Divya Palat, who began her career as an actress, has been part of the glamour world since childhood. She started with advertisements and later moved to TV acting. She also appeared in films like Dhund, Masti, Dil Bechara Pyaar Ka Maara, and Dil Dhoondta Hai, produced by Tahir Hussain.Apart from acting, Divya directed and produced many plays through her company, Balancing Art Productions, and became well-known in theatre. Let’s watch a flashback interview with Divya Palat, where she talks to Lehren about her early career and shares a fun story about her mother’s conversation with Aamir Khan’s father, Tahir Hussain. #divyapalat #tahirhussain #adityahitkari #aamirkhan #lehren #podcast
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00:00Amar, everybody knew him because his mother-in-law was also his daughter-in-law.
00:03And Amar, and Aditi is just hot.
00:06You really don't know very much about films.
00:08You don't know anything about films.
00:10So my mom said, yes, but how do you know?
00:13So he said, I am Aamir Khan's father.
00:17So my mom was like, oh God.
00:20Sun rises every day.
00:24It meets the clouds.
00:28Divya ji, where did you start acting?
00:32When I was three years old, I did a surf act with Gautam Rajee Daksha.
00:38So I started from then.
00:40And after that, my father was in a transferable job.
00:46So when we came back to Bombay, I started to professional stage.
00:51I have been doing professional stage for five years.
00:54And there, I played the role of Sita in Legend of Ram, which was a big production with Aamir Raza Hussain.
01:01And after that, I have also done musicals with Hoshi Vasunia.
01:06Like Sound of Music, and then French Cuckoo.
01:09And then I also worked with Kirtan Mehta for a year.
01:15With Captain Vyom.
01:17And then after that, I have also done a few ads.
01:21I have done an ad with Aamir Khan.
01:23And Surf Excel, which is now airing, with Shantanu Shourie.
01:27And I have also done a music video, Soni Kudi.
01:31And after that, Tahir ji's film Dil Dhoonta Hai.
01:35Actually, before that, there was another film, a South film.
01:39Uttarudhruvadim Dakshinudhruvaku, which is a Kannada film.
01:43Which has been nominated for the Asian Air Award.
01:45And after that, Tahir ji's film Dil Dhoonta Hai.
01:48And now my film Dhund.
01:51And I have also directed an English film.
01:56And it's called 9.5.
01:58You have also learned to dance. Tell us about that.
02:01Yes, I do Bharat Natyam.
02:03And before that, I used to do jazz with Shama for 4-5 years.
02:09So, I really like dancing.
02:14I like to dance, you know.
02:16I go out every time to dance.
02:18Actually, my last New Year's.
02:20For New Year's, for 6 hours.
02:22I mean, I was very bored. The party was very bad.
02:24So, I went to dance for 6 hours.
02:27And I lost 2 kgs by the next morning.
02:31So, I like dancing a lot.
02:34How did you get the offer for Dil Dhoonta Hai?
02:38Actually, Tahir ji had called me at home.
02:41But I was in university.
02:43My Stanford University is in America.
02:46And I study there with Chelsea Clinton.
02:49She was in the same year as me.
02:51So, he called me.
02:53And we talked to my mother.
02:55He said, I am Tara Sen.
02:57My mother doesn't know much about film.
03:00My father is a banking consultant.
03:04My mother was a journalist with a travel magazine.
03:08I mean, our entire family is not from the film industry.
03:12So, my mother said, okay.
03:14So, you are Tara Sen.
03:16She said, I want to meet your daughter.
03:19I have read an article in Midday.
03:22Something was published in Midday.
03:25So, my mother said, okay.
03:27But Divya is in America.
03:30So, Tahir ji said, when is she coming back?
03:33She will come back for December, New Year's and Christmas.
03:36So, she said, I am Tara Sen.
03:39So, my mother said, okay.
03:41She said, I have made so many films like Karwa.
03:45So, my mother doesn't watch films.
03:47So, she said, okay.
03:49So, she said, I made a film called Hum Hai Rai Pyar.
03:54My mother said, yes, I have seen that.
03:56So, Tahir ji said, why have you seen that film?
03:59So, she said, Aamir Khan is my favorite actor.
04:03So, her work is amazing.
04:05I think that film was released in 1947.
04:08Was it Earth or Sarfarosh?
04:11So, she said, I have seen Sarfarosh.
04:14He is a very good actor.
04:15So, Tahir ji said, I am doing a film with Aamir.
04:20So, she said, if you are working with Aamir.
04:23So, I mean, why do you need any other actor at all?
04:27So, he said, he is talking to my mother.
04:30And he is saying, you really don't know very much about films.
04:33You don't know anything about films.
