‘I have never been told I couldn’t play a certain age on screen’

The audience wants to see a complete woman with positive, negative as well as grey shades. DIVYA DUTTA, Actor

Actor Divya Dutta is on a roll with multiple releases this year. She tells us she currently has as many as six projects in hand, in which she will be seen in lead roles.

The 45-year-old, who has a penchant for picking up characters that leave an impact, says that “times are changing”. “Makers aren’t going by the typical heroheroine thing now. Recently, I played the protagonist in the Punjabi film Maa. I portrayed a 25-year-old, and then aged till 65 [in it]. I have never been told I couldn’t play a certain age in films. In fact, I am told I am getting better,” beams the actor.

In an industry where female actors have forever had to battle stereotypes and challenges, including that of having a longer shelf life, does she see herself as an exception then? Dutta answers,“We give too much importance to age when we talk about it. The audience now wants to see a complete woman with positive, negative as well as grey shades.”

Last seen in Dhaakad, the actor recently attended the

Prithvi Theatre Festival in Mumbai. Ask if she feels theatre has always been age agnostic, and she says, “It’s a different medium... I see a play for a particular actor because I relate to those faces. Like Shabana Azmi ji did Tumhari Amrita for 22 years. Naseer sahab (Naseeruddin Shah) played a role for years. These were not age dependent,” she ends.