Remember that bubbly girl from Veer Zaara? Well, the actress who portrayed her, Divya Dutta, says that her recent weight loss has catapulted her career forward, because now she is being offered all sorts of “glamorous” roles.
Based upon her earlier films, directors simply offered Dutta light-hearted roles, or ones with Punjabi-speaking requirements. She reasons that her weight loss deserves much of the credit for directors’ newfound confidence to experiment with the roles they give her.
Regarding her weight loss, Dutta commented, “Beyond a point, I realized that a person’s looks really matter. It was important for me to maintain a fit figure and generally be fit. I had to stop everything I love doing, including giving up on gol gappas, sweets and all good food. And then I did a lot of exercise, went to the gym, and it paid. I am getting exciting roles now.” Being healthy is a perfectly good goal, but this change also proves something about the industry: superficiality, while not overwhelming, is definitely present.
Beginning with The Last Lear, which released on Friday, Dutta has an interesting line-up of films – roughly ten set to release within the next year or so. These include Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s much talked-about Dilli 6, Shyam Benegal’s light-hearted Welcome to Sajjanpur releasing on September 19th, Rohit Kaushik’s period movie Chehre and a the thriller, Monica.
With an optimistic view, Dutta reflected that her characters are each individual and she does not repeat roles – so let’s get ready to see the many newly fangled looks of this lovable actress.
