While Divya Dutta may be turning 46 today, she is still a child at heart. The actor is glad that the film industry offers opportunities for female actors of all age groups and not just the stereotypical “girlfriend or saas-bahu” roles, which were the norm when she started off.

“Earlier, a female actor was either a heroine, mummy or bhabhi. Today, if you’re not opposite the hero, it doesn’t matter; you are still a heroine if it’s an important role,” says the actor, who was last seen in Dhaakad (2022) and has several projects in the pipeline.

Dutta feels that actors are also now open to “taking risks” with the roles they are choosing, like she did when she played Shabbo — actor Preity G Zinta’s house staff — in Veer-Zaara (2004).

“I did think, ‘Oh God, will it be a huge risk?’ to play such a role, but everyone spoke so much about it. Earlier, makers were less than willing to explore layers... you were either 25 or above 50, beech ki age ke roles the hi nahin. Now you see the top actresses married with kids, doing well. People aren’t judgmental [anymore],” she ends.

“It was a beautiful experience. I was feeling proud to be there. How many people get to do this? It was lovely to experience [in person] and represent my industry.”