It's a case of "dil maange more" for Divya Dutta as far as risky films and characters are concerned.
After an eventful 2018 in which she won a National Award as Best Supporting Actress, Divya's slate for 2019 is diverse and impressive. There's the Malala Yousufzai biopic "Gul Makai", Netflix film "Music Teacher", children's film "Jhalki... A Different Childhood", a psychological thriller with Arshad Warsi and Juhi Chawla, "Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai" and "Ram Singh Charlie" -- all signifying quite a mix of genres and number.
"It's great. I think I have become slightly greedier and more selective, but I think it's lovely," Divya told IANS in an interview.
"There's no strategy or plan that now I will only do this. But it's just that your heart says 'now don't do this' and 'only do this' or 'go ahead and do just something drastically different'... I love to experiment more.
"When you are accepted and acknowledged and loved, I think they (the industry members) give you the freedom to choose more and take more risks. I have always done that, but I think I want to do more. It's like 'dil maange more'. I think I am in a position to sit and just look at the scripts and say 'I want to do this' or 'I don't want to do that'," she added.
Divya's Bollywood journey had started in 1994 with "Ishq Mein Jeena Ishq Mein Marna". She has been appreciated for her impactful performances in films like "Veer-Zaara", "Delhi-6", "Heroine", "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", "Traffic" and "Irada" for which she won the National Award.
At the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) last year, Divya had opened up about how she thought it was "blasphemous" to play a supporting role in Yash Chopra's "Veer-Zaara", which came her way after a couple of multi-starrer projects which she was not proud of. But her role as Shabbo in the cross-border love story continues to garner love.
Is playing the lead girl in a Yash Raj Films' banner film a dream she still harbours?
"I think times have changed now. Everyone is now story-oriented. All your so-called stars want to do the roles that I do. It's like that... It's become a role reversal everywhere. The stories have become distinct.
"But of course, we have grown up on Yash Chopra's films. If given a chance, I would definitely dance in the Alps in a chiffon sari," she said with a laugh.