Zaira Waseem has won wide acclaim with her portrayal of a younger Geeta Phogat in 'Dangal'.
Dangal star Zaira Waseem's smile was dazzling as she looked into the camera for a selfie at an event in Jammu and Kashmir, betraying nothing of the huge controversy that she has confronted in the past two days.
Less than 48 hours after she was apparently trolled online for meeting Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti last Saturday, the 16-year-old was mobbed by teens in Jammu.
Everyone fought to be photographed with her at the event organized by the state sports council.
In a question-answer session, she was endearing and candid.
"If I want to join Bollywood, what should I do?" asked a Kashmiri boy.
Zaira replied, "I was never interested in acting but it was in my destiny to become an actor and that's what happened...I pray to God a lot."
The Kashmiri teen has won wide acclaim with her portrayal of a younger Geeta Phogat in the blockbuster biopic on the wrestling champ.
On public demand, Zaira recited her famous lines from the movie - "
Hum ne dardiye uska...( I also slapped him)". Her parents beamed proudly by her side.
Zaira was caught in a huge row after posting and then deleting a Facebook apology following her meeting with Mehbooba Mufti.
In the post, Zaira said she is nobody's role model and wouldn't want anybody to follow her footsteps. Zaira later deleted the post and tweeted saying she was upset that it had been "turned into national news." She deleted the tweet as well.
Many across India came out in her support, including Aamir Khan, who called her his role model.
A Kashmiri girl who met Zaira said: "As a girl I want to say, this happens in Kashmir if a girl goes out to do something different, society points fingers at her, but Zaira has done what never crosses the mind of Kashmiri girls."