Dia Mirza, who played the lead role in Kaafir—a story now re-released as a film—has opened up about one of the most harrowing scenes she had to shoot. The actor, known for her sensitive performances, recalled the emotional and physical toll of filming a rape scene in the 2019 series, which also stars Mohit Raina.

Mirza plays Kainaaz Akhtar, a Pakistani woman wrongfully imprisoned in India after accidentally crossing the Line of Control. Speaking to CNN-News18, she described the scene as one of the most intense moments of her career. “I remember when we shot the rape scene, it was so hard. I was shaking physically after we got done with filming that scene. I remember throwing up. I vomited after we finished rolling that entire sequence. That’s how emotionally and physically demanding those situations were,” she said.

The 43-year-old actor explained that immersing herself fully into the character’s trauma was necessary to portray the scene with authenticity. “When you take your entire body into the truth of that moment, you feel it. You feel it in its full extent.”

For Mirza, embodying Kainaaz wasn’t just a performance—it was a deeply transformative experience. “The first and most important thing one needs to feel as an artist is empathy towards the character you’re playing. Playing Kainaaz actually made me a mother much before I became a biological mother. It was because of the kind of intensity and protectiveness I felt for her,” she added.

Kaafir, inspired by the real-life story of Shehnaaz Parveen—a Pakistani woman who was incarcerated in India for eight years—follows Kainaaz’s journey behind bars. Mohit Raina plays a journalist who fights for her justice. With its re-release as a film, the story of courage, injustice, and human connection has found a new audience.