Is Divya Dutta quitting TV for films?

The actor has been turning down television offers lately

GITA HARI

After Shanno Ki Shaadi on Star Plus went off air, Divya Dutta aka the affable, roly-poly, paratha expert and nose twitching Shanno has gone missing from the tele scene, leaving the home viewers wondering if the lovely actor has bid goodbye to the small screen. Divya is quick on the take as she says, "No, I have not quit television but I have always been discerning where taking up serials are concerned and am being more choosy now. Most of my dates are blocked for films and I enjoyed playing Shanno that gave me a lot more fan following. I could adjust the dates as it was a weekly serial. One must not get stuck with an image as it becomes difficult to come out of it when people identify you only as the character you played."
Not one to underestimate the importance of television she observes, "Exposure and popularity among the masses is assured on television. In fact, I have bagged several film offers after the producers have seen my shows and liked my performance." Her landmark serial was Kadam on SaharaOne where the artist in her got a chance to enact 60 different characters. She got to play herself while anchoring Deepti Bhatnagar's Musafir Hoon Yaron and her love for music saw her do video albums too.
Although she admits to having enjoyed viewing soaps earlier, she has never acted in any saas-bahu ones since she says thatbecoming a victim of such plots is not her cup of tea. "It's not my kind of thing though I have had my share of watching the decked up and adorned ladies of these daily soaps," laughs Divya.
Divya is doing several movies and can be spotted in a variety of roles — from a surrogate mother, a Marathi mulgi to a phataka gossip monger and the real life character of Gudiya, while her last film was JP Dutta's Umrao Jaan. The versatile actor is excited about her Punjabi film, which has gone to the Oscars and is awaiting the release of a comedy movie Dubai Returned with Irrfan Khan, Mummyji and a few crossover films.
Does that put television serials on the backburner? "Not at all," affirms the actor adding, "I like to balance between television and films. For a performer, the skill lies in maintaining an equilibrium between all the mediums she enjoys." She feels that doing a daily soap would mean allotting about 22 days, which will be too strenuous and "I don't want to miss out my chances of good offers on the silver screen." She is not saying 'No' to serials but only being more selective!