When Metrolife met Divya Dutta at the press conference in Mumbai a couple of weeks ago, she was fighting jetlag. But she handled the trailer launch of Hotstar Special ‘Special Ops’ like a pro.
Directed by Neeraj Pandey and set to release on March 17, in the web series, she plays a prominent role. “I can’t talk too much about my character as it’s a secret but my character is a refugee who has had a hard past. She’s quite vulnerable. But it’s a spy thriller so you’re going to have to watch every episode to see how the story unfolds.”
The actor feels that she has a special bond with Neeraj as she worked with him in ‘Special 26’ earlier.
When the host of the press conference asked her about the experience of working with the director, she said, “I think there’s something special between us. I feel like everytime I work with Neeraj sir, the title starts with ‘special’. May be I should get him to sign a contract saying that I should be part of all his ‘special’ projects now!”
The web series has an ensemble cast including Kay Kay Menon, Vinay Pathak, Karan Tacker, Sana Khan and Vipul Gupta, among others.
Talking about the experience, Divya says, “I’ve realised that it’s a lot of fun working with young actors. They bring in something new to the table; it’s refreshing. Sometimes you tend to pick up on that positive energy they bring in, making work a lot more fun.”
Soon to be seen across OTT platforms, as an actor, Divya doesn’t feel that there’s a difference in working in a web series or feature-length film.
“My job is to act and I will do it regardless of the size of the screen. Which platform the work is released in only matters to the producer and sometimes the director.”
But she enjoys working for web series.
She says, “There’s more freedom to tell the story you want. You can either shorten or length it and give as many or as little as detail as possible. For an actor, it’s quite thrilling.”
The actor has signed six projects this year across OTT platforms and feature-length films.
Having made a remarkable impression in movies like ‘Badlapur’, ‘Special 26’ and ‘Veer-Zaara’, when asked how she chooses her projects, she replies, “It’s just a gut feeling. In everything I’ve taken up has been a different one and they are all something I truly enjoy working in.”
Divya believes that she’s a spontaneous actor and she doesn’t have a formula for acting. “I just follow the lines and the situation given to me by the director. I think I’m very driven. If I’m motivated to do something, you’ll find me do a kick-ass job. And if I’m bored, you’ll see that too.” Depending on the role she’s playing, she admits that she may or may not take home the character after the shoot.
She recalls, “One my projects called ‘Sleeping Partner’ is with Sanjay Kapoor is about marital rape. We had a lot of fun on set and it was great fun. But when I came back home, I was howling. It took me some time to realise that the shot we worked on that day was bothering me. So yeah, it depends on the roles that I’m playing. Some of them affect me more than I want it to.”
Perhaps it’s her love for acting that the audience gets to see a variety of roles from her. “I would have either been a psychiatrist or an IAS officer (as my parents wanted me to) if I hadn’t been an actor. But this is what I really wanted to do and I’m thankful that I am here.”
Towards the end of the interview, Divya said she may soon work in South Indian industry too.
“I don’t know if it’ll be in Kannada or any other language. Let me sign the project first and then you’ll know for sure,” she says.
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