"I've never been crushed by the industry's perception. I've always been motivated by the audience's perception. People love me, and no one can change that. From where I came and how I started, I've got more than what I could have asked for. I have only gratitude.
"But if you compare me with my contemporaries, then maybe I didn't do many big films, or I did big films, and they didn't do well," said the actress.
Dia is only bothered about competing with herself.
"If there's fear, you will never grow. When you are competing with other people, you have fear and then you can never grow," she said.
She says film offers never stopped coming to her. But "nothing" was "exciting" enough.
"There are so many young girls who have come into the industry now who have been a part of successful films. I think all the new and good filmmakers are looking to cast them. This can be extremely terrifying for an actor," she quipped.
But she is undeterred.
Dia believes people will remember her for her hard work, and says that she finds solace in indulging in social work.
"The one thing which I have earned which no one can take away from me is my hard work. My social work gives me so much inspiration. It is much more than what my films have given me," said Dia, who works with different organisations and causes for society's benefit regularly.
