Actress Divyani Gandhi, who recently enraptured hearts in the recent show Bambai Meri Jaan, gets candid with The Pioneer about getting the right acknowledgment, her character in the show being her manifestation, and more.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
Another iteration of the oft-told story of the rise of Bombay mafia don Dawood Ibrahim in the 1970s, and his flight from the city a decade before it became Mumbai, Amazon Prime Video’s Bambai Meri Jaan is the first web show that fictionalises the gangster’s early life.
The actress Divyani Gandhi also appears in this thrilling historical crime drama. Not just her, but the whole cast was exceptional and she brought authenticity cum that high-voltage power performance. Her ten-episode retelling of a saga does a reasonable job of presenting an account of a megalopolis’ turbulent past. She was electrified! Well, we had an exclusive interview with the Kaafir fame and she squawks — “This was my second web series. Finally, I am being noticed! My Instagram DMs are full. It’s been so long since I had been looking for so much acknowledgment. Eventually, I did something right.”
Produced by Excel Media & Entertainment, and created by Rensil D’Silva, the show’s director rustles up a cocktail of organized crime, violence, and vengeance and delivers it in a manner that focuses as much on the bloody gang wars on the streets and dockyards of Bambai as it does on the emotional dynamics that are at work in the life of a boy determined to change his and his family’s fortunes. The actress continued, “This character was my manifestation. Despite being a part of Kaafir, I was rather interested in Dia Mirza’s role. I was so motivated because of Dia that I took the present role. All of us have experienced the emotions of betrayal but to portray it on-screen is a different feeling and craft altogether. Even if my role was so little, it was a privilege to be a part of this fictional world. It was like why not.”
Lit and lensed, Divyani pits up god-fearing patriarchy. That’s how she bamboozles her way into a life of crime. We needed more details! “So grateful to the casting team that they could sink in me. Auditions were very simple but the interesting part was, that I was called for another character role. I think my life saga is as simple as that rabbit tortoise story. Slow and steady wins the race! It’s okay for me to move to a leisurely place in this industry. I need not be sorry about it. Actresses like me come from small towns, and all of us want to do meaningful roles. Supporting parts are also fine but don’t make us the sidekick.”
She was six years old when the actress and the entrepreneur strictly decided to be on the television sets. “I was wearing my school uniform, sitting on the couch and my grandmother was cooking. I saw Kareena Kapoor Khan on screen! As a child, I was wondering who is this woman and why is she looking so glamorous. It was my mother who motivated me to be an actress. Little does everyone know my father also wanted to be an actor. I am fulfilling his dream,” adds the Miss India Chandigarh title holder.
One of the key characters in the series, Divyani dishes some more anecdotes, “Being an actress is not the only career I have. I run a business of my own! I sell scented candles and exclusive perfumes. Both professions satisfy me equally. All my unsaid emotions come out on the screen, a better outlet. Whereas my entrepreneurial skills let me dvelve into so much creativity. I am always scratching my head for a new inventory!” There are no dream roles for her, she wants to play that every character coming her way. But she’s obsessed with playing gangster, badass roles somehow! She wants to shoot and be powerful. Even as a viewer, she loves watching crime-genre movies. “Women are hardly explored in negative connotations, as an anti-heroine in our industry,” she said.
Well, on the work front, up next is her Netflix series with the creator of Mirzapur.
