Divya Dutta experienced a wonderful year, doing back-to-back negative roles in 2024. She also basked in limelight following the completion of 20 years of Veer Zara in which she played a supportive role. Let us hear about her career and beliefs in her own words. Excerpts This year you have many accomplishments under your belt. Veer Zara completed 20 years and you are busy doing negative role. How do you feel this moment? When passion keeps burning in your heart, one would love doing any work. It has to be kept intact in one’s heart. Life teaches you many lessons. Some people are good and some bad. We should try to keep the company of like-minded people to be in good spirit. Everybody should have the freedom in making their own choices. I believe in gender equality. Actors need to become thick-skinned. Do you agree? I like being thick-skinned and at the same time, one should be authentic. Striking a balance between them is a challenge. I did not lose my authenticity, despite bad experiences. I enjoy my profession for whatever I am able to do and get from it. Growth in my career had been gradual and I thank all those who helped me scale up to this height. I am happy to have a special place in the audience’s heart. You have made your presence felt on the screen. How do you look at the business and the changes in recent times? Yes, there are a few changes in the business. OTT has brought in changes in the industry. OTT has enabled artists to explore playing diverse roles. Twenty years ago, TV artists seldom got roles in films. I always break that norm. I wanted to do different kinds of roles. These days, everyone wants to do layered and character-oriented roles. The audience is seeing value in storytelling and direction. How tough was it to break free from a specific image? It has not been a cake walk. It requires strength to fail and then pick up courage to make an attempt again to see the beauty on the other side, I mean a different kind of role, which you have not With my looks, some people had doubt if people would accept me in a negative role, with grey shades in Heroine. Director Madhur was confident that I would be convince the audience. I took up that challenge and changed several aspects in me to suit the role. I worked hard for the role as I had to prove myself. I wanted the audience to believe in me and so went out of the comfort zone. The beauty is that all my directors have repeated me. I feel it is a beautiful accomplishment, to work time and again with a few people. They gave me different roles and I feel good that they are able to view me in different avatars. There should be a fire in you. What are your forthcoming films? You are playing a negative role in ‘Chavaa’ and a few titular roles at this age. I have done innumerable negative roles like in Babu Moshaye, Bandookbaaz, Dhaakad. Chaava. I have just finished a film with Manoj Bajpayee which is based on a book. I am an antagonist in a movie about a mother of an Army person. It is a biopic and I had a completely new experience in it. It was exciting and emotional. A mother-son story about what she did after she lost her son. The story is amazing. Whatever she did, it echoes of valour. I played the young as well as the older mother roles. It feels nice to play both the roles and the transformation one has to undergo for it, is a memorable one. How do you feel doing titular roles?I am doing another titular role, with some action and dance. Gaining popularity for strong roles, I feel it is nice to do vulnerable roles. This year, I did a lot of titular roles. This year, has been good to me. What is your opinion about children’s films? Recently, I saw ‘Makadi’ with my niece and nephew. It’s such a wonderful film. In fact, children’s films should also be made on a commercial scale.
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