Divyendu Sharma: Never thought I'd be part of happy, colourful films

From theatre to ads to films
Born and brought up in Delhi, Divyendu was a student at FTII Pune before he turned to theatre. Coming from a non-filmy background, making a place in Bollywood was difficult for him. He shares, 'To be honest, it's pretty difficult because our industry is very big. So, all the things took a while for me to understand. Also, after doing theatre in college, I came to Mumbai with a very different mindset ' that I will not be doing any commercial film, as my interest was always in parallel cinema.But things did not happen that way. Jaisa sabke saath hota hai mere saath bhi hua ' my struggle began. After reaching Mumbai I started going for film auditions, and faced many rejections. And then I started questioning life. The first three and half years in Mumbai were pretty hard. I was really heartbroken with the whole set up, especially ad auditions.' The actor continues, 'In fact, there came a phase, which was very dark, when I decided that I did not want to do anything. But, one fine day my friend knocked on my door and asked me to come for an audition. That's how I got selected for a mobile phone ad, which became a huge rage online. After that ad, I got an offer for 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama.'
No to 'Pyaar ka Punchnama 2'
While Divyendu's character in the film was a big hit, the actor refused to work in the sequel to the film. 'The makers wanted me for sure, but I didn't want to get stuck with one image. It's nice to have a hit under your belt ' everyone wants that. But these are still initial years for me in the industry and I don't want people to tag me for playing a particular type of role. Basically, I don't want to play safe right now. I want to show different sides of me as an actor,' he explains.
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Don't want to be slotted as a comic hero
In fact, comedy is not something Divyendu ever thought he would do. 'Believe me, I have never done comedy before, not even at FTII. I always thought that I'd be doing dark films where the character is portrayed as a loner, struggling in life, etc. I never thought that I'd be part of happy and colourful films. But after 'Chashme Baddoor,' I've tried not to do any more comedy because, unfortunately, humare Bollywood mein people think ki vo yeh kar raha hai toh use aise hi role ke liye lete hain. People judge your ability to play a role by the character you played in your last film. That's a little unfair to actors. And it's not just with me, but with actors at all levels. Itna kya safe khelna life mein?' he asks.
Lucknow connect
Divyendu, who is back in Mumbai now, will be returning to UP to shoot for another film. '2016 The End' by Jaideep Chopra is going to be shot in Moradabad and Goa,' shares the actor, as he goes on to recall his visit to Lucknow as a child, 'My dad's eldest brother used to live here. So, I was very young when I had come for his son's wedding and main bahut naacha tha.' He continues, 'I still remember that log yaham par kitne tameez se baat karte hain. As a kid I was like, 'wow, yeh kaise baat kar raha hai!'
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