Zaira Wasim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn a lengthy social media post published Sunday, Zaira Wasim said she was leaving the profession because becoming a Bollywood star had \u201cdamaged\u201d her relationship with God.<\/p>\n
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The 18-year-old won major awards for her two film roles to date and was considered a rising star of Indian cinema.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis field indeed brought a lot of love\u2026 my way, but what it also did was to lead me to a path of ignorance, as I silently and unconsciously transitioned out of imaan (faith),\u201d she wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I continued to work in an environment that consistently interferes with my imaan, my relationship with my religion was threatened,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Wasim, from the restive Indian-administered area of Kashmir, shot to fame in 2016 when she starred alongside Bollywood icon Aamir Khan in the hit movie \u201cDangal\u201d.<\/p>\n
She won a National Film Award for her role as an aspiring female wrestler, and the film went on to become India\u2019s highest-grossing movie. It also enjoyed massive success in China.<\/p>\n
Wasim followed that up with a Filmfare Critics Award for her outing in 2017\u2019s \u201cSecret Superstar\u201d, in which she played a young, Muslim singer-songwriter who becomes a YouTube sensation.<\/p>\n
Bollywood has a long tradition of Muslim movie stars \u2014 the three Khans: Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh have dominated box offices for the last three decades.<\/p>\n
There are far fewer Muslim actresses however \u2014 in particular from the divided Kashmir region \u2014 and some social media users took to Twitter to criticise Wasim for invoking Islam as her reason for stepping away from acting.<\/p>\n
\u201cExit is your choice, reason, by all means. Just do not demean it for everyone else. The industry where all work shoulder to shoulder, no differences, caste, religion or where you come from,\u201d wrote actress Raveena Tandon.<\/p>\n
Jammu and Kashmir police officer Imtiyaz Hussain said he respected her decision, but added that she \u201ccan\u2019t invoke religion and faith\u201d to justify it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre others in the field some kind of sinners? This dawning of new reality should be her own truth & her own interpretation of religion. Period,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Others rallied to her defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s her life to do with as she pleases. All I will do is wish her well & hope that whatever she does makes her happy,\u201d tweeted former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.<\/p>\n
Wasim\u2019s last film will be \u201cThe Sky is Pink\u201d, due out in October, where she will be seen alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas.<\/p>\n
The filmmakers said in a statement that Wasim had been \u201ca complete professional\u201d throughout the shooting of the movie, which finished in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a purely personal decision, which she has taken after much thought and we will be supportive of her in every way \u2013 now and always,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
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![\"Zaira](\"https:\/\/cdn.ghanamma.com\/2019\/07\/1561980394_944_Zaira-Wasim-e1561970995208.jpg\")