Zaira Wasim Photo: IC

Indian actress Zaira Wasim's decision to quit Bollywood "for faith" has shocked the industry and also social media.

Wasim posted a statement about her struggle and final decision on Instagram on Sunday. Zaira said in her statement that her relationship with her religion was threatened.

"I was constantly battling with my soul to reconcile my thoughts and instincts to fix a static picture of my iman and I failed miserably, not just once but a hundred times," said Wasim.

Indian movie Dangal and Secret Superstar, both of which starred Wasim and Indian superstar Aamir Khan, were imported to the Chinese mainland in 2015 and 2018, earning 747 million yuan ($108 million) and 1.29 billion yuan respectively at the box office.

Dangal even broke the box office record of Indian film in Chinese mainland.

Along with Khan, Wasim won audiences hearts in the sports film, gaining a lot of fame in China.

On Chinese social media Sina Weibo, many Wasim fans were shocked by the news. Related topics have been read 170 million times and more than 120 million comments have been made, sending the topic to the trending list on the platform.

Most of her fans were sad but said they respected her decision and wished her happiness and good fortune in the future.

Some, however, criticized her decision as being ironic, noting that in her film Secret Superstar, the character she played finally takes off her mask to pursue her dreams but Wasim has done the opposite in real life.