04:35So, my mom said, yes, but how do you know?
04:38So, he said, I am Aamir Khan's father.
04:42So, my mom was like, oh, God.
04:45And she brings me up in Stanford.
04:46And she is like, Divya, guess who I was talking to today?
04:48So, I was like, who?
04:50She was like, Mr. Tahir Hussain.
04:52So, I said, oh, no, what did you say to him?
04:56Will I ever get to meet him?
04:59You know, but he was very amused.
05:01And so, he said, even if I don't meet your daughter, I want to meet you.
05:05Who knows nothing about this industry.
05:07So, eventually I met him.
05:09And he auditioned.
05:10I did a very comprehensive audition.
05:12In that, I did an Indian dance.
05:14Western dance.
05:16We came to Rai and did some scenes.
05:18And his new film, Dil Vinta Hai.
05:21I mean, it was a new film for him then.
05:23So, I did some scenes from there as well.
05:25So, the audition itself must have lasted life.
05:28Two hours, three.
05:29Very, very long audition.
05:31Comprehensive with different changes in makeup, hairstyle.
05:33You know, the works.
05:35So, in fact, I auditioned at Aamir's house.
05:40So, I met Aamir's brother and Aamir's mom and everything.
05:43So, actually, they saw my audition.
05:45It was quite scary.
05:49So, that's how that happened.
05:54I play the role of a doctor.
05:56My name is Rani in the film.
05:58And Shoaib is also a doctor.
06:00Shoaib, who works with me.
06:02And I have been loving Shoaib since, you know,
06:07when I saw him, I fell in love with him.
06:10So, one love story is like this.
06:12I am a doctor and I am, you know, a neurosurgeon.
06:16He is a heart surgeon.
06:17And I, you know, I have always loved him all my life.
06:20So, it's a role that I love because
06:25basically, I am a huge romantic.
06:28So, I love the idea of having loved somebody from the first time you saw him.
06:33So, it kind of like appeals to me.
06:36And then a girl comes in between, who is a dancer.
06:40And, you know, Shoaib and I come together in a show.
06:46And she sees Shoaib and falls in love with him.
06:50But then it becomes difficult for me to understand
06:55why this girl is in love with him.
06:57And eventually, she has an accident.
07:00And she comes to my operation table.
07:02And the choice is mine.
07:04Whether I should save her, you know,
07:07or whether I should let her die.
07:09Because, I mean, she has been like hitting on,
07:13falling in love with somebody I have loved all my life through.
07:17Who I don't see a future without.
07:19So, the film appealed to me in a lot of ways because
07:24I am that kind of like person.
07:26I love to love, you know.
07:28And I don't know what I do in a situation.
07:31But, you know, Rani had it all figured out.
07:34You know, Rani is a very good girl.
07:37She is a very sensible girl.
07:40She is a very sensitive girl.
07:42So, she appealed to me on different levels.
07:46It was a character I liked playing.
07:48I mean, the best character in my life will always be Sita.
07:52Because, Sita is the epitome of the Indian woman.
07:56You know, she is what I always would like to be.
07:59You know, she is God.
08:01And after that play, you know,
08:04when the audience would come out,
08:06they would say, Sita Ma, Sita Ma.
08:08You know, I mean, the stage was on a level.
08:11You know, it was about 8 to 20 feet high.
08:14It was like a football stadium.
08:16And when they are getting down, they are saying this.
08:18I mean, I was very young.
08:22I used to run back into the changing room and wait.
08:25Because they don't accept that Sita can leave in jeans.
08:30You know, she can be a normal person.
08:32And that is what amazed me.
08:34Because when she says,
08:36I love Ram.
08:38I love Ram.
08:39I only love Ram.
08:41And she says that in Ravan's garden.
08:44You know, Ashok's garden.
08:46So, I mean, you can hear the audience crying.
08:49And that's when I realized the power of the screen.
08:51The power of being an actress.
08:53Because even if you are a businessman,
08:56or if you are in the streets, on the chawls,
08:59you still go to the same film.
09:02Why? Because you need the same amount of entertainment.
09:05You know, and that is the power of this medium.
09:08So I love it.
09:09The characters that I play are each a part of me,
09:11but they are not me.
09:12Because unlike Rani, I am scared of hospitals.
09:15I don't go to hospitals.
09:17Because once I saw someone,
09:19who, you know, I mean,
09:21he was like 60 years old.
09:23He was like my grandfather.
09:26But I saw him,
09:28and he died of cancer in front of me.
09:32So after that, I can never go to the hospital.
09:35You know, I can't even keep my feet.
09:37You know, without hesitation.
09:40I get very nervous.
09:41But Rani was a doctor,
09:43and that was a part of her character.
