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Out to prove her mettle
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Divya Dutta on You, Me aur Hum and Gudiya Ki Kahani
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Not just a glam doll Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta is probably the most remembered face among supporting actors in Hindi films. Though she won critical acclaim for A Train to Pakistan and Sur, it was Veer Zara that placed her among
the most sought-after support actors. Even Ajay Devgan banked on her for his U, Me Aur Hum, and Prabhakar Shukla has cast her in the title role in Gudiya Ki Kahani, releasing shortly.
She says, “I no longer accept supporting roles. I play the lead in my forthcoming films.”
U, Me Aur Hum features three couples whose lives run parallel to one another. “I play a married girl who has a misunderstanding with her husband (Sumit Raghavan). The couple keeps fighting over small issues. I am so happy I got to play so many emotions in one role — from a chirpy girl to a spoilt brat, a dancer to an emotional fool,” says Divya.
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Divya admits the role has helped her understand issues that are often ignored. “Half the marriages break up because the couples keep fighting over frivolous issues. I think many couples can learn a few lessons from the film,” she says.
As for Gudiya Ki Kahani, it is based on the tragic story of the late Gudiya. Her husband was a prisoner of war and presumed dead returned after Gudiya remarried and was pregnant. Like what happened in real life, in the film too, Gudiya is forced to choose between the two husbands while the clergymen and villagers interfere. Dutta plays the title role. “This film was completed when Gudiya was pregnant. I couldn’t even meet her. The film got stuck because of differences between the producer and the distributors,” she says.
Disagreeing that the film capitalises on someone’s personal tragedy, she says she considers herself lucky to have played a real-life character.
“We have this habit of attributing negative shades to a worthy issue. I feel proud to play Gudiya because it will help many people understand a woman’s heart. I feel indebted to God to be in a profession where I can express myself, while a girl like Gudiya can’t even express herself! How she coped with a double tragedy, what was her state of mind, how perplexed she felt when she had to choose between two of her own men needs to be told. If no one understood her, this film will make them do so.”
Describing the effort as “emotionally draining”, Divya remarks, “I feel extremely sad Gudiya will never see it.”
Shot mostly in Mumbai, the film uses the Awadhi dialect. Her two husbands are played by Arif Zakaria (PoW) and Rajpal Yadav (second husband).
With 10 films to keep her busy, including Shyam Benegal’s Mahadev, Rakeysh Mehra’s Dilli 6, Subhash Ghai’s Hello Zindagi, Kushan Bhatnagar’s Monica, and Love Khichdi with Randeep Hooda, she is also set to hit the television screen with Jaspal Bhatti as a judge for a reality show, Comedy Ka King Kaun. She concludes with a tinge of pride, “I have to please myself, not others.”
The supporting actor tag seems to rankle. “That I am working with great filmmakers is enough to make my critics understand my calibre.”
RANA SIDDIQUI
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