After breakout roles in commercial rom-coms such as “Cocktail,” the period piece “Chhaava,” and the well-received “Happy Bhag Jayegi,” Bollywood actress Diana Penty is making waves. She’s now ready to explore the OTT space with her most recent venture, “Detective Sherdil.” It is a quirky whodunit where she is paired opposite popular Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh.
The Movie Buff was able to sit down til Diana Penty. In this brief interview, she talks about her latest film, “Detective Sherdil,” the creative process, and her dream role(s).
*(Note: this interview has been edited for clarity).
Vidal D’Costa for The Movie Buff: What drew you to ‘Detective Sherdil’ and to Natasha, the character you play in this movie?
Diana Penty: A combination of things drew me to it. The story, of course, and the whodunit murder mystery genre too, which isn’t something I’ve done before. The love for this genre was another draw, as I’m a fan of detective films, murder mysteries, and espionage thrillers. I jumped at the opportunity to be part of it. Secondly, the character. I’ve never played a no-nonsense, pragmatic type before. Natasha is so well defined as a character: she’s good at her job and can get it done. The incredible ensemble (veterans like Boman Irani, the multi-faceted Diljit Dosanjh, to name a few) was a third draw. To share the same screen with these actors— who are already so good at their craft—was truly an honour. Lastly, it was the director Ravi Chhabriya, and the ambience he created on-set. I think it’s very important to work with individuals you’re comfortable with.
VD: Could you delve into your creative process in preparing for the role?
MP: I sat down with the director Ravi, who held a few workshops to discuss the character, like how her personality would translate from script to screen, so that I could add dimensions while playing Natasha. We bounced ideas off each other and were on the same page eventually. He also suggested a few detective films with female leads, so I could watch those and prep accordingly… focusing on the body language mainly. I also spent a whole week or so learning sign language for a few of my scenes.
I’d love to do an action film, particularly a female-led one as I enjoy watching that genre.”
Diana Penty
VD: You’ve worked on commercial/theatrical releases and have now transitioned to the OTT space. Are there any similarities, differences, or challenges that you’ve noticed while working in both spaces/mediums?
MP: Whether it’s on streaming or in theatres, a film is a film. However, having worked in an upcoming web series for the OTT space, I’ve noticed a significant difference when it comes to the running time, specifically between a web series and a movie, and its correlation to the performer/performance. Since a web series is meant to be a longer format, I feel that there’s an abundance of space for an actor to improvise or to play around with the role more, and thus, really get under the skin of any character.
VD: Lastly, what are some other genres or subgenres you wish to explore in the future? Are there any upcoming works (post ‘Detective Sherdil’) that our readers can also look forward to?
MP: “Detective Sherdil” released on June 20 on Zee 5 Global. After that, I’ve another movie in the pipeline titled “Section 84,” where I share screen space with none other than Mr Bachchan (Amitabh Bachchan) himself. My debut OTT web series is also slated to release sometime soon. In terms of genre, I’ve mentioned in other interviews before too that I’d love to do an action film, particularly a female-led one as I enjoy watching that genre.
“Detective Sherdil” is now streaming on OTT.
