Why Divyenndu said no to a lot of money, directors

Divyenndu’s career witnessed an upswing in 2020, with his character of Munna Bhaiya in Mirzapur 2 garnering him a lot of praise. Before the show, the actor had starred in films such as Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) and

Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018) as the hero’s virtuous friend.

He says he wanted to experiment with his image as a lot of similar work had started coming his way. “There are two ways to go about it. One, if I need to capitalise and consolidate my position — I was also thinking to try and do that with these boy-next-door roles — but I was not okay with it,” he shares.

Ask him why and the actor says, “I said no to a lot of offers, a lot of money and directors, which wasn’t easy. I needed to have something different, where I can show the complete artiste in me. It had to happen, mere paas Munna ka role aana hi tha. I thank God every day for it.”

In the lockdown phase, digital platforms emerged as the only source of entertainment, with plenty of new content and even films meant for theatrical releases going the web way. Divyenndu, 37, however, says that the shift in audience’s taste and perception was evident even before all of this happened. “Before the lockdown, we had seen, many big films didn’t work. It’s certainly true that people want something else, and the credit goes to OTT. People started watching these fascinating web shows and films. Also, it’s better for outsiders today in showbiz; it’s all much more organised.

The credit goes to casting directors, and because of web, there’s so much work out there,” he ends.

I am now looking forward to a fresh start in 2021 with the flame of my Olympic dream burning brighter even brighter.