“Dangal” star Zaira Wasim’s decision to quit her career on grounds that it was interfering in her faith propelled her to the centre of intense debate on Monday with politicians, industry insiders and others speaking out, some backing her and others criticising her for giving “fodder to bigots”.

The Kashmir-born teen, who touched a surprising chord across the country and was trending on social media, announced her “disassociation” from the field of acting in a now-viral Facebook post on Sunday and reiterated it on Monday.

“This to clarify that none of my social media accounts were or are hacked and are being handled by me personally. Kindly refrain from believing or sharing claims that state otherwise. Thanks,” she wrote on Twitter in response to some comments that her account was hacked.

Surjewala said while he respects Wasim’s decision to quit films and her creative liberty, faith has nothing to do with artistic expression.”Such remarks give fodder to bigots on either side of the divide to misconceive & mislead.

“Phoneys suddenly lecturing on #ZairaWaseem & #NusratJahan. I have Hindu & Jain friends right here in SoBo who renounced cushy careers for their gurus & faith. You can choose whether religion determines your career or love life. Unless minors, let others decide for themselves,” tweeted his party colleague Milind Deora.

Wasim’s decision to quit after just three films led to reactions from various quarters, with National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi and actors Raveena Tandon, Anupam Kher and writer Taslima Nasreen among those weighing in with their views.
Abdullah said no one had the right to question Wasim’s decision.

He also made a reference to newly married and newly elected Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan who has been criticised by hardline Muslim clerics for wearing ‘sindoor’ and the ‘mangalsutra’ and refuses to toe their line.

In a detailed post on her Facebook page on Sunday, the 18-year-old actor said she had completed five years in the profession and wanted to confess that she was not “truly happy with this identity”.

Wasim said in her post, which she later shared on other social media platforms, that she felt like she had struggled to become someone else for a very long time.

The actor, who was in her early teens when she appeared in “Dangal”, went on to play the title role in Aamir Khan’s “Secret Superstar”.

The upcoming “The Sky is Pink”, which also stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Farhan Akhtar, could be her last outing in the movie world. The film completed shooting in March.

Producers of the film, Roy Kapur Films, called her decision “purely personal”, saying she had taken it after much thought and they will be supportive of her in every way.