Divya Dutta is an actor who can transition seamlessly between portraying vulnerability and strength. In the 2024 OTT film Sharmsajee Ki Beti, she plays a wife who gets a shock after seeing her husband with another woman when she goes to surprise him in a hotel room. But she doesn’t confront him, she eavesdrops, trying to hold in her emotions. Later, she breaks down while sitting by the sea. Her cheating husband has lost not only her but also the right to see her at her lowest. In this minor scene, the actor is both vulnerable and strong. Or take a small scene in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) where she essays the role of Irshi, the titular athlete Milkha Singh’s sister, and how years of her strength as a woman who survived the Partition breaks into happy tears when she sees her baby brother in a blazer boasting the National emblem.
In the recently released series Chiraiya (streaming on Disney+ Hotstar), Divya slips into the character of Kamlesh, the quintessential ‘badi bahu’ (elder daughter-in-law). In an otherwise liberal joint family, she is a conservative woman who is towing the burden of patriarchy. So, when her pampered brother-in-law Arun (Sidharth Shaw) gets married to a young and progressive Pooja (Prasanna Bisht) she gets insecure of losing her status in the household. But when Pooja breaks down and tells her that Arun raped her on their first night, Kamlesh finds herself in a fix. Should she take a stand and dismantle the family she built?
In this conversation with Divya, we spoke to her about the impact of strong women in her own life, how shooting a marital rape scene left her disturbed for days and how an Amitabh Bachchan fan like her had to be mean to the superstar when they first worked together.
Excerpts:
You have grown up around strong women. Your mother brought you up after your father’s untimely demise, you have spoken about how no-nonsense your nani (grandmother) was and how three aunts of yours pampered you when you first came to Delhi. Do your characters reflect the attributes of these women?
All the time, but without me realising. I guess you always get impacted by who you are the closest to and these powerful women left a mark on me, especially in my childhood. But it is not just active, verbal advice. You also learn from the way they conducted themselves in their lives. And these women, petite, strong and very sure of what they wanted managed to come out of the crises they faced. That’s the biggest learning.
Any inspiration you took from the women around you to portray Kamlesh?
I think Kamlesh represents an Indian woman we all find in ourselves. When I heard the character, I was totally sold because there are little parts of her in each one of us. There is a child in every one of us that needs to be protected and loved and nurtured and she is also the woman who has the power in the house and who feels insecure when a new ‘bahu’ comes in. She is the one who is dancing around in the house and suddenly something happens and she has to fight for what is right and all of her established life is now at stake. It's a choice she makes and her character arc is thus so relatable.
Previously you did another short film called Sleeping Partner with Sanjay Kapoor where you played a victim of marital rape...
Oh yes, you are right, I didn't think about it.
Is a film's theme often enough for you to agree to a project?
See, I don't choose by theme. I choose a story and it attracts you more because there is a certain responsibility it comes with. I remember when I did the short and there was this harrowing scene where Sanjay Kapoor’s character rapes me. I mean I was friends with Sanjay and it all went smoothly. I came home but after three days I started feeling very low. I went to the washroom and started crying, in fact howling. And I wondered what just happened to me. I realised that subconsciously I had brought the character home. I had lived her for only two days, it was a short film, and it impacted me like this. I just thought about what happens to all those women who go through this every day. It's a role-play for me but for them it’s life. It's disturbing.
Has it happened again where you have brought the character home?
Recently, I shot for this film called Echoes of Valour. It is a biopic of an Armywoman and it was a very heavy film. When I got done with it, I didn't take up any work for two-three months. I just wanted to let be. I think it is important to let that process happen. If your body and mind is disturbed, if you have taken in more than you should have, you need time to recuperate.
You are such a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan. As a child you used to dance on his songs and when you finally got the opportunity to work with him in Baghban (2003), you had to play a daughter-in-law who is mean to him. How was that experience?
Very bad (laughs), because I didn't know how to disconnect. Initially when I came on set I was this chirpy girl but then as the film progressed, I got silent because I was doing this role where I had to be mean to him and I didn't want to. Mr. Bachchan noticed this. He called me one day and said "You are being very mean to me," and I just said "No sir, I am just mouthing my lines." Then he went silent and I knew what he was hinting at. My character was supposed to be mean to him but I didn't have to be silent around him. I needed to disconnect. The megastar he is, his silence only taught me so much.
You have spoken about your first meeting with Shah Rukh Khan and how Salman Khan taught you “to die” in Veergati (1995). But how was your first meeting with Aamir Khan?
Aamir called me after watching Train to Pakistan (1998). That time I didn't have a mobile phone. He called on a landline and my mother came to me and said "somebody is calling himself Aamir Khan. I have cut the call" and I was like "What!" But, thankfully, he called again and invited me to meet him. He was so gracious. He just wanted to see me and congratulate me on my work. In hindsight, these little moments are so big. I think we should celebrate them more.