Zaira Wasim, who played the younger version of Geeta Phogat in the recently-released Dangal, triggered a massive controversy after pictures of her meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehboob Mufti of the PDP party appeared online.
She became a target of online vitriol and in a state of confusion, even uploaded a status apologizing for the meeting, before deleting it quickly.
What was most disturbing was the fact that a child actor -- she's all of 16 -- was made the target of politics.
While her Dangal co-stars Fatima Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra were quick to voice their support, Aamir Khan, who is mentoring Zaira (she appears in his next production, Secret Superstar), tweeted in support of the child star today. He said:
— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) January 17, 2017
Chin up, Zaira.