaad in May 2021. |
| Parents | Father- Frank Handrich (Graphics and Industrial Fair Designer, Architect, Artist, and Interior Designer based in Munich) Step-father- Ahmed Mirza (died in 2003) Mother- Deepa Mirza (Interior designer, Landscaper) |
| Favourite Things | |
| Food | Hyderabadi Biryani, Nihari, Khatti Daal, Kheema |
| Cuisines | Punjabi, Hyderabadi, European, Italian, Thai |
| Book(s) | “The Silk Roads: A New History of the World” by Peter Frankopan, “A New Earth: Create a Better Life” by Eckhart Tolle, “The Faraway Tree” by Enid Blyton, “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd, “The Motorcycle Diaries” by Che Guevara |
| Actor | Amitabh Bachchan |
| Travel Destination(s) | Machu Picchu in Peru, Leh, Cambodia, Africa |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | • Lexus LX • BMW X1 |
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