‘Sochta hu ke Lucknow mei ek ghar bana lu…’
After playing a number of interesting characters in films and on OTT, actor Divyenndu Sharma finds two of his roles closest to his heart: “Luckily in a small span of my career, I have got a chance to play numerous exciting roles, but among them the character of ‘Liquid’ in ‘Pyar ka Punchnama’ and that of Munna Tripathi in ‘Mirzapur’ series are dear to me. When I got these two roles, the first thing I knew was they were characters with layers, just like we humans are in real lives. Nothing over the top yet both had their characteristics that were so affirmative.”
With successful first season, Divyenndu is upbeat about season 2 of his OTT series: “We completed Mirzapur 2 long back and all of us are excited and await the release this year. The kind of love my character of Munna received was unbelievable. I remember I was shooting for my film ‘Shukranu’ in Lucknow and some protests were on so our shooting vehicles were asked to take another route. And then this officer knocked at my window, and when I rolled down the glass he was like, ‘Arre yeh toh Munna Tripathi Bhaiya hai, jaane do iinko.’ I was thrilled with the kind of impact the character has had on people that after months of its release,” said the ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ actor over the phone.
With films across genres in his body of work, the Film and Television Institute of India graduate feels that without a film background or godfather the way his career has shaped up is truly satisfying. “I try to give all to the characters I take up. I study them, research about them and then project them on screen. Like for the film ‘Kanpuriye’ where I played a small town lawyer, I tried adding nuances to this smart yet tricky young boy.”
Divyenndu was about to wrap a feature film set in Madhya Pradesh when lockdown happened, “I was shooting. The film is called ‘Mere Desh ki Dharti’ and is about a contemporary young boy and his beautiful bond with distressed farmers. The film is 95% done and will go into post production soon. So I was working at a stretch before the lockdown happened and I took the phase as a break. I also connected with a group of youngsters in my neighbourhood who are tirelessly working for the migrants and I tried contributing whatever I can.”
The actor feels with the number of films and series he has shot in UP he has become more of a UPite, “Yeah I keep on telling my team and friends ‘Ke sochta hu ke Lucknow mei ek ghar bana lu’ as all my work are so UP centric. Also I love being there and enjoy multiple culture that are part of the state.”