On a bright summer day at the tail end of the 1980s, at the Sacred Heart Convent School, Ludhiana, a teacher asked the entire batch of ninth students about their future goals. One by one, the students revealed their aim in life: some said doctor, some engineer, some IAS officers, and some simply wanted to follow their parents’ dream. When it was the turn of the deputy head girl, she announced, “to be an actor”. It was an answer that was met with pin-drop silence. For that bold statement, the girl was taken to the school principal and eventually let off with a warning.
Cut to 25 years later, the same girl was invited by her alma matter along with the Punjab Education minister as the chief guest. The principal, who had rebuked the young girl in the past, now praised her achievements. Life had come full circle for actor Divya Dutta.
For Dutta whose book, Me and Ma that was released earlier this year, the above incident is just one of several life experiences that she’s had to trudge though to emerge as one of Hindi cinema’s ablest actors, populating film after film with an air of emotional legitimacy. For the actor, the memoir is a tribute to her mother, “Mum became a doctor but she never really wanted to be a doctor. She used to write my plays and I used to act and direct. We won lots of awards, and we were always together. My mother said, she is definitely trying [for an acting career]. If she doesn't succeed, she can come back. She was the best parent one could ask for,” she recalls.
An actor forever
For as long as she remembers, Dutta always wanted to be in front of the camera. In pre-school, Dutta’s classmates coaxed her to entertain them by doing Charlie Chaplin and Amitabh Bachchan impressions. Dutta basked in the applause that followed. Despite being from a family of doctors and academically bright, Dutta opted to study literature and psychology while involving herself in extra-curricular activities.
A last minute approach towards examinations ensured that Dutta was sent off to an unused bathroom in the vicinity of her home, where she had to study. Much to her surprise, Dutta enjoyed the tiny exam prep room. “I don't know why I liked that space,” she shares. Between study and lunch breaks, she read film glossies to fend off boredom. It while was reading the hugely popular film glossy, Stardust that Dutta discovered a form for a talent hunt. Excited, she filled it, without saying a word to her mother. Her younger brother was made to click her pictures. “I had no concept of professional shoot [then], so I posed on my terrace, [with a] cycle, a bat, everything. [I made] some idiotic poses and just sent it. And [then] I forgot about it,” she reminisces.
Weeks later, Dutta was informed via telegram that she’d been selected for the first round of auditions for the Stardust talent hunt. Dutta landed in Mumbai with her mother and ended up clearing all the auditions and was eventually launched by Stardust along with six other contestants. Her then colleague was Sonali Bendre with whom she formed a friendship that continues till today. “During a training session, I had fallen off a horse, and Sonali really took good care of me, right from bathing, feeding to giving me medicine. My right hand was totally gone, I was incapacitated. She became my bestie,” recalls the actor fondly.
The struggle years
Despite a big launch in 1994 with Ishq Mein Jeena Ishq Mein Marna , steady offers weren’t really coming Dutta’s way. “Everyone used to say, ok, will take you, we will do it. I actually signed films but they never happened because somebody came in last minute and somebody suggested somebody last minute. So I was very lost.”
This was also the time when Manisha Koirala was a big star, “Everyone thought I was a Manisha Koirala lookalike. In Agni Sakshi , I was cast [as Koirala’s sister] because of this.” Work also came in the form of multi-starrers, like Suraksha, Agni Sakshi , and Veergati .” As struggles go, the offers at that time never went beyond multi-starrers and bit roles. Soon an existential crisis began brewing. After staying alone in Mumbai for a year, Dutta found it hard to cope. “I was so used to being protected and here I was dealing with everyone myself. There was a huge amount of male attention coming my way and I didn't know how to deal with it. I was very overwhelmed by everything,” she says.
The turning point
It was as Haseena, her role in the Pamela Rooks’ adaption of Khushwant Singh’s acclaimed novel, Train To Pakistan (1998) that turned the tide. “It changed things for me in the sense I started getting roles in that kind of cinema.” It was followed by Shaheed-E-Mohabbat Boota Singh (1999) and Shyam Benegal’s Samar (1999). And then Aditya Chopra got in touch while casting for Yash Chopra’s epic love staory, Veer Zaara (2004). Apprehensive at accepting the role of Zaara’s maid and confidant Shabbo, Dutta eventually won accolades for the film.
Over the years, Dutta, has developed a reputation of being an actor that directors can rely on. Of special mention are her performances in Shyam Benegal’s Welcome To Sajjanpur (2008) , and two of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s films, Delhi 6 (2009) and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013). Dutta has matured into a commendable actor, “I hate the term character actor. We are very sexist in how we tag male and female actors. Irrfan [Khan] or Nawazuddin [Siddiqui] are never called character actors,” she asserts.
Despite garnering a reputation for her acting chops, Dutta mainly works in the framework of commercial cinema. “People are very wary of approaching me. I had to clear that perception, telling them how open I am to interesting roles, language no bar,” she shares. Dutta doesn’t mind sending feelers to filmmakers for roles that she’s interested in. “I know I can do a certain role very well, but a director [who hasn’t worked with me] perhaps doesn't know that. For example, I did call Sriram [Raghavan] for Badlapur . I want to be cast differently,” she emphasises.
Technique and more
Dutta believes that she works best being immersed in the moment. She says, “I can’t method act to save my life. I respect actors who do that. Arshad [Warsi] and I were discussing this, we can’t prepare much. I like to do it on the set.” For her, too many takes spoil the broth, adding, “All my directors know she is the best in one-two takes.”
Interestingly, it was Salman Khan who taught her how to cry. “I got along so well with Salman during Veergati . I had to do my death scene, I was new and didn't know how to die. I didn’t know how to stop my breath. Salman realised this. He said just look at me, and whatever I tell you, keep doing it. He asked, how does it feel when you fall and your back hurts, I am like ahhh, and he was like stay that way, stop breathing for a minute, one two three. I just followed his instructions,” she says gratefully.
Looking back at her two-decade old journey, Dutta says, “I have lasted [more than] quite a few heroines from different phases. When I started Karishma [Kapoor] was my senior. Rani [Mukerji] and I came around same time. I used to think they are my contemporaries, then they also went off. Now I see myself vying for the same roles as Richa Chaddha.”
