Actor Dia Mirza is known for her sustained advocacy for environmental protection and animal rights. This year she was awarded the esteemed ‘Person of the Year 2023’ by PETA India, an international animal rights organization. The 42-year-old actor, who is also the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme, often promotes policies that promote animal rights be it amendments in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act or discouraging the use of animal skin for fashion. She has also collaborated with PETA on numerous projects. Previously, PETA has given the ‘Person of the Year’ award to figures like former Supreme Court Justice KS Panicker Radhakrishnan, cricketer Virat Kohli, and actors John Abraham and Anushka Sharma.
PETA announced this year’s award in an Instagram post and wrote, “Congratulations, diamirzaofficial, PETA India’s 2023 Person of the Year! For speaking out against using reptile skins to give a voice to Ellie, Asia’s first educational animatronic elephant teaching kids across India to be kind, Dia Mirza is inspiring change! DiaMirza PETAIndia."
Talking about their choice of Mirza as this year’s awardee, PETA India Vice President of Celebrity and Public Relations Sachin Bangera told BollywoodMash, “Dia Mirza never misses a chance to use her star power to promote empathy for all species, from dogs to elephants and crocodiles. PETA India is proud to celebrate Mirza’s work – from speaking out against using elephants for rides to promoting kinder fashion choices – to make India a more compassionate nation."
This year Mirza’s significant contribution towards promoting animal rights was providing the voice for Ellie, PETA India’s lifelike animatronic elephant. Ellie is often introduced in schools and helps kids understand the plight of elephants that are used in circuses and other entertainment venues.
Talking about lending her voice to Ellie, Mirza had said, “Elephants are deeply intelligent, social, and emotional beings who belong in nature, not in confinement, where they are chained and beaten. I am delighted to be working with PETA India and giving a voice to Ellie to teach youngsters that kindness to elephants means letting them live free."
She added, “As a mother, it’s an extremely conscious choice for me to support and work with education initiatives that create such a beautiful and nuanced sense of connection with nature among children. Through Ellie, I hope we can further build the precious bond our young ones already have with the planet as earthlings."