Mumbai, June 1 (IANS): Actor Pratik Gandhi, who is receiving widespread acclaim for his role in the recently released streaming movie 'Dedh Bigha Zameen', has shared his opinion on the prevalent social evils of dowry and land grabbing in the country, emphasising how dowry has evolved to fit into urban settings.

In 'Dedh Bigha Zameen', Pratik essays the role of a man who needs to sell his ancestral land to pay the dowry for his sister’s wedding.

The actor told IANS: “There are certain issues, like dowry, that nobody is willing to talk about openly. People may think that dowry is an issue only in rural areas or small towns, but that’s not the case. Only its name has changed, but we can still see it in big cities.”

Pratik also spoke about the persistence of female infanticide in certain parts of the country, emphasizing the need for strict punishment.

The actor said: "We did a play highlighting the problem of female infanticide some 7-8 years ago. It was about the soul of a girl child who comes on stage and expresses her wish to be born in India, but nobody gives her the chance to be born. The play was on a very sensitive subject. All these issues damage our society, and they need to be dealt with strictly by the law.”

“People who are victims of such evil practices, or who participate in them, have somewhere normalised them, thinking, ‘aisa hi hota hai’ (this is how it is). We need to tackle this problem first and make people aware that it is not normal. Just because they've been practiced for ages doesn’t make them morally right."

'Dedh Bigha Zameen' is available to stream on JioCinema Premium.