"I voiced Ellie to help children like mine consider the life of a captive elephant," says Dia Mirza

Dia Mirza is Ellie, Asia's first empathy-building elephant

In a heartwarming video on her social media, Dia Mirza has supported a beautiful education initiative to sensitize young children about the plight of captive elephants. She is the voice of Ellie, Asia's first animatronic empathy-building elephant, an initiative by PETA.

“As a mother, it’s an extremely conscious choice for me to support education initiatives that create such a beautiful and innocent sense of connection with nature among children,” she shares. Dia has supported numerous causes throughout her career, but those involving children are always close to her heart.

As a parent, she believes in leading by example for her own children, Avyaan and Samaira, and hopes that through Ellie, the pain and loneliness of elephants in captivity resonate with the future generation, moving a step ahead to raise a voice against the use of this majestic creature for our entertainment in circuses. "While I was reading the script, the part that tore into my heart, was when Ellie shared how she was taken away from her mother and her family, and how painful that must be, for an elephant, or any being, to be taken away from your loved ones" she shares.