Abhimanyu Mathur (BOMBAY TIMES; November 1, 2019)

The year 2018 was a dream year for Divya Dutta. After over two decades in the industry, she realised two big dreams — walking the red carpet at Cannes (for Manto, 2018) and winning a National Award. After this, Divya did what many actors normally don’t do when they have it so good — she took a break from acting. “There comes a point in an actor’s life when they have to just lie back and let things fall into place. When there is so much hustle and bustle, you need things to calm down for some clarity,” says the actress. The break worked like a charm, it seems, for Divya has signed almost a dozen projects upon returning.

‘I DID NOT FIT THE MOULD OF THE CONVENTIONAL HEROINE’
The common factor among the films and short films she is doing now is that they are based on unconventional subjects. There is a film on human trafficking, a Malala Yousufzai biopic, and a short film where she plays one half of a same-sex couple.

She explains, “I always had an unconventional career because I didn’t fit the mould of the conventional heroine. I have never romanced the hero as such, but my roles were powerful enough to be remembered. I’m getting maximum compliments now, when I’m 40. I am getting to romance heroes and even heroines. I’m totally loving it because it’s rare, particularly in India. I feel privileged to get the opportunity to play these roles.”

She mentions getting to romance a heroine because that is what she is doing in her upcoming short film, Sheer Qorma, which stars Swara Bhasker as Divya’s partner and Shabana Azmi as her mother. “It is totally different from what I have done before. Playing a queer person is new for me. Faraz (Arif Ansari, the director) said he had written the character with me in mind, which felt good. With Shabana ji and Swara, it turned out to be something great. I am sure the queer community is going to be looked at with a much more sensitive and beautiful perspective after this film,” she says.

‘IN A SAME-SEX LOVE STORY, PEOPLE’S ATTENTION IS ON INTIMATE SCENES’
Sheer Qorma isn’t the first film to feature a same-sex love story. But whenever such a film is announced, there is a lot of buzz around any intimate scenes involving the lead actors. Divya admits it’s the same with this film, too, and not just with the masses, even with her acquaintances. She shares, “Before watching the film, people’s attention is always on the intimate scenes. I don’t blame them because that is something people would want to know. When I meet people, they do ask, ‘Aise wale scenes bhi hain?’ I think when they watch the film, they’ll know that it is much more than that. There is one intimate scene, but it’s such an emotional scene that you won’t even bother about the other aspects of it.”

Talking about whether she was comfortable doing the intimate scenes, she says, “For me, what matters is who you are working with and what you are working on. When all that fits naturally, I let it go. Then, I just want the role that I am playing to come out the way it should.”

‘IN DELHI, JUNIOR ARTISTES COME AND CHAT WITH YOU’
About the way she portrays her charcters, Divya says that familiarity with the place where the story is set helps an actor. She explains, “The environment does help. Earlier this year, when I was in Lucknow, I had to adopt a different dialect from what I have. So, I told my cab driver ki aap bas baat karo. He must have wondered why I wanted to chat with him, but you get the language when you converse with the locals.”

The actress, who has been shooting in and around Delhi, adds, “When I was shooting in the Capital, there were a lot of juniors around and there is that Dilli-wala feel in them. They would come and start chatting; the Punjabi warmth just came across. If that enters your subconscious, it helps,” she adds.