Abhimanyu Mathur (BOMBAY TIMES; May 15, 2020)

The Coronavirus lockdown has put a halt on all shoots across the country. Divya Dutta, who has been spending the lockdown at home in Mumbai, has some first-hand experience of the new way of working in the film industry. She tells us, “I just shot an ad film at home and I did it on my own. I shot it with my phone, did my own make-up and hair, and set up the props. It felt so strange that ‘set’ par koi hai hi nahin. There was nobody I could ask for some help or assistance. You are doing everything yourself. There is no direction team, spot, nothing.”

Divya says that though it felt a little strange, she didn’t mind doing all that on her own. However, the ad film crew did feel guilty about it. “Those guys were feeling so guilty about saying stuff like, ‘Ma’am, please peeche se chairs utha kar frame se baahar rakh denge?’ And I just said, ‘Haan ab toh yeh bhi mujhe hi karna hai’,” she says with a laugh.

Like many actors, this break has been one of the longest in her career for Divya. She says, “We are not used to a break this long. So, you do feel the pressure to be productive. That has become a habit. One has had to become friends with this nothingness.”