mid-day editorial: World's not a dangal, leave Zaira alone

It is a jungle, err... dangal out there, and you need to survive. Zaira Wasim learnt this the hard way, both in her reel as well as real life. The 16-year-old, who portrayed the role of a wrestler in the blockbuster Dangal, is now growing up tad faster than other teens, thanks to her fame, but no thanks to idle minds who have been targeting her for simply meeting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

In the last few days, Wasim has received death threats, been trolled heavily on social media platforms and forced to apologise on Facebook for no fault of hers. She also went on to explain that no one had forced her to apologise, but later she deleted that post. Her actions reveal the turmoil, the confusion in her mind. Perhaps now she realises that fame is a double-edged sword that can some times become impossible to carry.

It's shameful that a teenager was compelled to take such drastic steps to assuage a situation she was not responsible for. It's appalling that she had to cite her age to justify her so-called "wrong" actions.

The only silver lining in this mess is the support she has drawn from all quarters, including from Aamir Khan, who continues to cheer her on as he did in the film and asked her not to be apologetic about her actions.

But why should a teenager meeting a CM become fodder for political debate? Also, it is unfair to impose a ‘role model' tag on children. The fact that Wasim's actions are being labeled as her opinion and outlook towards the Kashmir unrest is incredulous.

No matter how many films a teenager does or how much fame they gather, nobody has the right to rob them of the spontaneity of youth. Let's not burden them with our demands and expectations. Allow children to fly before reality clips their wings. Leave Zaira alone.