09:45And that was so ingrained as a part of her character.
09:47So I like the fact that I could overcome that fear
09:50by playing Rani.
09:52At the same time, there was a lot of part of me that was her.
09:55You know, the same type of laughter,
09:57the same type of, like,
09:59if I was in love with somebody,
10:00I don't know how I'd deal with it.
10:02And I felt all those emotions
10:04when this other girl comes into the picture.
10:06So that was part of Divya.
10:08The rest of it was a totally different character.
10:15Very easy.
10:17It goes like this.
10:19And you'd better cut for a song.
10:30And this one, you have to go.
10:32Actually, I sing better.
10:34But now my voice is gone.
10:36But I sing much better.
10:38I'm just informing you.
10:40I'm actually quite a good singer.
10:42In some days.
10:46Till yesterday.
10:47Last night it went, my voice.
10:53Well, actually,
10:54Shyamji saw my work with Vyom.
10:57And then he called me
10:59and said that he had some roles.
11:02For some reason, it was on television.
11:04At that point, I was doing Dil Dhunta Hai.
11:06So we couldn't work together.
11:09So one day I called him up to Dil Dhunta Hai.
11:11And I said,
11:12Shyamji, are you doing a role?
11:14And he said, you know what?
11:15I'm casting for this film.
11:16So I said, yes.
11:17So he said,
11:18and I was looking at your pictures
11:19right this moment.
11:21So he said, will you come to the office?
11:22I'll give you a story narration.
11:23Will you just listen to it?
11:25I went to the office.
11:26And then he said,
11:27this is the role.
11:29Apoorva Agnihotri is doing this film.
11:32And he narrated the role to me.
11:34And I loved it.
11:36Because it was so different from Dil Dhunta Hai.
11:39For an actress,
11:40I've always wanted to act.
11:42You know, I'm an actress.
11:43So it was such a challenge.
11:49Rani wears a salwar kotha and a saree
11:51from beginning to end of the film.
11:52That's her character.
11:53But in Dil Dhunta Hai,
11:54I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
11:56I'm a college student
11:57with my hair tied up
11:58and my hair left loose.
12:00It's a younger, more bubbly character.
12:03Rani's character was very bubbly
12:05but it was completely different.
12:07She was more my Sita character.
12:09She was less my Sound of Music Lisa character.
12:13And so the challenge was
12:16that these two films will come out
12:18approximately at the same time.
12:19How will people accept me
12:21in two totally different roles?
12:22And I know they will.
12:24Because both those roles,
12:27my character and Divya's character,
12:29they're both facets of me.
12:31You know, who I am.
12:33So the role appealed to me
12:34on all its levels.
12:35And the film was a thriller.
12:37It was something I hadn't done before.
12:39You know, not on stage
12:41or not even on screen.
12:42You know, in screen you have
12:43a lot of love stories
12:44but love stories that are thrillers,
12:46love stories that are action-packed,
12:47they're all different.
12:49I mean, different love stories.
12:51As in, they're different parts
12:52of the same thing.
12:53We're still saying, I love you.
12:54The way you say it is different.
12:56Now, Dhirubhta is a romantic love story.
12:59You know, this is a thriller love story.
13:01So I wanted to try
13:02and do something different
13:03because even on stage
13:04I've never done a thriller.
13:05I always wanted to.
13:07There was in fact one play
13:08that I always wanted to do,
13:09which I will do eventually,
13:10but it was a thriller
13:12and it was a love story.
13:13So it kind of appealed to me
13:15on that level
13:16because I'd not done that on stage
13:17and not done that in the film.
13:19I wanted to try and do that
13:20and prove it to myself.
13:22So, you know.
13:30Apoorva, Amar and Aditi.
13:32I love them.
13:34It's very simple.
13:37Apoorva, Amar and Aditi.
13:39The three of us,
13:40I mean, the four of us
13:41didn't know each other.
13:42And we started with this photo shoot
13:44and then directly,
13:45the next day,
13:47we started the dance rehearsal.
13:49So four of us are being put into this room
13:51where nobody knows anybody
13:53and we have to do this dance rehearsal.
13:55And we're all a little bit nervous.
13:57And I'd seen Apoorva's films on screen
13:59and I liked him on screen.
14:01He's a good actor
14:02and he's very good looking.
14:04And Amar,
14:05everybody knew him
14:06because his mother-in-law was his daughter-in-law.
14:08And Aditi is just hot.
14:10She's just so hot.
14:12So we were all kind of like
14:13wary of each other
14:14and then we started
14:15with this dance rehearsal
14:16and it was Ganesh's dance.
14:18And we had so much fun
14:19because one,
14:20Ganesh's movements are so much fun.
