New Delhi: Actor Rajshri Deshpande on Monday, November 27, dedidcated her Filmfare OTT award for 'Best Actor, Series (Female)' for Trial By Fire to all the innocent lives lost in Gaza during the conflict between Israel and Hamas and people everywhere struggling to make ends meet.

In her speech, the actor said, “To all the Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy (the lead characters of Trial By Fire) in this world, to all the innocent people, children who lost their lives in the ongoing war which is happening in Gaza and Palestine. To all my villages, to my farmers, who are still waiting for basic necessities in their villages. To all the creators, writers, directors, actors, who are waiting for that one big chance to be seen, heard. I hope we all get empathetic people in the world for us, I hope we get love, kindness and compassion in the world for all of us because that is exactly what we want today and everyday.” 

The Netflix show is based on the book Trial by Fire: The Tragic Tale of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy, which was authored by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy. It tells the tale of the Uphaar Cinema fire, when 59 people were trapped inside a movie theatre in Delhi and died of asphyxiation. Several more were injured in the stampede after the fire broke out.

Since October 7, more than 14,000 civilians have died in Gaza, including about 6.000 children and 4,000 women. Israel started an offensive against Hamas after militants crossed the border and killed more than 1,000 Israelis and took several hundred hostages.

After the event, Deshpande shared two posts on Instagram. In the first post, the actor can be seen relaxing on her bed with the black lady with the caption, “Ufffff @filmfare for best actor No idea how I can respond to so much love and appreciation for me and my work in #trialbyfire So many people to thank and so many people to respond to. Till I form my words and post about it, let me hold my black lady close to my heart, take this sunshine, blessings and breathe for a bit (sic).” 

In a subsequent post, she wrote, “Yesterday with my warm heart I was holding her in my arms and saying thank you for trusting my craft, passion and a mysterious dream of a small town village girl who never ever thought that one day she will have you in her life. I will never let you down and promise to take care of you forever. Long post coming soon (sic).”

Deshpande has acted in films and TV shows such as Sacred Games, The Fame Game, Choked, Manto, and many more.

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