Miraculous escape for 'Dangal' girl as car falls into Dal Lake

Kashmiri girl Zaira Wasim, who played wrestler Geeta Phogat in Aamir Khan starrer 'Dangal' had a narrow escape after a car she was travelling on met with an accident in Srinagar late Friday night.

Local media reported that the car she was travelling on skidded off on Boulevard and fell into the Dal Lake. Locals rescued Wasim and her friend Arif Ahmad from the lake at around 9 pm, reports said.

“Both of them survived but her friend (Arif), who is son of a ruling PDP leader, suffered multiple injuries,” said a local, who identified himself as Mudasir Bashir, added the report. The vehicle was moving at a high speed and the driver lost control over it.

16-year-old Wasim rose to fame with her portrayal of the younger version of wrestler Geeta Phogat in Aamir Khan’s blockbuster "Dangal." Earlier in January Wasim was trolled on Facebook and Twitter after she met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Some masked protesters in Nowhatta area of old city Srinagar also burnt the pictures of the child actress. One of the placards, which had pictures of her with the Chief Minister, carried a threat to kill the teenage actress. Subsequently she was forced to post an “apology and confession” on Facebook whereby she asked people not to follow her footsteps and that she doesn’t deserve to be a role model.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Dangal was released worldwide on 23rd December 2016 and opened to a positive response from critics as well as from the audience. The movie depicted the real-life story of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, who went against the patriarchal society to train his daughters to become champion wrestlers.