IANS Exclusive Interview: Divya Dutta on upcoming series ‘Mayasabha’ | Iravati | Role | Feminism - video Dailymotion

IANS INDIA

In an exclusive Interview with actress Divya Dutta, where she discussed her upcoming web series ‘Mayasabha’ and her experience working on it. She talked about her character Iravati, a strong and complex woman, and how she brought her to life. After that, Divya shared her thoughts on femininity, leadership, and being a single woman in the industry. In the last, she opened up about her writing process, facing writer's block, and her upcoming projects, including films with Manoj Bajpayee and Jimmy Shergill.   #DivyaDutta #MayaSabha #experienceworking #Iravati #ManojBajpayee #JimmyShergill #Trending #Boll ywoodNews #BollywoodGossips #BollywoodUpdates #BollywoodNews #Bollywood #Bollywoodcelebrity #BollywoodHindiNews #ians

Transcript

00:00Ma'am, I did see a couple of episodes because I was in awe with the trailer.

00:04You are stunning as always.

00:06And whenever you come on screen and when we know it's a Divya Dutta project,

00:10we know it's going to ace.

00:11It's going to up its own ante.

00:13Thank you, darling.

00:14It means a lot.

00:17You know, Ma'am, Eravati herself is such a strong character.

00:21And throughout your career, if we see your career graph,

00:24you've played such strong people.

00:26So was that the take that you took on this role?

00:32I think this was the take of the director who asked me to do this one.

00:39I think I took it because, not because of just the strength of the role.

00:46Of course, that is there.

00:47But because of the script, I think it is one of the most intriguing scripts

00:53that I have heard.

00:53And this kind of drama, I think, hasn't been really seen on the Indian screens.

00:59And two, I think the dynamics this woman has with the other characters

01:04was, I think, a delight for me as an actor to portray.

01:07So I could, like, assume that I'm going to be very fun.

01:13And my director just sailed me through giving those little nuances,

01:19moments that were, like, I think that makes a greedy actor satiated.

01:24So this must be, like, this project must be feeling like a debut in itself for you

01:30because you're making your, this is your made-in Telugu language project, right?

01:35Absolutely.

01:37I like these unconventional things that happen in my career.

01:41So it's nice to make a debut after being here for 30 years and to make it with Maya Sabha.

01:49So, yeah, I mean, I do feel a newcomer on every set, even if I may not say so.

01:54But this one more so because this was a new world for me,

01:58something I've always been very excited about to join.

02:00And finally, I did with this.

02:03So, yeah, it's had the butterflies in my tummy effect for sure.

02:08But was it a challenge to adapt to a new language and industry at this stage in your career?

02:13Or did you find it creatively liberating?

02:18You always have to leave what makes you comfortable.

02:21You always have to dive deep into something that is not your comfort zone

02:26and find better things, different things that you are not aware of.

02:33I think that is learning.

02:35So you have to be a student constantly.

02:38Ma'am, what stayed with me was a line where you said that

02:41who said dictatorship is not leadership, right?

02:44It's a very powerful line that you made.

02:46How do you personally interpret the fine line between control and leadership?

02:52There is.

02:54That's not a fine line at all.

02:56It is a huge difference that makes it of control and leadership

03:01because I think a leader mostly makes a team, a good leader,

03:08takes the team with you.

03:11And, yeah, dictatorship is something different, of course.

03:15But, yes, I think that that line is a very thar line, if I may say so, in a Punjabi way.

03:22Yeah, it's very powerful.

03:25It's very impactful.

03:26It stayed in my mind for the longest time.

03:30Also, when I saw the couple of episodes that I got to watch,

03:35what I understood of Eravathi was she had...

03:38There's a hint of being manipulative and calculative, which I could sense.

03:44How do you view these plays as flaws, strengths, or simply survival instincts?

03:49I think a mix of everything.

03:52It should be like that because I'm talking only as an actor.

03:56I feel these little things that even my director would give me, like, okay, these are the lines.

04:01Now let's play a little in between, a little above, a little below with this

04:05and just make it the way it should be.

04:09So add a little bit of this, add a little bit of that.

04:11Or when we had the correct tone and we found that little mischief,

04:16we found that little gameplay,

04:19we found that little intelligent thing that just happened,

04:21or an emotional outburst, any of those.

04:24I think it is always a bit of everything and not just one emotion.

04:30Also, I mean, of course, the series itself is very deeply political

04:36and presents a strong clash between ideologies.

04:40If you'd have to talk about your personal take on politics and ideology,

04:44do you relate to any particular belief system?

04:48And did that influence your portrayal in the series?

04:52No, I really don't, actually.

04:55And my portrait of Eravati is absolutely what my director, Deva Kutta, envisioned.

05:01And he was very, very clear about what he wanted me to do.

05:05And I think that is also a very relaxing feeling for the actor,

05:10that here's a vision that's absolutely clear.

05:12This is the tonality he wants it.

05:14This one he wants you to look behind and give that look and make that impact.

05:21So these were that clear.

05:23So a bit of improvisation, a bit of the clarity of the director,

05:28just made a great combo.

05:29And I think that's what made Eravati what she is.

05:33Also, ma'am, the show itself is about a woman who's in a very male-dominated world in Maya Sabha.

05:42And what was it like stepping into such a commanding role?

05:46And, you know, in a specially traditionally ruled industry, per se.

05:54It was overwhelming.

05:56It was absolutely overwhelming, if I may say.

06:00But I, you know, I was saying something to someone else as well.

06:04But when you do something efficiently, either of your jobs as an actor, as a politician, or as anybody else,

06:13you make your mark nevertheless, in spite of all that we are talking about.

06:20It will definitely be acknowledged somewhere.

