Actor Siddharth Criticises Zaira Wasim, Says 'We Fight to Keep Religion Out of Art'

Zaira Wasim sparked off a huge debate in the industry after she announced that she no longer wanted to associate with the film industry as it interfered with her religion. The actress, who shot to fame playing a wrestler and Aamir Khan's daughter in Dangal and later delivered an impressive performance in Secret Superstar, shocked the film fraternity by her decision.

The announcement has the industry divided - while some have decided to respect her decision, others say that the Zaira's reasons are "orthodox" and "regressive". In a detailed post on her Facebook page, which she later shared across all social media platforms, the Kashmiri-born star said she realised "though I may fit here perfectly, I do not belong here".

"This field indeed brought a lot of love, support, and applause 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). While I continued to work in an environment that consistently interfered with my 'imaan', my relationship with my religion was threatened," she said.

Read: Dangal Actor Zaira Wasim Quits Bollywood, Says Relationship With Religion Was Threatened

Zaira then explained how she fought with herself and finally took the decision to leave behind the glamour world and put her religion as foremost in her life. Actress Raveena Tandon was one of the first people to react to her decision. Without directly naming Zaira in her tweet, Raveena said, "Doesn't matter if two film olds are ungrateful to the industry that have given them all. Just wish they'd exit gracefully and keep their regressive views to themselves."

Read: Raveena Tandon Calls Zaira Wasim 'Ungrateful Two-film-old Who Should've Exited Gracefully'

That was followed by more backlash. Leila actor Siddharth too voiced his opinion, saying that art and religion should be kept separate. "It's your life. Do whatever you want. Wish you only the best for your future. I believe our art and our profession is our life. We fight to keep religion out of it. It doesn't belong here. If your religion made you do this, maybe you didn't belong here after all. "Godspeed".

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