Ahead of the release of her new web series Chiraiya, actor Divya Dutta recently visited Delhi. In a chat with HT City, she opened up about her show and what excites her as an actor. Divya also shared her thoughts on the ongoing 8-hour shift debate, which began in the film industry after Deepika Padukone exited Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit because her request for the same was not granted.
After so many years in the industry, what still excites you about returning to the set?
“The nervousness, the excitement of doing something new, making yourself relevant with every different thing that comes your way. To have those butterflies in your stomach and feel like a newcomer on every set. I think that is the exciting thing. And when you really love doing what you do, I guess there’s never, what do you still want? There’s so much more. I think I’ve just reached the shore of it. There’s a huge ocean out there, so many brilliant directors to work with, so many good production houses, actors to have as co-stars. So sky’s the limit, there’s so much more.”
As an actor, what are your thoughts on the recent 8 hour shift debate?
“I just feel any situation, any issue in life, we cannot generalise. I remember I’d gone for something and a woman was talking about, you know, female rights and there was certain kind of men bashing happening. And a guy just got up and said, ‘Ma’am, I totally agree with you, but can you please say to whomsoever it may concern?’ So we cannot generalise these things. Something I might be fine with, the other might not be. Her situation is different from mine. So who am I to comment on ABC’s situation. Also it’s between two people. It’s between the actor and the producer. If my situation is such and I need to go early and the director’s okay with it, it’s fine. If they’re not, then they don’t work together. It’s as simple as that.”
Is there a recent project that made you wish you were a part of it?
“Kohrra, Heeramandi. I think these were shows that I thought the characters were very layered, beautiful. The women involved did a fabulous job, amazing. But if you ask me what kind of a role you’d want, Maharani, those are roles that are beautiful. And these are all my friends. And they’ve done it amazingly well. But if you ask me if I would love to do it, yes, I would.”
How would you review Chiraiya?
“I guess every audience is going to be different. Everyone is going to take something that they like in the show. For me, it’s going to be something that is going to bind me very emotionally to all the characters. It’s going to resonate with me. It’s going to tell me, ‘Hey, listen, I think I need to rethink a few things in life’. And of course, there’ll be those fun moments in between that are going to have me smiling and laughing as well.”
Chiraiya is set to release on Hotstar on March 20.
