'No Disrespect': Dia Mirza Defends 5-Year-Old Son Avyaan After Plastic Bag Controversy

Dia Mirza has spoken about the controversy surrounding an incident involving her five-year-old son, Avyaan Azaad Rekhi, and a coconut water delivery worker. 

What was initially shared by the actor as a simple moment of her son standing up for an environmental practice quickly turned into a debate about privilege and entitlement.

Now, in a new interview with Zoom, Dia has clarified that the incident was never about disrespecting the coconut water vendor. 

Dia Mirza Explains Her Side Of The Story

Dia explained that the conversation online had taken a completely different direction from what had actually happened. She said people assumed that her son was being rude to the delivery worker, while the child was simply pointing out that plastic is not used in their home.

"Now, if a child is learning to say, 'We do not use this' - of course, everybody made it about the nariyal wala, which it was not. Firstly, it was not during the peak of summer. So, those who are worried about the coconut vendor coming in the heat and supplying this coconut water to this household in a plastic bag was his livelihood. It was all about the optics that were created around the story, which were about how it was elitist and it was disrespectful to the coconut vendor. That was not the approach of the story, nor was it the reality," she said.

The actor also said that those who know her are aware of how she treats people and that she did not feel the need to defend herself on that front. 

"Everybody who knows me knows how I treat people. So, I don't have to justify how I treat human beings. The child saw a coconut in a plastic bag. The child recognised that it was something we do not - if we don't propagate it. The child had the agency and the awareness to say, 'Please yeh wapas le jao hamare ghar mein. It's not allowed.' There is no disrespect here either," she added.

How The Incident Became A Social Media Controversy

The incident was first discussed by Dia during a podcast with Soha Ali Khan in June. Recalling the moment, the actor said she strongly dislikes receiving coconut water in plastic bags and with plastic straws.

According to Dia, Avyaan opened the door when the coconut water arrived and immediately noticed the plastic packaging. 

She recalled his reaction, saying, "The coconut wala delivered the coconut and nothing burns my blood more than coconut water arriving in plastic bags with plastic straws. So this boy, bichara, he didn't know whom he was delivering to. So Avyaan opened the door and he puts his hand on his hips and says, 'Bhaiya plastic mein lekar aaye ho, hamare ghar mein plastic not allowed, aap usko plastic se nikalo, usko neeche rakho aur plastic aur straw leke jao' (Why have you brought this in plastic? Plastic is not allowed in our home; put it down and take the plastic away)."

Soha praised the young boy for having the confidence to question an adult. "Imagine standing up to somebody who is an adult and to have that conviction," she said.

The story received a very different reaction online. Several social media users accused Dia of raising her son in a privileged environment and argued that the delivery worker should not have been made responsible for the family's environmental choices.

"The entitlement is unreal - it blinds them to basic respect and decency. If you don't want plastic just go to the thela and buy it yourself and carry it in paper bags. And then the same people act all polished and 'real' on camera... what a joke," read one comment.

Another user wrote, "Fake humanitarian Dia Mirza... go with a steel container to the vendor for nariyal paani if you really care so deeply about saving the environment. Spare the vendor the trouble of delivering to your home."

"What an entitled life of arrogance," read another comment.

Dia married businessman Vaibhav Rekhi in 2021. The couple welcomed their son Avyaan later that year.