14:23And it's so much fun.
14:24So we had to interact with each other.
14:26Or if you're working together for 10 days,
14:28together,
14:29you know,
14:30you kind of like to get to know each other.
14:32And so you have Amar
14:33who's like the protector.
14:34You know?
14:35He takes care of everyone.
14:37I mean, he looks after the food.
14:38He looks after this.
14:39He looks after...
14:40He's like the protector.
14:41He's so sweet.
14:42And then you have Apoorva.
14:43Apoorva,
14:44I mean,
14:45he's done the most films.
14:47Easily.
14:48So he's the most experienced.
14:49He's the most calm.
14:50And in between,
14:51I mean,
14:52I'm like,
14:53and he's like,
14:54you know,
14:55you look so good.
14:56And I'm like,
14:57how sweet, you know?
14:58And automatically my mood changes.
14:59You know, Aditi is,
15:00she's the model.
15:01She's always looked so good.
15:02You know?
15:03So she checks out on the looks
15:04and how you're,
15:05you know,
15:06how you're sitting,
15:07how you're looking,
15:08how you're facing.
15:09And I've been doing dance for so long
15:10and I've done stage.
15:11So I'm more comfortable
15:12with a lot of the scenes,
15:13you know?
15:14So we all have our different strengths
15:15and I think we brought that in.
15:17So even if I'm not
15:18working with them,
15:19I'm messaging them.
15:20SMSes,
15:21you know,
15:22our whole day is filled.
15:23I've got all three numbers
15:24and I sit and SMS them
15:25continuously.
15:26You know,
15:27what are you doing?
15:28Okay,
15:29so you're getting your hair changed.
15:30Okay,
15:31so I should also get my hair.
15:32You know?
15:33So it's a very,
15:34it's a very healthy atmosphere
15:35and we're very,
15:36four are very focused together.
15:38So, you know,
15:39I mean,
15:40if I'm not happy,
15:41all four of them
15:42will make sure I'm not,
15:43you know,
15:44I'm set.
15:45And I'm the youngest
15:47What kind of role are you playing
15:48in Dhundh?
15:49I'm playing the role
15:50of a college student
15:51and Aditi is my cousin.
15:52And the four of us,
15:53I mean,
15:54our romantic pairings
15:55are Aditi and Amar
15:56in Apoorva
15:57and the four of us
15:58go on a holiday
15:59and there's a murder.
16:00Now,
16:01who did the murder?
16:02Who was murdered?
16:03And it's,
16:04it's very,
16:05I mean,
16:06in the beginning,
16:07it's very fun.
16:08It's a lot of fun.
16:09It's a lot of fun.
16:10It's a lot of fun.
16:11It's a lot of fun.
16:12It's a lot of fun.
16:13It's a lot of fun.
16:14It's a lot of fun.
16:15It's a lot of fun.
16:17But then a problem emerges
16:18and the whole track
16:20changes.
16:22So,
16:23it's very suspenseful
16:24in the beginning
16:26which is fun,
16:27has romance
16:28laughter,
16:29happiness
16:30and
16:31then in between
16:33there's a twist.
16:35And then it gets serious
16:37and then
16:38we bond
16:39because
16:40we always end up
16:41in trouble.
16:42So,
16:43yes,
16:44How the four of us bond together, how we face problems together.
16:48And the film is basically about that.
16:50It's about four youngsters who get trapped in a circumstance.
16:55And how they get out of it, what their experiences are like.
16:58And whether they become stronger or not.
17:01I mean, does the friendship go down the drain?
17:03Does it become a problem?
17:05So the film is about friendship.
17:08Is this film like a typical Ram Se Brothers film?
17:12No, no. Not at all.
17:14The films that Ram Se has made are usually horror films.
17:20So Shyam has made a different kind of film.
17:24There is no horror in it.
17:26I mean, a lot of people watch horror films.
17:28And horror films have a different kind of genre.
17:33But this film is a thriller.
17:35It's a musical thriller.
17:37And it just scares people.
17:40But in horror films, the scary things are unreal.
17:45It's either a ghost or something that we can't see.
17:51The fear here is real.
17:56I mean, you can feel it, you can touch it.
17:58It's a real fear.
18:00It's not like a ghost comes and we get scared because it's fictional.
18:06This story can happen.
18:09And that is the scary part.
18:11So in horror and thriller, there is a huge difference.
18:18I mean, it's not that they're different.
18:21I believe in ghosts.
18:23But this film is about a real fear.
18:28A human fear.
18:30That's the difference.
18:32This is a thriller, it's not a horror film.
18:34It's something real because the real fear is human.
18:38I mean, that's what scares you.
18:40That's the thrill.