06:23And it might not get all the appreciation, but it will be acknowledged.

06:29And people will be aware of that power and that thing that you have.

06:35Now, when we talk about your filmography,

06:37it boasts of such amazing films and such amazing characters that you've played.

06:41You know, there's a bit, there's silence and rebellion, there's softness and strength.

06:48As a woman and as an artist, how do you,

06:51or how have your personal definitions of femininity evolved over the years for you?

06:56For me, I think, you know, I've been very fortunate that I come from a house

07:01where my mother gave me more freedom than my brother.

07:04So, I don't have that concept that, you know, it is that tough on the other side.

07:11But when you see, when you grow up, you see the life that maybe this girl didn't have the choice

07:18of, you know, taking a profession she wanted to take.

07:21So, for me, femininity would be being able to make your choices, whatever it might be.

07:31You don't have to be dependent on someone to decide what course your life should be.

07:36For me, freedom is that.

07:37For me, equality is that you give that person a chance and an opportunity to live their life

07:46on their own terms and shouldn't be dependent on other things.

07:51So, yeah, for me, it's that.

07:53It should be equal.

07:54Also, ma'am, you've often spoken about embracing a journey as a single woman in the industry.

08:01You know, a woman with voice that you have.

08:02And was there a moment when you consciously chose this path or did it unfold naturally with

08:07your evolving priorities in life?

08:10Absolutely.

08:10You said it right.

08:11It just happened organically over time.

08:15I was someone who was very marriage oriented.

08:19I was totally into all the films that I had grown up on.

08:24The Yashji films, Karan Johar films where, you know, you do all those rituals and you feel

08:29nice, happy, married.

08:30But you do realize that it's very important in a profession which is very demanding that

08:39you have a partner who kind of understands the complexities of being in a profession like

08:50this has to be very secure in his own skin and has to be a very, very sensitive and understanding

09:00partner.

09:01So sometimes you find it, sometimes you don't.

09:05And I feel rather than be in a toxic relationship, it is better that you live a beautiful life with

09:12yourself at peace, concentrating on where it needs to be given the focus to.

09:19And of course, I mean, I do realize I come with a very strong image.

09:26And even now, if somebody approaches me, they are a little enamored before they become, you know,

09:34comfortable.

09:34But I think I like it this way, that I live my life on my terms and it is very apparent

09:44to everyone.

09:46Also, like you said that you come with this image, which is very strong and often strong

09:51women are judged a lot.

09:53You'd agree to that, right?

09:55Does that, I mean, what do you have to say about that?

09:57Women being judged so much about what they do, what they say, having an opinion, probably.

10:04You cannot please the whole world.

10:08I like freedom of expression.

10:10I am someone who cannot keep something here.

10:14I just feel you must say what you have to say.

10:16Yes, the tariqa has to be a good one.

10:18You shouldn't be hurting anyone, but you should say what you have to say.

10:22So I like to do that.

10:24And if that is considered strong or opinionated, so be it then.

10:28I mean, you are not here to please the world.

10:30True.

10:30Also, apart from being a fab, fab actress, you're an amazing writer as well.

10:35And I just wanted to know, like, when is the next book coming?

10:39A. And B, if ever have you faced a writer's block?

10:44A. Yes, I think I have.

10:49With my first book itself, I faced one.

10:53I was given six months to write.

10:55And that was a very interesting scenario that I was wanting a catharsis from my mother's going away.

11:04And so I was given six months to write the book.

11:07So first five months, I didn't know what was happening.

11:10Days doubt.

11:10But that I wouldn't call a writer's block.

11:13But I hadn't written.

11:14So my publisher called and she said, have you finished writing?

11:18I said, no.

11:20So she said, just to tell you, there's just a month left.

11:23And that one month, I think I sat and I just flowed with it.

11:29And I finished that book in a month.

11:30So I just feel I'm someone who works on deadlines.

11:34I work, I function better if I'm told this is the time limit.

11:38And then I do it that way.

11:41Just COVID, my second book was during that time.

11:44I had all the time in the world.

11:45So that's the time when I faced the writer's block.

11:49It was like, I didn't know what to do.

11:51And when the shooting started, I was writing like this because I knew I had to finish it.

11:57I knew I had 10 things to do.

11:58Women, I think, are better with multitasking rather than being given just one job.

12:03I like it that way.

12:04So it was nice to just be doing my makeup, taking out some time, writing one chapter, heading to shoot, coming back, again waking up.

12:12It looks good.

12:13I feel good.

12:14It's good.

12:16So if you had to pick one, which one would you call your first love?

12:19Is it acting or writing?

12:20What are ways of expressing yourself?

12:25In writing, you're expressing yourself.

12:27In acting, you're expressing with somebody else's thoughts and lines.

12:33But it is expression, nevertheless, you're living a life of someone else.

12:37And that's, I think, the most mesmerizing feeling.

12:39How many people do get a chance to live so many lives?

12:43My first love would be acting, for sure.

12:45But nonetheless, I totally, absolutely love writing as well.

12:50Great.

12:50I'm almost done with my interview, ma'am.

12:52My last question, we know Maya Sabha is coming up.

12:54Then what else?

12:55When do we see you next after Maya Sabha?

12:58You will see me in another web show coming very soon with another big issue.

13:06And after that, I have two films lined up with Manoj Bajpayee.

13:10One of them is produced by Rana Dugupati.

13:13And the other is Neeraj Pandey's film.

13:16And then there is a romantic film with Jimmy Shergill and a biopic with Neeraj Khabhi,

13:23which is on an army wife.

13:24So, pretty much a very busy year ahead.

IANS Exclusive Interview: Divya Dutta on upcoming series ‘Mayasabha’ | Iravati | Role | Feminism

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