Divya Dutta disagrees with supporting actor tag: ‘Not here to support anyone’

Reflecting on her early years in the industry, Divya Dutta said that not being boxed into a fixed image or label actually worked to her advantage.

Actor Divya Dutta says she doesn’t agree with the “supporting actor” label, adding that she has consistently chosen roles that challenge the conventional definitions of “lead” and “supporting” characters.

Divya Dutta is set to feature in drama series Chiraiya.

Divya Dutta on 'supporting actor' label

In an interview with Variety India, Divya looked back at her career and spoke about the presence of label of ‘being a supporting actor in Bollywood’.

“I am an actor, and I would like to be called so. A few years back, it (categorisation) was a slightly strange concept. Now it's a given. (At times) it's like, 'Okay, I want to do a character-driven role. I'm okay romancing the hero, but I also want to do more than just be a dumb character,” she said.

During the conversation, she also questioned the long-standing belief that roles not driven by romance or the traditional hero narrative are automatically labelled as “supporting” parts.

Divya shared, “Just because I wasn't romancing the hero, didn't (automatically) mean that I was 'supporting' somebody. I'm not here to support anyone. I support myself. I would like to play an antagonist, I would like to do some comedy, I would like to be the main lead in a film. I would like to do a smaller role but the most significant. If you see my filmography, my roles have been the best roles in the film and the most pivotal to the story.”

Reflecting on her early years in the industry, Divya said that not being boxed into a fixed image or label actually worked to her advantage. While many actors strive to cultivate a distinct screen persona, she chose to embrace the uncertainty instead. She mentioned that people didn't know where she belonged, and she loved that feeling because she didn't want an image. She wanted to do everything.

About Divya

Over the years, Divya has showed her versatility as an actor through diverse projects. She made her debut in Hindi cinema in 1994 with the film Ishq Mein Jeena Ishq Mein Marna. She has featured in projects such as Veergati, Veer-Zaara, Welcome to Sajjanpur, Delhi-6, Stanley Ka Dabba, Heroine, Badlapur and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

Next, Divya is set to feature in drama series Chiraiya, which will release on JioHotstar on March 20. Produced by SVF Entertainment, the six-episode series is directed by Shashant Shah and also features Sanjay Mishra. It is described as a "powerful social drama aiming to raise awareness and highlight the necessity of a mindset shift regarding the critical topic of marital rape in India."

The series revolves around the life of Kamlesh (Divya), the ideal daughter-in-law of a close-knit family, whose seemingly stable world begins to shatter when she discovers that her sister-in-law Pooja is facing sexual abuse within her marriage. As difficult truths begin to unfold, Kamlesh finds herself torn between protecting her family's honour and standing up for what is right. The series also feature Siddharth Shaw, Prasanna Bisht, Faisal Rashid, Tinnu Anand, Sarita Joshi and Anjum Saxena.