Divya Dutta: I would be lying if I said I wasn’t propositioned
Actor Divya Dutta has been a favourite with the critics and the audience — be it the heartwrenching role of Farhan Akhtar’s sister in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), playing a teacher in Stanley Ka Dabba (2011), or the antagonist in Chalk n Duster (2016).
Was it difficult to make it in Bollywood without any backing? “Ek toh mujhe yeh word ‘struggle’ bahaut ganda lagta hai (This word ‘struggle’ doesn’t appeal to me). It sounds like if you are struggling once, you will do so all your life. Life is about trial and errors, ups and downs. We all face it, I have faced it, and the newcomers and superstars, too, will,” says the actor, who made her debut with the 1994 film Ishq Mein Jeena, Ishq Mein Marna.
A lot has been said about how strugglers trying their luck in Bollywood come across sexual predators. “It’s all about choices. There are opportunities where you will be given quick choices, we all are. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t propositioned, every woman is. But it’s up to you what you choose. I chose the longer route. Nobody told me to take a certain path, and for any girl, it’s always their choice, no one forces you to do anything, not even your parents,” says Divya, whose latest film is Blackmail with Irrfan and Kirti Kulhari.
“My character has lots of shades — she is temperamental, alcoholic, sexy and likes to dominate her husband. I was intrigued when Abhinay Deo (director) cast me,” she says.