Divya Dutta, who won the National Award for the best supporting actress for Irada, was in town to speak about the layers of the performer in her that have kept her out of the limelight for far too long. By Ramya Palisetty
She was comfortable sitting cross-legged in a hotel. Wearing a white chikankari kurti and blue ripped jeans, actress Divya Dutta was all smiles, the funky nose ring and a huge medallion adding a dash of boho chic. Having won the National award for her film Irada, she remembers her days as a four-year-old when she tore her mother’s dupattas and saris to make dhotis and mimicked her ideal and icon, Amitabh Bachchan. She always wanted to be him even though she never knew how.
And now that she has broken stereotypes and more as a powerhouse performer, it doesn’t matter to her if the President had handed her the scroll of honour or not. “The scroll has the President’s seal and that is enough for me. It is bigger than the ceremony,” she told us. Though she has developed her niche with independent films and nudged her way into character roles of commercial cinema, she did manage to win over the Big B. Not only did the legend, who shared screen space with her in five films, appreciate her work but developed a bond with her, even launching her book Me and Ma. “I relate to him on a personal level. He was an icon for me and I wanted to be like him. To have shared screen space with him in five, it was a dream to have him launch the book. I keep chatting with him, exchanging notes which is why I feel attached to him.”
Did you ever imagine that you would win a National Award for IradaIJ
It was unexpected. There have been many times when I thought I would win but it didn’t happen, so this was a beautiful surprise. Irada is a socially relevant film and I had a kickass role in it.
Are you flooded with a lot of messages of appreciationIJ
You bet. People seem to be happier for me than I am. Their reactions are, ‘thank god’, ‘it was long due’ and ‘finally’, so it feels great. When I saw my nameplate at the ceremony, I was like, “Oh my god, life has come full circle for me.”
Why do you think a few years ago, nobody was willing to give you roles where you could explore your dark sideIJ
I think people go by perceptions and I was told that I have a sweet and innocent face and can’t carry off negative roles. I tried to break that mould with Heroine after which these three films came along — Irada, Babumoshai Bandookbaaz and Chalk and Duster. All of them were negative characters but the hues were different. One was dark, another grey and one was slightly comic. Blackmail was a mad nut film where I was an alcoholic who was whimsical crazy. All the women seemed happiest when they saw me knifing the guy in his bum. They felt very validated. I am ready to take roles that are mad.
Has the award changed the way you look at your career nowIJ
The National Award hasn’t taken away what I was already doing. There was beautiful stuff happening already and it has complemented everything that I have done so far. It is an honour. I don’t plan life and right now, I have ten films which are different genres and they are all kickass roles. I am also heading to Cannes now with Manto, ready to walk the red carpet. Things are happening. It is interesting, a new journey and I am a bit tense.
You have already written a book, Me and Ma that explores your relationship with your mother. How did you conceive this ideaIJ
I was very close to my mother. Everyone is but I had a special bond with her in the sense that when girls grow up, they have partners and friends and then there is mom but she was my everything. She had a lot of faith in me and stood by my decision. Coming from a family of doctors, she was somebody who said if you want to be an actor, I will support you. It is important for a child to know that his/her parents believe in them and their dream. I have never called her mom, she was always pari to me. She was my angel. Sitting on the hospital bed as she was battling her last moments, I realised she had given me so much more than I could ask for. Right then I thought of this book, even its title, to celebrate her. I thought of writing everything that changed my life because she was my mother. She was a mother who redefined the earthly role. We were crazy together, had fun doing stuff. I remember while everyone was sleeping during one edition of the IIFA awards, she kicked me and told me to see the world rather than sleeping and wasting my time. Now that she is not here, I do exactly those things on my own because I feel, had she been there, she would tell me to do those very things.
The second book is about short stories on your perspective with regard to various aspects of life...
My editor felt that people get inspired and motivated by an individual’s slice of life, anecdotes and stories. So much happens in life everyday and some of them tumbled out in words.
Why did the book click with the audience of all age groupsIJ
The writing worked for the simple reason that I kept it simple. It is relatable and people feel it is their story. I don’t talk about Divya Dutta. What happens to me can happen to anyone. Right now, I am doing two of the best things, writing and acting. Both are expressive and relatable to people.
Was it difficult to get roles in the beginning of her careerIJ
In the industry, people never say no to you. I was a naive woman and everywhere I went, people gave me a small signing amount. I would call up my mom and say I have 22 films. I thought I was the busiest person but none of them started. Gradually, you get to know you are on your own and no one looks out for you. You have to fend for yourself and the world out there does not know how good or bad you are. You have to prove yourself. I starred in multi-starrer and two song and dance sequences initially. Then I waited patiently and began to get roles which were not typical heroine but significant enough as supporting characters. So my mother asked me, “Do you want to stick to being a heroine or do the meaty rolesIJ” I stuck to my guns and chose the meaty roles until people realised I was capable of much more. Now, that I am 40, I am getting to play lead roles again and romancing heroes. It is trial and error and falling down and getting up.
Were you frustrated with the kind of roles you were gettingIJ
I do think I had better roles than the leading lady in many of the films. I have been tagged unconventional. I did wonder at times but it never upset me probably because people started taking me seriously as an actor. People’s perception keeps changing but it does not matter to me. For me what matters is a role that people would take home.
What is your creative processIJ
A role is a role. What gives it an X-factor is what you would give to it. Whenever I listen to a script, it is an intuitive process. The layers I can give to a role are what matters to me. I leave Divya behind and become that character. How can I bring in a graph for her is what I think and have been doing so in all my films. My directors have been very supportive. I have left the biggest roles and taken on the smallest films because I thought these roles and the process would be more fun.
How important is a directorIJ
A director can make you or break you. He is the one conceiving everything and the captain in-charge. I can be a beautiful plant but what table to put me on depends on the director. It is lovely to see yourself through his/her vision.
How has the content evolved in films in the last five yearsIJ
We are content and story-driven now. Earlier, it used to be all about casting so and so stars after which the script was written. Now, the script is written first before the actors are cast. Stars are brought in only if they are the right fit. Most of all, the audience is ready to accept freshness, realism and substance.