Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah attended a special screening here of "The Path of Zarathustra", a film that centres around the Parsi community and their ancient faith Zoroastrianism.The movie was screened on Thursday.Directed by Oorvazi Irani and released under the banner of PVR Director's Rare, "The Path of Zarathustra", aims to create an authentic picture of the Parsi community who are often portrayed as stereotypes and caricatures in popular Indian films and television.
Parsis in India are at a critical juncture because of their declining population and the Indian government also started a 'Jiyo Parsi Scheme' in 2014 to arrest the decline.“I am honoured to have Dr. Najma Heptullah, the honourable minister, grace the occasion as the chief guest. The film strives to understand the ancient faith of the Parsi community and raise questions about the addressing the issue of our dwindling population."I hope the film gets support from other government officials as well," Irani said in a statement. The film releases across PVR Cinemas in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad on Friday.