Divya Dutta: Earlier, the roles written for women were till the age of 25, or above 50s, middle age ke roles hi nahi the
Actor Divya Dutta gets talking about how earlier female actors were only ‘heroine, mummy ya bhabhi’ in films.
She turned 46 recently, but she still feels like a child at heart. But apart from this, what Divya Dutta is glad about, is that the film industry today has work for female actors across all age groups. It's not just the 'girlfriend or saas-bahu' roles, as was the norm when she started off.
"Earlier a female actor was given five things- she could be the heroine, vamp, and so on. There were designated roles, and anything beyond that, nobody knew where to put them. Today, if you are not opposite the hero, it doesn't matter, you are still a heroine if it's an important role. That line has diminished," says the actor, who is busy with a slate of four films and three web shows currently, all waiting to be announced.
Dutta feels that people are "taking risks", like she did when she took the role of Preity Zinta's character's helper in Veer Zaara. "I did think 'oh God will it be a huge risk' to play such a role, but everyone spoke so much about it, same was the case with Delhi 6. Everyone is now asking 'hamare liye karne ko kya hai role mein' Earlier, makers were less than willing to explore layers... it was wither till the age of 25, or beyond 50s, beech ki age ke roles the hi nahi. Ya toh heroine, ya mummy, ya bhabhi. Now you see the top most actresses married, with kids, doing supremely well. People don't bother about it, they are not judgmental," she shares.
The actor was also recently invited to the Parliament to witness the Women's Reservation Bill being passed. She calls it a beautiful experience, "It was a feeling of pride to be there, how many people get to do this? It was lovely to experience that and represent our industry."