Divya Dutta and Manoj Bajpayee worked together in four films — LOC: Kargil (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Special 26 (2013) and Traffic (2016) — but they never shared screen space in any of these projects. The duo finally got a chance to star together in not one, but two projects this year — The Last Man and Netflix’s recent crime drama Gajab Raat .
You play a bold, corrupt politician in the film. What about this character and the role made you say yes to the project?
In Neeraj Pandey’s directorial, Divya plays a shrewd politician. In an exclusive interaction with Hindustan Times, the actor spoke about how sharing screen space with Manoj was on her bucket list. What made me say yes was Neeraj Pandey, Manoj Bajpayee, Netflix. When I work with Neeraj Pandey, I know he will use me beautifully in the film. He is the only person in the entire industry with whom I do this: when he calls me for a film or a show, I just hand over my dates and go into his project like an audience member. I love the twists, turns, excitement, and thrill that come with being on his set. I just let it unfold. Even to me, some scenes come as a surprise — like, “Oh, this happened like that! I love that little thrill. It’s just great to work with people who know what they want out of you and how they are going to present you. When you are working with the best in the business — be it the director, the co-actor, or the platform — it just feels great. Yes, we are a male-dominated industry — there is no two ways about it. However, efforts are underway to produce story-driven films. When you see a film like Laapataa Ladies, there is a good marriage between strong storytelling, a talented filmmaker, a solid production house, and proper distribution. Gajab Raat, directed by Ritesh Shah, is streaming on Netflix.
She also talked about why Manoj and writer/co-producer Neeraj Pandey were the reasons she said yes to the project.
