Zaira Wasim thanks Aamir, director on National Award win

Zaira Wasim today won the National Award for her role in "Dangal" and the young actress from Kashmir has thanked superstar Aamir Khan for supporting her throughout the film's journey.

The actress, who won the best supporting actress award for her portrayal of young Geeta Phogat in the Nitish Tiwari-directed biopic, said it is encouraging for her to receive the honour for her debut role.

"I am extremely happy. I would like to thank the jury for conferring on me this honour. My heartfelt gratitude to my family for believing in me and to Aamir Sir and Nitish Sir for supporting me.

"It is very encouraging to receive an award of this stature in my debut film, the appreciation has only got me more excited to work harder," Zaira said in a statement.

"Dangal," based on the life of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters Geeta and Babita, was one of the biggest hits of 2016. All the actors won critical appreciation for their performance in the film, that released in December last year.

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah also congratulated Zaira on the win.

"Congratulations to Zaira Wasim who was named Best Supporting Actor for her role in #Dangal #NationalFilmAwards," he tweeted.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)