DH Interview | Ram Charan complemented me on how I approached the role in 'Mirzapur', says Divyenndu

Divyenndu, who is playing Rambujji in the upcoming sports action drama Peddi starring Ram Charan, opens up about his character, rapport with Ram Charan and how he wants the era of sex-comedies in Bollywood to never return.

Divyenndu, who is known for playing Munna Tripathi in Mirzapur, and was most recently seen in the Netflix webseries Glory, shares nuances of his character in Peddi. The versatile actor is famous for playing intense characters that have several layers to them.

Excerpts from an interview with the actor:

You are playing Rambujji in Peddi. Can you share some nuances of your character?

Rambujji comes from a very aristocratic background. He comes from a higher class. Rambujji is a character or rather a tool which takes the screenplay forward in a way where you can see the clash of ideas. He comes from privileged background.

Your role in Peddi looks complex. Did any scene demand a version of you that felt uncomfortable?

A little, yes. There is a scene, which I can't go into the details of, where my character comes up with a plan to humiliate someone. And that was a little uncomfortable. Because the whole planning involves humiliation of a girl. Be that as it may, you have to play the character and not think too much about it because it's the writer or the director who has written that part. But coming from a theater and film school background, certain things just feels a little too uncomfortable. But someone has to do the bad guy, so that's okay.

When you do such scenes, do you've to take a lot of retakes or does it happens smoothly?

So thankfully it's not your clichedly caricature bad guy. All credit goes to Buchi Babu Sana there because he has written the character beautifully. The good thing about the film as well is that every character has something gray, even your main protagonists do. It's only more human when you see such characters that yes, in certain aspects can be "wrong or right", according to a certain situation. But I guess we all are like that. But he's not your typical bad person. He is just privileged where he's unaware of other person's rights, liberties and life.

Was there a particular scene in Peddi that made you realise this film could become a major talking point in your career?

I would say it's not just one particular scene, but the theme of the film. In the film, Peddi is fighting for identity and not just for himself, but for his whole village. That underlying message in the film touched my heart when I heard the whole story and the narration. That one thing is something which is gonna connect with a lot of people.

Ram Charan has recently praised you and said 'you are truly a gangster'. Did he praise you on the sets, too?

Definitely, he did. He was kind and sweet. During our first meeting, he was aware of my work from Pyaar Ka Punchnama to Mirzapur. He complemented me and my work and said, "You look so nice, effortless, and, you have an innate style"— Yeah. And obviously, I equally complimented him because he's got a beautiful screen presence. There was a lot of mutual admiration for each other. He also complemented me on how I approached the role in Mirzapur. He was actually was the one who told me that "people are really crazy about you here in Hyderabad". I had no clue that Mirzapur had such a deep penetration in Hyderabad as well. What he told me was quite an eye-opener.

Peddi marks your debut in Telugu cinema. Was the experience working for a Telugu film any different than working in Bollywood?

The basics are absolutely the same. We all are storytellers. But maybe their cinematic language or grammar is a bit different than how we approach in Hindi films. What they really master is that they can project an image of a hero and, at the same time, make him look grounded. The shooting style is also much more experimental because when you shoot a commercial mainstream film in a certain way, you need to know your tools to actually execute that.

Your characters often bring unpredictability on screen. Is it a conscious choice or does it feel like a pressure now?

No. I am very fortunate and lucky that get all these author bad roles. And while playing them, I just have one thing in mind to make them as human as possible.

After Mirzapur, people started seeing you in a very intense way. So what's the funniest or weirdest thing fans assume about you?

After Mirzapur, everyone thought that I am like Munna Tripathi in real life. And this image was build up even after they knew that I have played Liquid in Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Omi in Chashme Baddoor. But that's the power of cinema. There are instances where I've seen big brawly men of six-and-a-half-foot come for a picture and tremble while standing with me. It's so weird to see that people actually perceive me like that. It just amazes me how and what cinema can do to change the perception of people. Also, with Munna, what happened is somewhere the line got blurred between fact and fiction. People know that it's me, Divyenndu, but they really want to believe that I'm Munna as well. For them, it's like a constant glitch in my personality.

I've seen big brawly men of six-and-a-half-foot come for a picture and tremble while standing with me. With Munna, what happened is somewhere the line got blurred between fact and fiction. People know that it's me, Divyenndu, but they really want to believe that I'm Munna as well. For them, it's like a constant glitch in my personality.

Divyenndu

If your younger self, the one still struggling and auditioning, saw your life today, what would have he felt?

I would tell him, "Just keep at it, man." Because, in my initial days when I was fresh out of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and I would go for auditions, people tried to correct my acting style, so to say, "Aise nahi, do acting like this." But today, I would tell my younger self, "Whatever you're doing, you don't have to worry. Just keep at it. Keep your head down and work. You don't really have to listen to people who have no clue about acting."

Are you exactly where you imagined you would be in your career?

I don't even have that kind of an idea. I always wanted to be an actor who people can approach for different kinds of role. And I'm happy and fortunate that I have achieved that. There's definitely a lot I want to achieve and I can offer. But, I would say so far so good.

The universe of morally gray characters have expanded, and the audience, has become more accepting. Villains are no longer just the villains. What do you think has changed?

We as a society are becoming much more truthful with each other. We are realising that there are shades to humans. We are dark, gray, sweet, not-so-sweet, lovable, we get angry, irritated and we are a mix of everything. Hence, they have accepted these characters which are especially gray and go towards dark. We are beyond that point where people were hypocritical and are reaching towards realism. People now want to connect with a character rather than just see the image of that character.

I have said no to a lot of work I wasn't convinced about doing. There were certain projects which didn't align with my politics in life. That time, sex comedies were made in Hindi film industry and I said no to those kind of projects. Thank God that era is over. And I hope it never returns.

Divyenndu

When you look back on your journey, do you have any regrets?

I could have been much more active and could have said yes to a lot more projects. But I still can't do much about it since I have a certain pace of working.I'm not one of those actors who do one project after the other, I am a bit lazy. I am not hyper-competetive. I take my time to unwind for a few months before taking up another project. Otherwise, no regrets. I have said no to a lot of work I wasn't convinced about doing. There were certain projects which didn't align with my politics in life. That time, sex comedies were made in Hindi film industry and I said no to those kind of projects. Thank God that era is over. And I hope it never returns.